Comparison

Etherpad vs Sequentia

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

Head to head
About

Etherpad

Create evolving soundscapes and ambient textures with an intuitive touch-based music synthesizer. Explore generative music without needing music theory, perfect for relaxation or creative expression.

Highlights
  • Multi-touch synthesis
  • Multiple sound presets
  • Visual particle effects
  • Effect overlays
  • Scale selection
  • Landscape & portrait modes
  • Low-latency audio
Features
Read full description

Etherpad is an expressive touch-based music synthesis instrument for iPhone, iPad and your Mac. Sweep your fingers across the screen to create evolving soundscapes, ambient drones, and generative textures. (AUv3 support in Beta) Powered by the legendary Csound audio engine, Etherpad turns your device into a portable synthesizer that responds to every touch with rich, organic sound. No music theory required — just touch, listen, and explore. KEY FEATURES • Multi-touch synthesis — Each finger controls pitch and timbre independently • Distinct Soundscapes — Switch between evolving pad sounds and textures • Reactive Visuals — ripples, trails, rings, and column glow respond to every touch • 14 evolving sounds — from lush pads to Glass Choir, PWM Pad, and Morphwave • Advanced Scales & Tuning — Break out of standard keys and explore the Bohlen-Pierce scale, overtone series, pentatonics, and more • Jam Sessions — Load your own audio tracks directly into the app and play along with your creative flow • MIDI 2.0 — per-note expression and full MIDI support for connected controllers (Beta) • AUv3 plug-in — play Etherpad inside Logic Pro, GarageBand, AUM, and other hosts (Beta) • Ultra Low-latency audio — Built on Csound, the industry-standard audio engine PERFECT FOR • Ambient and drone musicians • Meditation and relaxation • Beginners exploring sound synthesis • Live performers and improvisers • Sound designers and experimental composers • Anyone curious about generative music Website: https://etherpad.app Touch the surface. Hear the universe.

About

Sequentia

This app transforms your iPhone into a powerful MIDI sequencer for hardware synthesizers and drum machines. Generate complex musical patterns, control parameters, and integrate with your DAW. Save and export your creations for further editing.

Highlights
  • Generative MIDI patterns
  • Hardware synth control
  • DAW integration
  • Customizable modules (Drums, Acid, Chords, Arp, LFO)
  • Live pattern editing
  • MIDI export (.mid)
Read full description

Sequentia is a generative MIDI sequencer for synths, drum machines and modular. Add a module and it writes its own part: drums, basslines, arps, chords, melodies. Press Random and a full pattern is playing. Turn on Mutate and it keeps evolving while it runs. The pattern libraries are written for techno and acid, and the generative modules go further out than that. Seven finished demo tracks come with the app. WHAT WRITES THE PARTS Drums, eight lanes, with the swing each genre actually has. Tops, cymbals, shakers and claves over the kit, on one fader. Bass, sixteen styles from techno to dub to EBM. Acid, 303 lines that really slide. Chords and Arp, in your key, following each other. Stabs, from skank to rave. Piano, drawn by hand or written for you. Euclid, three rings at different lengths, drifting apart and landing together bars later. Rain, notes falling from a drizzle to a downpour. Bounce, physics balls playing your key off the walls. Sampler, your own loop, warped to the tempo and the key. Mod, LFOs that sweep your synth's knobs on their own. Vinyl, a record that turns while the rack plays. Mixer, to solo, mute and balance live. ONE STUDIO, YOUR WHOLE RIG Every module picks its own MIDI device and channel, so each machine gets its own part. MIDI over USB-C, Bluetooth or network. MIDI Clock in and out keeps the gear in time. In any DAW the app is a MIDI source you can record straight onto a track. Leave the app and the music keeps playing, with the controls on your Lock Screen. MODULATE AND CONTROL YOUR HARDWARE Pick your machine from the library and its control map loads, ready to turn: over a hundred and thirty synths, grooveboxes and drum machines, every map read out of its own manual. Put an LFO on any of those knobs and it sweeps in time with the pattern. Arm the red R, turn a knob by hand, and the move becomes a loop locked to the bar. CC coming in works too, so a controller fires Random, Mutate, mutes and the transport. LIVE JAM Every module keeps pattern slots. Fill them as you go and switch on the bar, like clips. Live Performer is one pad for the whole rack: move a finger and every module answers at once with more density, new variations or a break. Fills, swing and humanize are a tap each, while everything runs. SCENES, AND A SET YOU CAN PLAY Save a section as a scene, put the scenes in order, and the timeline plays the set. Or switch scenes by hand while it runs. A project holds several racks, each with its own key and tempo, so a breakdown can sit lower and slower than the drop. ONE PROGRESSION, EVERYTHING FOLLOWS Write the chords once. The basslines, arps and stabs follow the changes. NO HARDWARE YET Every module plays through the app's own synth, free, so a whole track works with nothing attached. Load your own samples into the Sampler, or build a drum kit out of them. EVERYTHING IN ONE PROJECT Notes, patterns, scenes, samples, routing and arrangement live in one project that saves itself. Take the whole thing out in one step: the rack as MIDI, or every scene as its own folder, named so the session opens in your DAW making sense. Samples come with it if you want them. ON IPHONE AND IPAD One app for both. On the tablet the rack becomes a grid of cards you page through, three across on a 13 inch. Menus come in from the right and leave the instrument where it is. Open a module and it steps into the middle of the screen with its settings beside it. Landscape, for a stand and two hands. Turn iCloud on and the same projects, presets and samples are on both devices, in a Sequentia folder you can see in Files. Off until you switch it on. Sequentia is free, and so is the built in sound, Live Performer and CC Control. Sequentia Pro adds pattern slots, scenes, several racks, every drum style, your own libraries, unlimited projects and MIDI export. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.sequentia.studio/privacy

Screenshots

Etherpad4 screens
Sequentia4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Etherpad at none against Sequentia's 3. Etherpad also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 8 days) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

Both are free to download. Sequentia sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Etherpad asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Etherpad holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 20 and 10 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Etherpad ships an update every 2 days, Sequentia every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Etherpad versus Sequentia: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEtherpadSequentia
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (20 ratings) — better4.7 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings20 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDinesh YadavYahor Kamarou

Customer experience

Etherpad

All ratings20 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Sequentia

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Etherpad

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Sequentia

Subscriptions2
  • Sequentia Pro Monthly3 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Sequentia Pro Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Sequentia Pro Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Etherpad free?
Etherpad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sequentia free?
Sequentia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Etherpad or Sequentia?
Etherpad is rated higher. Etherpad averages 4.9 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Sequentia averages 4.7 from 10 ratings.
Do Etherpad or Sequentia have ads?
Neither Etherpad nor Sequentia shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Etherpad or Sequentia?
Etherpad ships an update every 2 days, and Sequentia every 8 days. Most recently, Etherpad was updated on September 22, 2026 and Sequentia on October 7, 2026.

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