Patterning vs EffectDeck
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Patterning
This music creation app offers a circular drum machine with a powerful sequencer. It's free to download and includes a vast library of drum kits and effects. Unlock advanced production and sync tools through an in-app purchase or a monthly subscription.
- Circular drum machine interface
- Powerful sequencer engine
- Extensive drum kit library
- Built-in effects and mixing
- Song mode for arrangement
- Audio and MIDI export options
- Ableton Link and MIDI sync
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Patterning is a circular drum machine that is both intuitive and deep. Built on the powerful sequencer engine of "Patterning 3: Drum Machine," this new iPhone version bottles the energy and excitement of our flagship instrument for the small screen. Free to download and make music with. The full sequencer, drum kits and sampler, effects and mixing, project saving, and access to nearly 800 drum kits are all included. "Patterning Studio" is an in-app purchase that unlocks production and sync tools for life : - AUv3 : Run Patterning as an instrument plugin. - Song Mode : chain patterns into full songs - Unlimited access to over 800 free drumkits. - Audio export as stereo or multitrack stems (WAV or AIFF) - Ableton Live Set export, with a free Ableton Live 12 Lite license - MIDI file export - MIDI output to hardware and your DAW - Ableton Link - Link Audio : send stereo or multitrack audio wirelessly to Ableton Live. - MIDI clock send/receive Patterning Studio is offered at a discounted price for existing owners of "Patterning for iPhone." Alternately, you can subscribe to Patterning+ and unlock all current and any future features on a monthly basis.
EffectDeck
Process audio from any app with a customizable chain of effects. Add built-in, AUv3, or custom JSFX plugins. Share your audio chains and scripts easily.
- 100+ built-in audio effects
- JSFX script support
- AUv3 plugin integration
- Custom impulse responses
- Audio analysis tools
- Preset management
- Chain and script sharing
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EffectDeck puts an effect chain on the audio other apps are already playing, and the effects you can put in it are not limited to the ones it ships with. Pick EffectDeck as the output in Control Center, then open the app and build a chain. No virtual cable, no routing to set up, nothing to configure first. Start from over 100 of EffeTune's effects, running unmodified: the same DSP code EffeTune runs on the desktop and on the web. Add the AUv3 plug-ins already on your device and your own impulse responses. When the effect you want does not exist, write it as a JSFX script, and it goes into the chain like any other effect. WHAT YOU GET - Over 100 built-in effects: EQ, dynamics, saturation, modulation, reverb, delay, spatial, lo-fi and restoration - JSFX effects: import a script from Files, a link or the clipboard. Each gets its own sliders and, if it draws, its own display - AUv3 effect plug-ins installed on your iPhone or iPad - Convolution reverb with your own impulse responses, and AutoEQ profiles for the 15-band EQ - Analyzers you can drop into the chain: spectrum, spectrogram, oscilloscope, level and stereo meters - Presets from EffeTune, plus your own presets in folders - Share a chain or a JSFX script as a link, and open the links others send you - A two-column layout on iPad - Oversampling at 48, 96 or 192 kHz, with latency and CPU shown while it runs HOW IT WORKS iOS 27 lets an app present itself as an audio output device. EffectDeck appears in Control Center next to your speaker and headphones. Choose it, and the audio from the player you are using is handed over, processed, and played back on the same device. Apps that never report themselves as playing, most games among them, keep going straight to the speaker. The audio never leaves the device, and nothing is collected. If you are signed in to iCloud, your presets and chain follow you to your other devices. The effects are EffeTune by Yoshiyuki Kobayashi (MIT). This app is a separate project and is not affiliated with EffeTune. The name was changed at the upstream author's request.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: EffectDeck at none against Patterning's 3. EffectDeck also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 67%). Patterning's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 27.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Patterning sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. EffectDeck asks for nothing beyond the download.
Patterning holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 9 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Patterning's written reviews are positive against 75% of EffectDeck's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Patterning ships an update every 3 days, EffectDeck every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Patterning | EffectDeck |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (10 ratings) — better | 4.8 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 27.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 94 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Olympia Noise Co. | Masahiro Sato |
Customer experience
Patterning
EffectDeck
In-app purchases
Patterning
- Patterning+$1.991 Month
- Patterning Studio Upgrade$7.99
- Studio Pack (Lifetime)$12.99
EffectDeck
No in-app purchases









