Comparison

ThunderBeast vs Disto Disco

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

Head to head
About

ThunderBeast

Read 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.

About

Disto Disco

This app transforms sound with a wide range of distortion and sound-shaping effects. Explore unique sonic territories, from gentle warmth to brutal textures, with beat-synced modulation and randomizers for creative sonic exploration.

Highlights
  • 28 sound-shaping modes
  • Beat-synced modulation
  • Random and Spice controls
  • AUv3 and standalone operation
  • Granular and spectral effects
  • Drive, Math, Time, and Spectral territories
Read full description

WHAT IT IS Disto Disco turns distortion into movement. It starts with gentle drive and classic distortion, then ventures into stranger territory: degrading echoes, vocoders, morphing vowels, spectral effects, ring modulation, granular clouds, and more. Every dial can move with the beat, while Random and Spice can send the whole patch somewhere new. Shape something smooth, tuned, and shimmering; push it toward harsh, brutal, and broken; or take it somewhere weird and otherworldly. WHAT IT DOES * 28 sound-shaping modes: explore five distinct sonic territories, each with its own controls and character. * Drive: move from gentle warmth through folding, fuzz, bit crushing, and high gain. * Spectral: filter, morph, vocode, swap, or silence different parts of the sound. * Math: combine versions of the input with simple mathematical operations for raw, harsh, and unusual textures. * Time: turn recent sound into echoes, loops, and resonances, then bend, shift, or scrub it into motion. * Granular: cut sound into tiny pieces and scatter, repeat, or layer them into sparse grains and dense clouds. * A modulator on every dial: draw a 16-step pattern, choose a shape, or generate one, all synced to the beat. * Random and Spice: generate a new direction for the whole patch, from subtle changes to complete chaos. Keep what works and refine the rest by hand. * Tone and dynamics: shape the effected signal with Low Cut, Tube, and High Cut, then use the envelope follower to make distortion react to the input. * AUv3 and standalone: use Disto Disco as an effect inside your favorite host, or process live input directly in the app. REQUIREMENTS * An AUv3 host such as AUM, Cubasis, Drambo, GarageBand, Loopy Pro, or Logic Pro.

Screenshots

ThunderBeast4 screens
Disto Disco4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ThunderBeast at Free against Disto Disco's $5.99. Disto Disco's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

ThunderBeast is free to download; Disto Disco costs $5.99 up front. ThunderBeast sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Disto Disco asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ThunderBeast ships an update every 2 weeks, Disto Disco every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ThunderBeast versus Disto Disco: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThunderBeastDisto Disco
PriceFree — better$5.99
Rating—5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB68 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTomocreate, Inc.Snorkel Audio, Inh. Michael Kaisser

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ThunderBeast

One-time1
  • ThunderBeast Pro$9.99
None

Disto Disco

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ThunderBeast free?
ThunderBeast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Disto Disco free?
Disto Disco costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ThunderBeast or Disto Disco have ads?
Neither ThunderBeast nor Disto Disco shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ThunderBeast or Disto Disco?
ThunderBeast ships an update every 2 weeks, and Disto Disco every 2 days. Most recently, ThunderBeast was updated on October 13, 2026 and Disto Disco on October 6, 2026.

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