CRATE vs Octal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CRATE
Describe a musical vibe, and this app generates a beat with drums, samples, and bass in seconds. You can then easily modify it using simple text commands or intuitive pad gestures, and even sample from your microphone or imported songs.
- Generate beats from text descriptions
- Modify beats with plain language commands
- Intuitive pad-based editing
- Live recording and step sequencing
- Punch-in effects
- Sample from microphone or imported audio
- Auto-chop and re-sequence samples
- Song arrangement and export
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CRATE is a sampler you talk to. Type or say a vibe — "dusty boom bap with rhodes", "NewJeans type beat", "dark plugg with bells" — and in a second the pads fill with drums, a chopped sample and a bass line, already playing. Then shape it the way producers do on an MPC or an SP-404, just faster. MAKE A BEAT IN SECONDS • Describe a beat and CRATE builds it from its sound library: drums, chops and bass in key. • Ask for changes in plain words — "add a sax line", "more hats", "punchier snare", "clear the bank". Only that part changes. • Drag a pad down and say what you want there. Swipe a pad left or right for another sound, up to remove it. PLAY IT LIKE A SAMPLER • 16 pads in four banks, a step sequencer and live recording that lands on the beat. • KEEP JAM saves what you just played over the loop. • Punch-in effects: hold FX and an effect pad, higher = more. • Sample from the mic straight onto a pad, or import a song and chop it into 16 pads. CHOP AND FLIP • Auto-chops land on real attacks, on the grid. • FLIP re-sequences the chops into something new while the drums keep playing. • Per-pad level, filter, attack, release, reverse, key shift and time stretch. FINISH THE SONG • Arrange intro, verse, hook and outro from your patterns, or let ARRANGE do it in one tap. • Change tempo, swing and key; export the song as audio to share. MADE FOR IPHONE DUO • On iPhone Duo the hinge is an effect: fold to build tension, snap open for the drop. The outer screen keeps the beat in view when it's folded. • Works great on iPhone and iPad too.
Octal
This app transforms your phone into a musical instrument with eight intuitive buttons that always create harmonious chords or notes. Easily record loops, layer beats, and arrange them into full songs. Explore a variety of sounds and share your creations.
- Eight-button chord/note interface
- Loop recording and editing
- Song arrangement
- Diverse sound library
- Undo/history functionality
- Audio file sharing
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Octal turns your phone into an instrument. The eight buttons play chords or notes that always go together, so whatever you press sounds like music. The bead under your other thumb changes their mood or behavior as you play. MAKE A LOOP Press record and play a few bars. Open the wheel, pick drums or a bass, and play over the top. Swipe over to the Loop Deck to see your loop and change it bar by bar. TURN LOOPS INTO A SONG Pinch the Loop Deck and chain your loops into a song. SOUNDS Synths, keys, drum kits, textures and acoustic instruments, a tap away on the wheel. NEVER LOSE AN EDIT Every edit is kept. The history tool lets you wind back to any of them. SHARE IT Send the mix as an audio file, or send the loop or song itself to a friend who has Octal. Making music in Octal is free, with four saved loops and one song. THE FULL VERSION One purchase, no subscription. MIDI and stems to finish your song in a DAW, MIDI out to play other synths, the bead lab to make and keep sounds of your own, and as many loops and songs as you like. PRIVACY Octal collects no data. The microphone is only on while you record a sound or play a Vocoder.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CRATE at none against Octal's 1. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Octal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CRATE asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for CRATE against 5.0 for Octal. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly daily. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | CRATE | Octal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Daily | Daily |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 112 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 书晗 张 | RYAN JAMES,GALANG ELLIS |
In-app purchases
CRATE
No in-app purchases
Octal
- Octal, the full version$9.99









