SoniMeter vs Sound Scope Analyzer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
SoniMeter
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Test how loud your restaurant is. Your neighbor's late-night party. Your concert. Your office HVAC. Your baby room. Apple has no sound level meter for iPhone (the Watch one measures 3.4 dB low per published NIH research). The popular third-party apps charge around $40/year, push subscription prompts every launch, and read 28 dB in a completely silent room because their zero-calibration is broken. Decibo is the noise meter those apps should have been. $3.99 once. No subscription. No ads. Forever. WHAT DECIBO MEASURES β’ A / C / Z frequency weighting (IEC 61672 standard) β’ LAeq β equivalent continuous A-weighted sound level β’ Lmax β maximum during measurement period β’ LCpeak β C-weighted peak (instantaneous extremes) β’ TWA β 8-hour time-weighted average for OSHA / NIOSH β’ Dose β % of permissible daily noise exposure β’ Real-time 1/3-octave spectrum (30 bands, 25 Hz to 16 kHz) β’ Peak hold over a sliding 1-30 second window REAL ZERO CALIBRATION Two methods: silent-room (3-second baseline auto-tunes to 30 dB SPL) and reference-tone (input your 94 dB SPL calibrator's measured value and Decibo computes the offset). Multiple named profiles per device, optional iCloud sync across your iPhones. 8 SCENE PRESETS β EACH WITH SMART THRESHOLD β’ Workplace β 85 dB / A-weighted / NIOSH dose tracking β’ Concert / Club β 100 dB / C-weighted / hearing-protection alert β’ Sleep / Baby Room β 50 dB / A-weighted / WHO bedroom guideline β’ Restaurant β 75 dB / A-weighted / chronic-exposure warning β’ Office β 65 dB / A-weighted / productivity zone β’ HVAC / Appliance β 40 dB / A-weighted / residential noise floor β’ Studio / Quiet β 35 dB / A-weighted / recording-grade silence Each preset comes with concise advice citing OSHA / NIOSH / WHO. Settings includes a custom-threshold override slider. LIVE ACTIVITY, WIDGET, THRESHOLD ALARM Long sessions display current dB + LAeq + Dose in Dynamic Island and on the lock screen. Home + lock-screen widget for one-tap measurement. When sound crosses the active threshold, Decibo fires a haptic + optional notification β so you can step out, put in earplugs, or grab evidence. SESSION HISTORY Every recorded session is saved with full time-series + metrics. Each session can be named and annotated. iCloud sync (opt-in) keeps history across your devices. Export as PDF (formatted report) or CSV (raw time series). Optionally geo-tag sessions for noise complaints or real-estate inspections. BLUETOOTH-MIC PROTECTION If your hearing aids or AirPods are connected, iOS may route the iPhone microphone through them β yielding wrong readings. Decibo detects this and warns you with a red banner. One tap forces the built-in iPhone mic. AUDIO FILE IMPORT Drop in any voice memo, recording, or .m4a / .wav / .mp3 β Decibo runs it through the same A/C/Z weighting + SPL pipeline and shows LAeq, Lmax, peak with a line chart. 100% ON-DEVICE The microphone audio never leaves your phone. No server. No cloud call. No third-party analytics. No tracking SDKs. AVAudioEngine captures, Accelerate processes, SwiftUI renders. The Privacy Nutrition Label says "Data Not Collected" β because it doesn't. DISCLAIMER Decibo is a sound level meter for environmental and occupational measurement. It is not a medical device, not a substitute for a calibrated professional instrument, not for clinical hearing-loss diagnosis. For audiology concerns, consult a hearing-care professional. MADE BY ONE PERSON An indie developer tired of decibel apps that charge $40/year and still can't zero properly. If something breaks or you want a feature, email xxhhuan2022@163.com β you'll get an actual reply, usually within a day. https://duolaamengweb3.github.io/decibo/
Sound Scope Analyzer
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Sound Scope Analyzer visualizes sound from your microphone in real time β an oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer in your pocket. β Real-Time Mode β’ Watch waveforms like on an oscilloscope (a trigger keeps periodic waves steady on screen) β’ CRT-style afterglow effect you can toggle on and off β’ Frequency spectrum up to 24 kHz with automatic noise-floor removal, so real sounds stand out clearly β’ Fixed or auto scaling for each axis; pinch to zoom and drag to pan β Timbre Mode β’ Automatically detects a sustained long tone (like singing βahhβ) and analyzes it with high frequency resolution β’ Shows the fundamental note name and frequency, with offset in cents β’ Marks each harmonic peak with its note name and measured frequency β’ Save the analysis result to Photos as an image β’ Sound source presets: voice, whistle, piano, guitar, bowed strings, and winds β Great for β’ Long-tone practice and tone checks for winds, strings, and vocals β’ Comparing the harmonic structure of different instruments β’ Learning the physics of sound: frequency, waveforms, and harmonics β’ Exploring the sounds around you β Privacy All audio is processed entirely on your device. Nothing is ever recorded, stored, or transmitted. Available in English and Japanese.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sound Scope Analyzer at none against SoniMeter's 1. SoniMeter's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.5). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SoniMeter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sound Scope Analyzer asks for nothing beyond the download.
SoniMeter ships an update every 2 days, Sound Scope Analyzer daily. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | SoniMeter | Sound Scope Analyzer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days | Daily β better |
| Ads | No β better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No β better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad β better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 β better | 26.5 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | η εΎ | Shinichi Takemura |
In-app purchases
SoniMeter
- Decibo Pro Lifetime$3.99
Sound Scope Analyzer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SoniMeter free?
Is Sound Scope Analyzer free?
Do SoniMeter or Sound Scope Analyzer have ads?
Which is updated more often, SoniMeter or Sound Scope Analyzer?
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