iStem vs ThunderBeast
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
iStem
Read full descriptionHide full description
iStem lets you split songs into drums, bass, vocals, and other instruments, remix them, and practice with tempo/pitch/metronome controls. Features: - Split in instrument/vocal tracks - Detect beats - Count-in function - Speed up or slow down songs - Change pitch - Set up loops for detailed practice - No login or user data required - All computation is done on the device - Export to file
ThunderBeast
Read full descriptionHide full description
Rain, wind and thunder, all synthesized in real time. No samples, no loops. Every storm ThunderBeast makes is a storm happening for the first time. EIGHT CITIES, EIGHT SKIES A New York night storm. London drizzle. A Miami squall. Seattle mist. The Bangkok monsoon. A Reykjavik gale. An evening shower in Kyoto. A Cape Town storm front. Choose a preset and the scenery, the weather and the colour of the panel change together, so the city you are listening to is the city in front of you. TEN WEATHER CONTROLS Precipitation and drop size shape the rain; wind speed, gust and turbulence move the air. Storm rate decides how often lightning happens and storm energy decides how heavy each strike lands, while cell distance walks the storm from directly overhead out to the horizon. Humidity and pressure change the whole feel of the sky, and width and gain finish it. FOUR KINDS OF LIGHTNING A crack at close range, thunder that rolls, strikes that repeat, a sheet of light across the whole sky - each one carrying the swell that comes back off the landscape. The bolt is drawn on screen as it happens and changes colour as the storm moves away. No two strikes are ever the same. PLAYABLE WEATHER Play from C2 up and the rain rings at that pitch. Chords and melodies come out of the falling rain. Play below C2 and lightning strikes instead: pitch sets the distance, velocity sets the weight. Twelve hardware controller presets are built in; the mod wheel is storm energy and the sustain pedal is lightning. STANDALONE AND AUv3 Use it on its own, or as an AUv3 plug-in in GarageBand, Logic Pro and others. START FREE Three cities are free from the first launch. ThunderBeast Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: it opens the remaining cities (eight in all) and adds recording and export to WAV, AIFF and FLAC.
Screenshots
Verdict
iStem and ThunderBeast are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. iStem sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ThunderBeast sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | iStem | ThunderBeast |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod โ better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jan Maes | Tomocreate, Inc. |
In-app purchases
iStem
- iStem Activation$4.99
ThunderBeast
- ThunderBeast Pro$9.99









