Pixelsynth vs BeepBento
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixelsynth
This app transforms musical input into a vibrant visual experience, allowing users to see and shape their sound in real-time. It offers a playful and immediate way to create music, with all controls and feedback displayed on a single screen. Designed by a Deaf musician, it prioritizes visual feedback as an integral part of the instrument.
- Real-time visual sound shaping
- Interactive 16-pad grid
- Adjustable waveforms, filters, and envelopes
- LFO, delay, and reverb effects
- AUv3 instrument compatibility
- Offline functionality
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Make a sound in seconds—and shape it while it plays. Pixelsynth turns taps, drags, melodies, and chords into a colorful instrument you can understand by watching it. Everything you play lives on one screen. Touch a note and start exploring. FROM THE DEVELOPER OF PIXELBOOP Pixelsynth is a new visual instrument from the maker of Pixelboop. Both apps share a love of playful grids, immediate feedback, and musical ideas that begin with one touch. PLAY FIRST. LEARN BY WATCHING. Sixteen pads invite you to find a melody, hold a chord, or strum across the screen. Notes light up as you play, and every sound control moves in front of you. You can see what each gesture is doing while you hear the result. SHAPE THE SOUND LIVE • Switch waveforms to change the character of your sound. • Sweep the filter from bright and open to soft and focused. • Shape attack, decay, sustain, and release for crisp plucks, swelling notes, and long tails. • Add motion with LFO, repeating echoes with delay, and depth with reverb. Each control is a colorful tank. Touch higher or lower inside it to set the value directly. Values in the upper half stay where you leave them; notes in the lower half drain away after you lift. It feels immediate because the picture and the sound follow the same gesture. MADE TO BE SEEN Created by a Deaf musician, Pixelsynth treats visual feedback as part of the instrument. The entire musical surface is drawn on a 40 by 24 pixel grid—just 960 pixels—so every control stays visible and every change has a visual response. PLAY IT YOUR WAY Open Pixelsynth as a standalone instrument on iPhone or iPad, or load the included AUv3 instrument in a compatible iOS music host. Your host can send MIDI notes and save the instrument state with your project. A compatible host is available separately. FREE TO EXPLORE No account. No in-app purchases. No third-party ads. The instrument works offline. The standalone app may occasionally show developer news or an introduction to Pixelboop, which you can close immediately. Pixelsynth does not track you or collect the music you play. Open it. Touch a note. See where it takes you.
BeepBento
Create music with a collection of sound effects, a beat maker, and six AUv3 plugins. Explore diverse sounds, sketch rhythms, and add texture to your projects. Features include a sequencer, real-time audio shaping, and various synthesizers and effects.
- 100 diverse sound effects
- 16-step beat sequencer
- Real-time audio shaping
- Six AUv3 plugins (FX, Synth, Drum Machine, etc.)
- Import and export audio
- Light, dark, and system themes
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Turn every beep, pop, and click into the start of something musical. BeepBento is a pocket-sized box of sound. It brings together 100 sound effects, a hands-on beat workshop, a flexible audio studio, and six AUv3 plug-ins—so you can find a sound, sketch a rhythm, or add texture and movement to a host project without slowing down. 100 SOUNDS • Explore arcade, sci-fi, toy, nature, foley, and interface sounds • Search, browse by category, save favorites, or let Random surprise you • Play 80 characterful synthesized sounds and 20 public-domain recordings BEAT WORKSHOP & STUDIO • Tap out ideas on a 4-track, 16-step sequencer • Choose or randomize track sounds, then adjust tempo and swing • Import audio and shape color, space, echo, texture, pitch, and speed in real time • Tap the magic wand for musical settings, then export as WAV • Save exports to the shared audio library for the app and Sampler AUv3 SIX AUv3 PLUG-INS • FX: three drive modes, noise, jitter, bit crushing, ducked delay, and 16-step sequencing • Motion FX: host-synced motion, envelope/MIDI response, auto-pan, chorus, and dynamic delay • Synth: 12 voices, anti-aliased saw/square, PWM, resonant filter, filter LFO, key tracking, and glide • Drum Machine: 8 synthesized parts, per-part mixing, room, humanize, and a 4-lane sequencer • Sampler: play 100 sounds or shared samples with regions, reverse playback, and looping • MIDI Lab: transpose, scales, chords, velocity humanize, probability, random octaves, and routing Made for playful creation with light, dark, and system themes, 10 languages, haptics, and responsive iPhone and iPad layouts. No account and no ads; imported audio is processed on your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pixelsynth at Free against BeepBento's $3.99. Pixelsynth also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5). BeepBento's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 9 days). On ratings volume, 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
Pixelsynth is free to download; BeepBento costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Pixelsynth holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.
Pixelsynth ships an update every 9 days, BeepBento daily. Both last shipped on October 11, 2026.
| Parameter | Pixelsynth | BeepBento |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 4.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | de Bastion, Inc | 宁 徐 |
Customer experience
Pixelsynth
BeepBento
In-app purchases
Pixelsynth
No in-app purchases
BeepBento
No in-app purchases









