Comparison

Dark Ambient vs Rithmatic

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

Head to head
About

Dark Ambient

Experience an evolving, non-repeating soundscape designed for sleep, focus, or quiet contemplation. This application operates entirely on-device, requiring no account, ads, or internet connection.

Highlights
  • Never-ending soundscapes
  • Slowly evolving audio
  • Designed for sleep
  • Aids concentration
  • No account required
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Dark Ambient is never ending, never repeating, living soundscape. Slow... Evolving... Relentless... For sleep, focus or quiet... No account. No ads. No internet connection required. Everything runs on-device. AUv3 compatibility! Your feedback is valuable and welcome. Keep it coming!

About

Rithmatic

This app is an FM synthesizer featuring a vast library of classic voices. It allows users to explore, learn, build, and blend sounds using an intuitive interface and an AUv3 plugin for DAWs. It offers a comprehensive synthesis engine and various playback options.

Highlights
  • 36,118 classic DX7 voices included
  • AUv3 plugin for DAWs
  • Patch Builder to learn FM synthesis
  • Sound blending feature
  • On-screen and MIDI keyboard support
  • Arpeggiator and latch function
  • WAV export
Features
Read full description

Rithmatic is an FM synthesizer with 36,118 classic DX7 voices built in, and an AUv3 plugin for GarageBand on iPad and your DAW on the Mac. Browse them by family and by character, learn how FM works by watching it shape each one, build and blend your own, and play them from the on-screen keys or a MIDI keyboard. No account, no ads, nothing locked. Built for iPhone Duo: half open, it stands like a keyboard synth, the waves above the fold and long keys on the flat half. IN YOUR DAW • Put it on a track in GarageBand on iPad, or in an Audio Unit host on the Mac such as Ableton Live. • Its window is the app's own Patches screen and Patch Builder, with your library. • Your bank appears as the plugin's presets, and Brightness, Attack, Decay, Release and Feedback can be automated. The patch is saved with your project. A LIBRARY THAT SHIPS FULL • 36,118 unique DX7 voices come with the app: no download, no account, no network. • Start with Essentials: the famous sounds and the songs they're on. • Browse by family, or by character: percussive, plucked, metallic, bright, sustained, swell, evolving, mellow. Or search by name. • Patch of the day: one classic voice each day, in the app and in a widget for iPhone, iPad and Mac. PLAY IT • A DX7-compatible synthesis engine runs inside the app, so every patch plays with nothing plugged in. • Play from the on-screen keys, your Mac's keyboard, or any MIDI keyboard you connect. • Pitch bend, mod wheel, breath, sustain and aftertouch, with aftertouch set to vibrato, tremolo or swell. • Velocity from a MIDI keyboard, or turn it off and choose how hard every note plays. • An arpeggiator (up, down, up and down, random or as played, over up to three octaves) and a latch that holds each key. • Record what you play and share it as a WAV. • Five tunings: equal, just, and Wendy Carlos's Alpha, Beta and Gamma scales. • Light or dark, as your device is set or as you choose. Drag the keys taller or shorter. SEE THE SOUND The waveform follows what you play: each operator's envelope, how hard you hit, the pitch, the LFO's wobble, and a chord as one layer per note. Resize it, go full screen, or watch the output itself in the Scope look. PATCH BUILDER: LEARN HOW FM WORKS FM is famous for being hard to program. The Patch Builder shows you why a sound sounds the way it does. • All six operators on a graph, each cable carrying its wave: see a modulator reshape its carrier as you drag. • Draw a cable and the builder snaps to the nearest of the 32 algorithms, so you learn routing by doing it. • Plain words beside the jargon. Edit each operator's ratio, level, envelope and tuning, the LFO and pitch envelope, or use FEEL: thickness, touch and brightness. BLEND Pick two patches and Rithmatic blends them into eight new ones. Play each, and keep the ones you like. YOUR BANK AND FILES • Gather patches from anywhere into your bank, then drag pads to swap or reorder them. • Export the bank as standard DX7 .syx files. Open .syx banks, or a .zip of them, from Files, Mail, AirDrop or the Finder. • Share a sound as a short clip of it playing, with a card and a code that brings the patch into anyone's Rithmatic. WITH A SYNTH, IF YOU HAVE ONE Hardware is optional. Choose your synth in Settings: • Korg Volca FM2 (firmware 1.10 or later, over MIDI): read its current patch, write to any of its 64 memory slots, back up and restore all 16 sequencer patterns, and capture the whole instrument to a snapshot. • DX7 family: send patches and 32-voice banks to a DX7, TX7, TX802, the original Volca FM or the M-VAVE FM-1 over standard Yamaha voice dumps. FREE AND PRIVATE Every feature is free; tips are optional and unlock nothing. Rithmatic works offline and collects no personal data: no account, no analytics, no ads. KORG and volca are trademarks of Korg Inc., DX7 and TX of Yamaha Corporation, M-VAVE of its owner. Rithmatic is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

Screenshots

Dark Ambient4 screens
Rithmatic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dark Ambient at 5.0 against Rithmatic's 4.6. Rithmatic's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Dark Ambient sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Rithmatic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dark Ambient holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 9 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dark Ambient ships an update every 9 days, Rithmatic every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Dark Ambient versus Rithmatic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDark AmbientRithmatic
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.6 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings29 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLucas LangloisMADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLC

Customer experience

Dark Ambient

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Rithmatic

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Dark Ambient

One-time1
  • Timer Unlock$2.99
4 purchases

Rithmatic

One-time4
  • Comrade!$4.99
  • Major Supporter$9.99
  • Supporting Member$19.99
Show 1 more
  • Underwriter$49.99

Questions

Is Dark Ambient free?
Dark Ambient is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rithmatic free?
Rithmatic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dark Ambient or Rithmatic?
Dark Ambient is rated higher. Dark Ambient averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Rithmatic averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do Dark Ambient or Rithmatic have ads?
Neither Dark Ambient nor Rithmatic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dark Ambient or Rithmatic?
Dark Ambient ships an update every 9 days, and Rithmatic every 2 days. Most recently, Dark Ambient was updated on October 25, 2026 and Rithmatic on October 29, 2026.

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