Comparison

VisualSound vs SL Echo

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

Head to head
About

VisualSound

This app is a modular instrument that synthesizes sound and visuals using a unified patching system. Explore over 140 modules for audio, control, and graphics, and even generate custom effects with AI. It's designed for performance and integrates with your existing studio setup.

Highlights
  • Unified sound and visual patching
  • Over 140 modules (sound, control, visuals, code)
  • AI-powered module creation
  • GPU-native visuals
  • Performance-oriented features
  • AUv3 integration and hosting
  • Cross-device functionality (iPad, Mac, iPhone)
Read full description

---- Launch offer — introductory pricing for a limited time. The price goes up after launch week: now is the moment to patch in --- VisualSound is a modular instrument where sound and image are made of the same material. One canvas, one cable language: patch an oscillator into a filter, then patch the same signal into light, liquid and geometry. Nothing is a visualizer bolted on top — the picture IS the patch. ONE CANVAS, FIVE REALMS More than 140 modules across sound, control, visuals, geometry and code. Drag a cable and anything can play anything: an envelope strikes a fluid simulation, a sequencer bends a shader, a camera feed becomes an oscillator. INSTRUMENTS WITH OPINIONS • VYPER — a snarling acid bassline machine with slides, accents and pattern morphing. • KINETIC — a step-sequenced drum machine built on lovingly recorded classic analog kits. • KEYS — a playable polyphonic keyboard panel; on Mac, your QWERTY becomes the keybed. • SEQ, LFO, ENV, granular engines, a looper, a tape-stop, reels you can scrub like vinyl. LIGHT AS SIGNAL GPU-native visuals: shaders, feedback, bloom, fluid dynamics, sculpted 3D geometry. Point the camera at the world and use it as a texture. OCULUS tracks your hands and face so you can play parameters by moving. WRITE YOUR OWN MODULES — OR JUST ASK GRAIN is VisualSound's per-sample DSP language: code your own audio and visual processors right on the canvas. Tap the wand, describe the effect in plain English — "a dark tape echo that wobbles" — and an AI running entirely ON YOUR DEVICE writes the code, compiles it, and tells you honestly when something isn't possible. No cloud, no account. It works in airplane mode. (The AI brain is a free one-time download.) BUILT TO PERFORM Eight scenes with beat-synced morphing, motion loops, MIDI learn on everything, a timeline that can bend the tempo itself. Record your performance — audio and video — straight out of the app. PLAYS WELL WITH YOUR STUDIO Runs as an AUv3 instrument inside your DAW, and HOSTS your AUv3 synths and effects inside the canvas. MIDI in and out. Background audio. Files in, stems out. YOUR IPHONE IS THE REMOTE Install VisualSound on iPhone and it becomes VS Remote: a wireless control surface for the instrument running on your iPad or Mac, over your local network. No setup, no cloud. ONE PURCHASE, EVERY SCREEN Buy once and VisualSound is yours on iPad, Mac and iPhone. Same patches, same engine — the Mac gets QWERTY keys and plugin hosting depth, the iPad gets ten fingers on glass. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no analytics, no ads. Your patches, recordings and prompts never leave your device. Privacy policy: https://visualsound.app/privacy/ Open the app and you land on Welcome — a living patch, already playing, wired for you to pull apart. That's the whole philosophy: understanding by unscrewing. Sound and light, patched together.

About

SL Echo

This audio effect app provides animated delay and space for musical decisions on iPad. Easily adjust time, feedback, and tone for various repeat styles, while maintaining a clear dry signal with stereo width and ducking. It supports AUv3 integration with popular music hosts.

Highlights
  • Animated delay and space effects
  • Adjustable time and feedback
  • Tone shaping controls
  • Stereo width and ducking
  • AUv3 support
  • Standalone preview mode
  • Factory and user presets
Features
Read full description

SL Echo is a focused AUv3 delay effect designed for fast musical decisions on iPad. Move from a close vocal pocket to wide, evolving repeats without navigating complex pages. • Time and feedback for slapback or long trails • Tone shaping for darker or brighter repeats • Stereo width and ducking for a clear dry signal • Factory presets and local user presets • AUv3 support for compatible iPad music hosts Works as a standalone preview app and as an AUv3 effect in GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, BeatMaker 3 and other compatible hosts.

Screenshots

VisualSound2 screens
SL Echo3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SL Echo at $6.99 against VisualSound's $19.99. SL Echo also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). VisualSound's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). On rating, ratings volume, 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

VisualSound costs $19.99 and SL Echo $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for VisualSound against 5.0 for SL Echo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VisualSound ships an update every 2 days, SL Echo every 5 days. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
VisualSound versus SL Echo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVisualSoundSL Echo
Price$19.99$6.99 — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike GazzarusoVIACHESLAV ZHILTSOV

Customer experience

VisualSound

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SL Echo

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

VisualSound

No in-app purchases

None

SL Echo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VisualSound free?
VisualSound costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SL Echo free?
SL Echo costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, VisualSound or SL Echo?
VisualSound and SL Echo are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do VisualSound or SL Echo have ads?
Neither VisualSound nor SL Echo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VisualSound or SL Echo?
VisualSound ships an update every 2 days, and SL Echo every 5 days. Most recently, VisualSound was updated on September 30, 2026 and SL Echo on September 30, 2026.

Other comparisons