Comparison

Bent Spool vs SWAY

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

Head to head
About

Bent Spool

This music app offers creative audio effects for live performance or use within other music apps. Explore rhythmic tremolo, pitched repeats, and looping fragments of your audio. It includes built-in overdrive and tape effects for unique sound shaping.

Highlights
  • Rhythmic tremolo effects
  • Pitched repeat sequences
  • Overlapping audio loops
  • Built-in overdrive and fuzz
  • Vintage tape effects
  • Standalone and AUv3 host support
Features
Read full description

Bent Spool is a creative effect that can transform simple musical parts into unexpected rhythms and melodies, played live or as an effect in your favorite host app. Shape a tremolo pulse, turn a note into a run of pitched repeats, or build a moving layer from fragments of what you just played. Drive the input with built-in overdrive or fuzz, add a core effect, then finally layer in vintage analog tape effects. THREE MODES TREM: a pulsing volume effect, from a rounded sine through triangle and sawtooth to a hard square gate. Syncs to your host's tempo or runs free. REPEAT: up to 64 pitched copies with their own decay and feedback, across five pitch stations from two octaves down to two octaves up. LOOPS: up to six overlapping fragments of your recent audio, spread across pitch, direction, read position and the stereo field. CHARACTER CHAOS adds movement that suits each mode: octave jumps in REPEAT, held or stalled pulses in TREM, wandering reversals and pitch drift in LOOPS. WEAR adds tape wear, magnetic saturation and digital crush after the active mode. At the input, OD is a softer clip; FUZZ is a harder distortion that sputters as it decays. PRESETS 48 factory presets: 10 TREM, 15 REPEAT, 15 LOOPS and an 8-preset Fuzz Tremolo pack. Unlock to save your own. FREE TO TRY TREM plays in full on the OD voice with ten presets. No time limit, no interruptions. A single $9.99 in-app purchase unlocks REPEAT, LOOPS, FUZZ, the rest of the presets and preset saving. No subscription. Runs as a standalone app or as an AUv3 effect in AUM, Loopy Pro and other AUv3 hosts, on iPhone and iPad.

About

SWAY

Create synthesized rhythms using touch and motion. Build complex patterns with independent track lengths, parameter locks, and live recording. Shape your sound with LFOs, effects, and vinyl textures. Export your creations as WAV or MP3.

Highlights
  • 16 synthesized tracks
  • Independent track lengths
  • Parameter locks and live recording
  • Swipe-to-paint sequencing
  • Independent track effects
  • Device motion control
  • Export WAV/MP3
Features
Read full description

Move the sound. SWAY is a synthesized rhythm instrument for iPhone and iPad. Build patterns, shape sounds, and perform with touch and motion. • 16 synthesized tracks and four patterns. • Independent track lengths from 1 to 16 steps for shifting rhythms. • Per-step parameter locks, live recording, and swipe-to-paint sequencing. • Live pads, track mutes and solo. • Eight momentary punch-in effects: Repeat, Filter, Brake, Echo, Reverse, Crush, Gate and Pitch. Stack effects with multi-touch and release each pad to restore the sound. • Hold TRIG / YES for temporary rhythmic fills, with slide-controlled density. • Three independent LFOs per track with synthesis and effect destinations. • Independent track effects and a shared effects bus: delay, reverb, DJ filter and tape loops. • Vinyl texture with warmth, drift and dust. • MIDI input and output, including Bluetooth MIDI connections to compatible hardware and virtual MIDI routing to other music apps. • Per-track MIDI channels, notes and gate lengths, with per-step Note and Gate locks. Choose internal sound, MIDI output, or both for each track. • Keep performing across apps with background playback when MIDI is enabled. • Bind a display parameter to device motion, then rotate your device to play it. • Export stereo WAV or MP3, or aligned WAV stems for your DAW. • Save and delete projects locally, and import or export editable project files. • A portrait instrument on iPhone and a wide landscape console on iPad. Sound generation and project storage work locally. Bluetooth MIDI requires a compatible device or adapter.

Screenshots

Bent Spool4 screens
SWAY1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bent Spool at Free against SWAY's $3.99. Bent Spool also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and update cadence (daily vs weekly). SWAY's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume, 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

Bent Spool is free to download; SWAY costs $3.99 up front. Bent Spool sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SWAY asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bent Spool holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 5 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bent Spool ships an update daily, SWAY weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 4 level
Bent Spool versus SWAY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBent SpoolSWAY
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better4.2 (5 ratings)
Number of ratings55
Update frequencyDaily — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlastic Factory LLC弢 张

Customer experience

Bent Spool

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SWAY

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Bent Spool

One-time1
  • Bent Spool Unlock$9.99
None

SWAY

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bent Spool free?
Bent Spool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SWAY free?
SWAY costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bent Spool or SWAY?
Bent Spool is rated higher. Bent Spool averages 5.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while SWAY averages 4.2 from 5 ratings.
Do Bent Spool or SWAY have ads?
Neither Bent Spool nor SWAY shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bent Spool or SWAY?
Bent Spool ships an update daily, and SWAY weekly. Most recently, Bent Spool was updated on October 31, 2026 and SWAY on October 31, 2026.

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