Comparison

midi vs Tonkro

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

Head to head
About

midi

Features
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midi-sink models a tray of water with ink floating on it. Every gesture is an exact, area-preserving transformation of the whole sheet β€” Aubrey Jaffer's mathematical marbling β€” so the rings stay crisp after a thousand strokes. Two modes. MARBLE MODE is the tray under your hands: tap for a drop, drag to comb, twist two fingers for a vortex, pinch to fold, draw with the Pencil and a wake follows the tip. Plug in a MIDI instrument and it plays into the same water: an MPE controller's strike, pressure, glide and slide become drop, feed, comb and hue; a wind controller draws a single calligraphic line; any keyboard plays drops on the circle of fifths. PLAY MODE turns the iPad into an MPE instrument. A pitch lattice β€” chromatic grid, JankΓ³ or piano grid β€” sits under your fingers; every touch is a joystick (sideways bends in semitones, push to feed ink, pull back to stir). The Apple Pencil plays legato across the keys with real force as velocity, its barrel roll deepens vibrato and the Pencil Pro's squeeze is the sustain pedal. A floating strip carries pitch, mod, two assignable wheels and sustain on the MPE master channel. The stream goes out over a virtual CoreMIDI source (also to a USB-tethered Mac), the MIDI network session and Bluetooth LE MIDI, so any DAW or synth records a standard MPE performance while the water paints it. Made for MPE controllers β€” ROLI Piano and Seaboard, Expressive E Osmose β€” the ROLI Airwave's gesture CCs, wind controllers (Roland Aerophone, Odisei Travel Sax) and classic keyboards. midi-sink makes no sound of its own: it is a visualizer and a controller. Free software (AGPL-3.0). Collects nothing.

About

Tonkro

Features
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MAKE MUSIC BY TOUCHING THE MACHINE Tonkro is a playful music workstation for iPad: part synthesizer, sampler, drum machine, sequencer, recorder, editor, mixer, and DJ performance space. SHAPE ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTS Explore distinctive synth and drum engines through four expressive controls. Each workshop is built to feel immediate: touch the illustrated machinery, hear the result, and let the characters react to your performance. SAMPLE THE WORLD Record through the microphone or import audio. Play one sound chromatically, divide it into untransposed slices, or map multiple samples across keys and pads. Trim, crop, loop, reverse, fade, change speed, transpose, and preserve the original recording with non-destructive editing. FIND RHYTHMS YOUR WAY Seven sequencer personalities turn taps, held notes, patterns, gestures, and playful systems into musical motion. Tempo, transport, MIDI, and recording stay connected, so a sketch can become an arrangement without breaking the flow. RECORD AND ARRANGE Build with eight stereo tracks. Record audio or notes, edit clips and piano-roll performances, overdub, punch, loop, lift, drop, mix, export stems, and save portable project bundles. PERFORM WITH MONSTER DECKS Load two tracks, set beat grids, sync, use key lock, cue points, hot cues, quantized loops, EQ, filters, pitch bend, and the crossfader. Record the performance or print it directly into the tape arrangement. MADE FOR PLAY Tonkro keeps its creative tools visible, touchable, and full of character. It works without an account, advertising, or third-party analytics. Your projects, recordings, and imported samples remain on your iPad unless you choose to export or share them.

Screenshots

midi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tonkro at every 3 weeks against midi's every 5 weeks. midi's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

midi ships an update every 5 weeks, Tonkro every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
midi versus Tonkro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermidiTonkro
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad β€” betteriPad
Requires iOS16.0 β€” better18.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size8 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVibetunedBipasha Nayak

In-app purchases

None

midi

No in-app purchases

None

Tonkro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is midi free?
midi is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tonkro free?
Tonkro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do midi or Tonkro have ads?
Neither midi nor Tonkro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, midi or Tonkro?
midi ships an update every 5 weeks, and Tonkro every 3 weeks. Most recently, midi was updated on October 31, 2026 and Tonkro on October 31, 2026.

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