Comparison

MusicBook Pro vs Tonic Synth

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MusicBook Pro

Features
Read full description

MusicBook Pro is a private songwriting, songbook and live performance app for songwriters and musicians. Capture ideas, write lyrics, add chords, organize related ideas in Projects and build setlists for the stage. Record your own ideas and create editable Draft Lyrics with Apple speech recognition. SmartFunctions offers suggestions and tools while you stay in control of every change. Rehearse with a metronome, tuner and Smart Coach. Use Performance for lyrics and chords on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with free read-only viewing on Apple TV. Apple Watch provides a metronome and quick idea recording. Version 6.0 saves edits as you work and supports recovery after interruptions. Share songs and setlists, review SmartFunctions suggestions before applying them, and capture ideas with improved recording and automatic naming flows. On iPhone Duo, switch between a compact outer layout and a spacious inner layout while keeping your current song open as you fold or unfold. Every feature is included in the free version. Save up to 6 Songs, 2 Drafts, 2 Ideas, 2 Projects and 2 Setlists; Sessions are unlimited. One Full Version purchase removes these library limits. No ads, subscriptions or third-party tracking.

About

Tonic Synth

Create complex sounds with multiple synthesis engines, including analog, wavetable, and FM. Share and discover sounds with a built-in community. Play standalone or as a plugin on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Highlights
  • Eight sound engines (physical modeling, virtual analog, wavetable, FM, SoundFont)
  • Stack up to three engines per sound
  • Community sound sharing and publishing
  • Arpeggiator and sequencer with advanced features
  • Effects rack with chorus, delay, reverb, EQ, compressor, and flanger/phaser
  • Live scene switching for stage performance
  • Standalone and AUv3 plugin support
Features
Read full description

Eight sound engines in one instrument — and a whole preset community living inside it. Physical modeling, virtual analog, 3D wavetable, 6-operator FM and a full SoundFont player: stack up to three engines per sound, each with its own filter, envelope and modulation. Play it standalone on iPhone, iPad and Mac, or load it as an AUv3 plug-in — instrument and effect — in your favorite host. One purchase. No subscription, no ads, nothing locked behind a paywall. • TONICA — THE SOUND COMMUNITY Your next signature sound might come from a player on the other side of the world. Browse what the community publishes without ever leaving the app: one tap auditions it under your fingers, two taps keep it. Love an author? Take their whole collection at once, into a bank named after them. And publish yours with a single tap — no account, no sign-up, no cost. • THREE OSCILLATORS Up to three independent layers — each with its own source, filter, envelope and modulation, plus mute/solo and keyboard split. From a simple patch to a fat, detuned stack on one spread knob. The Vector pad morphs across all three layers in real time: draw a path and the sound travels it on its own. • SOUND ENGINES Per layer: physical modeling (string, modal, wind, bowed), virtual analog (sine, saw, square, triangle, pulse and super-saw, with sub-oscillator and noise), wavetables up to 128 frames, SoundFont (.sf2 and compressed .sf3) and 6-operator FM that opens .syx cartridges. Record anything through the mic and turn it into a wavetable — or draw the waveform with your finger and hear it instantly, on a 3D landscape you can drag, rotate and resize. • FILTERS Ten analog-modeled voicings — LP/HP/BP/Notch, 12 or 24 dB per octave, resonance into self-oscillation, drive and 4× oversampling. From warm ladder to creamy SVF, from acid squelch to screaming resonance. • ARPEGGIATOR & SEQUENCER A step editor with a live playhead: ties, ratchets, accents and per-step probability, polymetric rhythm masks, capture of what you just played, swing, gate mode, key range and per-layer arping. Imports .mid patterns, follows MIDI Clock, and with Hold the pattern runs by itself. • EFFECTS RACK Chorus, tempo-synced ping-pong delay, 6-type FDN reverb, 5-band EQ, compressor and a Flanger/Phaser module — each one switchable and routable per layer. • BUILT FOR THE STAGE Six scenes (A–F) swap the entire patch live without cutting the sound: the note ringing out finishes naturally while the next one already speaks with the new tone. Switched apps mid-set? A sustain pedal left down or a mod wheel parked halfway no longer hijacks your sound — every control starts working again the moment you move it. The MIDI filter decides what each pedal, wheel or controller is allowed to do, and can target one specific device when there's more than one keyboard in the rack. Program Change and Bank Select switch sounds from your controller. MIDI Learn on any control, over USB or Bluetooth. • YOUR LIBRARY 280+ factory sounds in banks, and your own collection beside them: favorites, renaming, saving, tagging and search by name, tag or bank. Two file formats of its own — one to share sounds (.tpr) and one for a full library backup (.tbk). Double-click a file, or receive one by AirDrop, and it merges straight in without duplicating anything. • WHERE IT RUNS iPhone, iPad and Mac, from a single purchase. As an AUv3 it runs in the major recording apps on iOS and macOS. Using software that doesn't load AUv3 yet? See rsjb.com.br/support for the route other users have already proven. Thank you for playing with RSJB - made by musicians for musicians! Follow the news at www.rsjb.com.br/en

Screenshots

MusicBook Pro4 screens
Tonic Synth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MusicBook Pro at Free against Tonic Synth's $19.99. MusicBook Pro also leads on device support (5 vs 3). Tonic Synth's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

MusicBook Pro is free to download; Tonic Synth costs $19.99 up front. MusicBook Pro sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Tonic Synth asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MusicBook Pro ships an update every 9 days, Tonic Synth every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
MusicBook Pro versus Tonic Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusicBook ProTonic Synth
PriceFree — better$19.99
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS17.717.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size188 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLars JoergensenRubens Felicio

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MusicBook Pro

One-time1
  • MusicBook Pro Fullversion$9.99
None

Tonic Synth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MusicBook Pro free?
MusicBook Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tonic Synth free?
Tonic Synth costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do MusicBook Pro or Tonic Synth have ads?
Neither MusicBook Pro nor Tonic Synth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MusicBook Pro or Tonic Synth?
MusicBook Pro ships an update every 9 days, and Tonic Synth every 4 days. Most recently, MusicBook Pro was updated on November 5, 2026 and Tonic Synth on November 5, 2026.

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