Comparison

Rithmatic vs MeloDraw

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

Head to head
About

Rithmatic

Explore a vast library of classic synthesizer sounds and learn the intricacies of FM synthesis. Create, blend, and play unique sounds using on-screen keys or a MIDI controller. This app functions as a standalone instrument and an AUv3 plugin for music production software.

Highlights
  • 36,118 classic DX7 voices included
  • AUv3 plugin for DAWs
  • Interactive FM synthesis learning tool
  • Patch blending and creation
  • On-screen and MIDI keyboard support
  • Arpeggiator and recording capabilities
  • Multiple tuning systems
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.

About

MeloDraw

Features
Read full description

Draw a melody or a beat and hear something genuinely new every time - not a pre-made pack, a fresh procedural generation each draw. Shape what you draw: adjust tempo and pitch afterward, extend a piece you like, keep every past draw in your history and swipe back through it. Layer a melody with a beat into a Combo, then arrange several drawn pieces into a full song. REAL INSTRUMENTS, ANY SOUND - All 128 General MIDI instruments, played with real sampled sound. - Build your own custom sound three ways: a slider editor, humming into the mic, or a photo's colours. RECORD YOUR OWN VOICE - Play a saved song while recording vocals over it - MeloDraw mixes them together automatically. - Multiple people's takes can sit on the same song, each tagged with who sang it. YOUR MUSIC, ON YOUR DEVICE - No account, no server, no internet connection at all - MeloDraw has no networking code. - Back up your whole library to a file and restore it on a new device whenever you like. - Turn on App Lock to keep your saved music behind Face ID or Touch ID. Free to use, with no in-app purchases.

Screenshots

Rithmatic4 screens
MeloDraw4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MeloDraw at none against Rithmatic's 4. MeloDraw also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 3 days). Rithmatic's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Rithmatic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. MeloDraw asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rithmatic ships an update every 3 days, MeloDraw daily. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Rithmatic versus MeloDraw: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRithmaticMeloDraw
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLCKangsoo Lee

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Rithmatic

One-time4
  • Small Tip$4.99
  • Medium Tip$9.99
  • Large Tip$19.99
Show 1 more
  • Extra Large Tip$49.99
None

MeloDraw

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rithmatic free?
Rithmatic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MeloDraw free?
MeloDraw is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Rithmatic or MeloDraw have ads?
Neither Rithmatic nor MeloDraw shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rithmatic or MeloDraw?
Rithmatic ships an update every 3 days, and MeloDraw daily. Most recently, Rithmatic was updated on November 13, 2026 and MeloDraw on November 13, 2026.

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