Hexapad vs BeatGlow
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hexapad
Create music with a unique hexagonal pad interface. Explore built-in synths for various genres, record your own sounds, and easily switch between beat, melody, and bass modes. Save, layer, and export your creations.
- Hexagonal honeycomb pad interface
- Built-in synths for multiple genres
- Mic recording kit for custom sounds
- Dedicated modes for beat, melody, and bass
- Kit-specific effects (reverb, echo, flanger)
- Auto-generate beats, melodies, and basslines
- Export to WAV format
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Hexapad is an intuitive beatmaker with hexagonal pads arranged in a honeycomb grid. Tap to play short musical phrases, or slide your fingers across the pads to connect sounds. Build your own music one layer at a time, whether you’re an experienced musician or creating your first track. No extra samples needed. Explore built-in sounds spanning Electronica, Techno, House, Hip-Hop, Ambient, Lo-Fi, Minimal, Alternative, and Contemporary. Phrase pads are organized into BEAT, BASS, CHORDS, MELODY, and ACCENT, making it easy to combine rhythms, basslines, harmonies, and melodies. Each pad displays a waveform so you can see the character of its sound. Capture your performance with REC. Your first pad starts a four-bar recording, which loops as you add more phrases. Undo your latest addition, or use SAVE to name and store the take for use in Song. Shuffle the pads to explore new phrases while keeping the phrases you’ve already recorded. Shape your sound in real time with large FX knobs for reverb, delay, filtering, flanger, and more. Adjust the tempo with BPM, or switch sound kits to hear your recorded phrases with a different palette. Turn your voice and everyday sounds into instruments. Open Sampler from the microphone button, record a sound, and play it from a pad. Trim the waveform, reverse the sample, or adjust its pitch, pan, and volume. In Song, layer saved recordings to build a fuller sound, then carry those layers into the next four-bar section. Use the timeline to see where sounds overlap, and add or remove layers to create changes throughout your track. Preview, rename, and delete your saved recordings from the same screen. Need a starting point? Auto creates a song arrangement from your chosen mood and length. Edit the generated layers and sections to make it your own, add fade-in and fade-out, and export the finished track as a WAV file. Connect a USB or Bluetooth LE MIDI controller to take your performance further. Assign the same phrase pads you see in Play to your controller’s keys or pads, and map knobs or faders to FX controls. The free version includes pad performance, FX, and voice recording. Save up to 10 recording takes and 3 songs, and use Auto Short. Complete a rewarded ad to unlock one WAV export. The monthly Hexapad Pro subscription removes ads and recording/song save limits, unlocks Auto Medium and Long, and lets you export WAV files without watching ads. See the purchase screen for local pricing. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled and can be managed or canceled in your store account settings. Your saved work is kept when Pro ends. Enjoy making music — intuitively, right in the palm of your hand. Privacy Policy https://www.ontrails.jp/app/privacy-policy/hexpad/ Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
BeatGlow
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BeatGlow is a drum machine that glows in the dark. Tap out a beat on a 7-track, 32-step grid and hear it instantly. Every kick, snare, hi-hat, clap and FX hit is synthesized on the fly — there are no samples to download, and nothing is baked in. That means you can reach into any drum and reshape it: raise the pitch, stretch or choke the decay, brighten or darken the tone. The waveform changes, not a filter on top of it. MAKE A BEAT • 7 tracks x 32 steps — kick, snare, hi-hat, clap, plus three FX voices • Tap a pad to place a hit; long-press to accent it for real dynamics • Tempo from 60 to 180 BPM, with tap tempo if you'd rather feel it out • MPC-style swing, from dead straight to a heavy triplet shuffle • Per-track volume and mute in the mixer SHAPE THE SOUND • Pitch, decay and tone dials for every track, with instant preview • Because the sounds are generated, not sampled, edits are unlimited • One tap returns any drum to its original voice BUILD A SONG • Chain patterns into an arrangement, each section repeating as you like • Reorder sections by dragging; playback runs the whole song gaplessly • Keep as many patterns as you want, named and organized SHARE IT • Export audio as a WAV file • Export a vertical video with an animated visualizer, ready for social • Send a single pattern or your entire library to another BeatGlow user — they open the file and it imports NEED A STARTING POINT? Describe a style — "laid-back boom bap", "minimal techno", "halftime trap" — and BeatGlow will generate a pattern for you to take apart and rebuild. No account, no API key, no setup. NO NONSENSE No accounts. No sign-in. No ads. No tracking. No subscription. Your beats are saved on your device as you work, and they stay there.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: BeatGlow at none against Hexapad's shown. Hexapad's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hexapad ships an update every 5 days, BeatGlow every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hexapad | BeatGlow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ONTRAILS | Sub Rosa Industries |
In-app purchases
Hexapad
No in-app purchases
BeatGlow
No in-app purchases









