Comparison

MIDIPlex vs Dawcade

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

Head to head
About

MIDIPlex

Features
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MotionMIDI transforms your iPhone into a powerful motion-based MIDI controller. Use the built-in motion sensors to control MIDI notes and continuous controller (CC) data through expressive gestures. Connect wirelessly via Bluetooth MIDI or use compatible CoreMIDI connections to perform with your favorite music apps and hardware. Features: • Motion-controlled MIDI performance • Bluetooth MIDI support • MIDI Note Mode • MIDI CC Mode • Real-time gesture control • Adjustable sensitivity and calibration • Presets optimized for popular music apps • Low-latency performance • Clean, performance-focused interface Whether you're creating expressive synthesizer performances, controlling effects, or experimenting with new ways to interact with music, MotionMIDI offers a simple and intuitive way to make movement part of your performance. Compatible with CoreMIDI-enabled apps and hardware that support MIDI input.

About

Dawcade

Create music anywhere with this pocket-sized studio. Record, sequence, mix, and arrange tracks using a vast array of instruments and effects. Offers flexible arrangement tools and multiple play surfaces, all running offline on your device.

Highlights
  • Pocket music studio
  • Record, sequence, mix, arrange
  • Session and arrangement views
  • 50+ instruments and effects
  • Multiple play surfaces
  • Per-channel mixing and automation
  • MIDI controller support
Features
Read full description

Dawcade is a complete music studio that fits in your pocket. Record, sequence, mix and arrange anywhere — everything runs on your device alone. No account, no subscription, no cloud, nothing to unlock. Buy it once and everything is there. TWO WAYS TO BUILD A TRACK Session view lets you launch clips and scenes freely while you find the arrangement by playing it. Arrangement view puts the same material on a timeline when you are ready to commit. Clips move between the two, so nothing has to be decided up front. INSTRUMENTS More than fifty instruments and effects ship with the app. Wavetable, virtual analog, FM, phase distortion, vector, spectral, supersaw, granular, physical modelling and chip synthesis all have purpose-built editors rather than a generic parameter list. Sampled acoustic instruments cover piano, electric piano, organ, guitar, bass, strings, brass and woodwinds. DRUMS AND SAMPLING A library of factory drum kits, each with per-pad tuning, envelope, filter, pan and send controls. The sampler loads your own audio, and the drum surface can be played as pads or programmed as a step sequencer. PLAY SURFACES Sixteen selectable play surfaces sit under the mixer instead of a single fixed keyboard. Alongside the piano keyboard there is a chord pad grid, a Tonnetz lattice, a circle of fifths, a strum surface, a fretboard, a bowed-string surface, an XY pad, and generative surfaces that keep playing while you shape them. Every surface follows the project key and scale, so wrong notes are opt-in. MIXING AND AUTOMATION Per-channel volume, pan, mute, solo and record arm, with return channels and sends. Twenty-four audio effects including compressor, multiband compressor, limiter, transient shaper, parametric EQ, reverb, plate reverb, delay, filter delay, grain delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, distortion, amp cabinet, bitcrusher, vocoder, resonator, frequency shifter, auto filter, beat repeat, gate, spectral and step effects. Any parameter can be automated on the timeline. MIDI AND GENERATORS Class-compliant USB and Bluetooth MIDI controllers are supported for input, and Dawcade sends MIDI back to control surfaces that have pad or key lighting. Insert an arpeggiator with classic, Markov and Euclidean generators, or a scale-quantiser, ahead of any instrument. RECORDING Record audio through the microphone or an audio interface, straight into a channel. Count-in, pre-roll and post-roll are configurable, and takes land as clips you can move, trim and reuse. PRIVACY Dawcade does not ask for an account and does not collect personal data. Crash and error reports are the only thing that leaves the device, they are not linked to your identity, and they are processed in the European Union. Your projects, recordings and samples stay on your device. Requires iOS 17 or later. Includes a demo project and a guided tour on first launch.

Screenshots

MIDIPlex3 screens
Dawcade4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MIDIPlex at $4.99 against Dawcade's $5.99. On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

MIDIPlex costs $4.99 and Dawcade $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIDIPlex ships an update every 10 days, Dawcade every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
MIDIPlex versus Dawcade: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDIPlexDawcade
Price$4.99 — better$5.99
Rating—3.8 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—9 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB310 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBRADLEY WAYNE MYERSNihatcan Dogu

In-app purchases

None

MIDIPlex

No in-app purchases

None

Dawcade

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MIDIPlex free?
MIDIPlex costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dawcade free?
Dawcade costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do MIDIPlex or Dawcade have ads?
Neither MIDIPlex nor Dawcade shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIDIPlex or Dawcade?
MIDIPlex ships an update every 10 days, and Dawcade every 5 days. Most recently, MIDIPlex was updated on October 6, 2026 and Dawcade on October 7, 2026.

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