Comparison

Hexapad vs MS

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

MS

Features
Read full description

MS-12 is a 16-pad sampler and step sequencer built around the sound of classic 12-bit hardware. Sample anything through the microphone, trim it, and play it straight from the pads. The sample rate and bit depth engine gives you the gritty, saturated character early digital samplers were loved for — not a filter placed on top, but the sound of the conversion itself. SAMPLING • Record from the built-in mic, a USB or Lightning interface, or line input • Resample the app's own output to bounce layers down • Threshold recording starts the moment sound arrives • Stereo or mono (L/R) capture SOUND • Adjustable sample rate (8–44.1 kHz) and bit depth (4–32 bit) • Presets for classic 12-bit voicings • Ring modulator, compressor, punch and saturation per pad EDITING • Trim, fade in and out, normalize, reverse, gain, silence • Time stretch • Auto slice by transient detection, or set slice points live with the pads • Split a stereo sample into separate mono left and right samples SEQUENCER • Step sequencer with velocity and tune per step • Real-time recording with selectable quantize • Up to 4 bars per pattern • Note Repeat • Song Mode chains patterns into a full track PLAYBACK AND MIXING • Volume and pan per pad, mute and solo • Mute groups so pads cut each other off, like a real drum machine • Pad Link to trigger several pads at once • Multi Level and Multi Pitch to spread one sample across the grid • 13 effects: tape echo, delay, reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo/pan, distortion, overdrive, fuzz, wah, isolator and a 4-band EQ EXPORT • Bounce a pattern to a WAV file • Save projects on the device and reopen them later FREE VERSION MS-12 is free to try, and the sound engine is not held back — nothing about the audio is degraded in the free version. You get Bank A (16 pads), one 1-bar pattern, two effects, and microphone sampling up to 10 seconds per pad. A single one-time purchase unlocks everything: all four banks (64 pads), unlimited patterns up to 4 bars, Song Mode, all 13 effects, unlimited sampling time, loading your own audio files, project save and load, and WAV export. Anything you made before buying carries straight over. No subscription. No ads. No account required.

Screenshots

Hexapad4 screens
MS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: MS at none against Hexapad's shown. Hexapad's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hexapad ships an update every 5 days, MS every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Hexapad versus MS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHexapadMS
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size98 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperONTRAILSyuji yoshie

In-app purchases

None

Hexapad

No in-app purchases

None

MS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hexapad free?
Hexapad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MS free?
MS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hexapad or MS have ads?
Hexapad shows ads; MS does not.
Which is updated more often, Hexapad or MS?
Hexapad ships an update every 5 days, and MS every 2 weeks. Most recently, Hexapad was updated on October 2, 2026 and MS on September 24, 2026.

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