Comparison

Windy vs AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer

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

Head to head
About

Windy

This app transforms your device into a playable musical instrument. Learn to play songs interactively by blowing into your device's microphone and using its tilt controls for different notes and octaves. Enjoy playing along with guided songs or improvising freely.

Highlights
  • Play like a real instrument
  • Interactive song playback
  • Tilt controls for notes
  • Octave control
  • Guided songs
  • Device microphone input
Read full description

Windy is a fully functioning musical instrument. Play Happy Birthday and other songs in a fully interactive way on your iPhone and iPad—no musical experience or talent necessary! To play, simply hold down the keys on the screen and blow lightly into the microphone at the same time. - Tilt your device to the left to play flat notes - Tilt your device to the right to play sharp notes - Tilt your device up and down to play across three successive octaves Play through the list of guided songs, or whatever you want! Make sure to unmute your iPhone or iPad and turn up the volume. Play over your device's speakers, wireless headphones, regular headphones, or REALLY LOUD over wireless Bluetooth-enabled speakers! Enjoy!

About

AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer

This is a free, open-source professional synthesizer app for iOS devices. It offers over 300 presets, MIDI support, a sequencer, and vintage-inspired filters. Learn music production basics and create your own sounds.

Highlights
  • Over 300+ Presets
  • MIDI Support
  • Vintage-Style Sequencer
  • Analog Filters
  • Expressive Arpeggiators
  • Open-Source
Features
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“A big step forward for mobile music” - CDM (Create Digital Music) "Groundbreaking iOS synth app" - Cult of Mac "Must-download for every iPad owner" - MacBreak *** "2018 App of the Year, Runner up" – Stuff.tv *** *** “Best iOS Music Apps of 2018” – Cult of Mac *** *** “Best of 2018: iOS Apps for Musicians” – Ask.Audio *** "AudioKit Synth One is a free feature-packed synth for your iPad, including 300+ presets created by professional sound designers behind M83, Tycho, and Rihanna" - Engadget *** “Best Music Apps of 2018” – Music Radar *** LEARN OUR INCREDIBLE STORY: Audiokitpro.com/synth *** Optimized for newer iPads & iPhones for best performance. Note: Requires iPhone 6 or higher screen size. App will not work on older iPhone 5/SE/Touch devices "A Stunning Endeavor... Sounds Amazing!" - Francis Preve, Electronic Musician Magazine “Amazing & Brilliant… Sounds fantastic!” – The Sound Test Room "A great example of human endeavor" - Gaz Williams, Sonic State "Sounds amazing... the start of something huge." - Ask.Audio AudioKit Synth One is the first completely free & open-source professional iOS Synthesizer app in history. No Ads. No IAP. It will always be free. "Powerful... Awesome" - Synthtopia.com "An amazing synth app for your iPad that’s as close to sorcery as it gets" - GarageBand Guide "Must Have iOS Synthesizer" - Synth Anatomy "Synth One is a robust piece of free software" - The Verge "It WOWS you... immediately fun to start tweaking!" - discchord "A damn fine synth" - Computer Music Magazine "Open-source and seriously powerful" - Future Music Magazine "A labour of love that everyone can enjoy" - Music Radar "Extremely exciting passion project" - Music Tech Magazine "Make your own imposing synthesizer sounds and teach yourself the basics of music production" - Lifehacker Learn more: audiokitpro.com/synth Created by over 100+ volunteers around the world (including sound designers for M83, Rihanna, Kanye West, Neon Trees, Mike Posner, Tycho, and more), this app includes MIDI support (play it with a MIDI keyboard or controller), sequencer, vintage-inspired analog filters, expressive arpeggiators, warm analog delays, and, over 300+ presets to get you started! Email us your music & bugs: hello@audiokitpro.com SYNTH ONE FEATURES: This synthesizer is completely free, fully functional, and ad-free. There are no IAP or anything to buy -- It’s the ultimate free iPad music instrument app! • Hybrid Analog/FM Poly Synthesizer • Over 300+ Presets crafted by famous sound designers • Audiobus 3 & Inter-app Audio (IAA) • Ableton Link • Five Oscillators (2 DCO, FM, Sub, Noise) • 2 LFOs with over a dozen routing possibilities • Vintage-Style 16-Step Sequencer • Classic poly arpeggiator • MIDI in (Control with a MIDI Keyboard or AudioBus/IAA) • Touchable ADSR Envelopes for Amp & Filter • FM Oscillator w/ Mod • Mono glide and legato • Dedicated Sine/Square -12/24 Sub Osc • 4-Pole Vintage Low-Pass Filter • High-Pass/Band Pass Filters • Beautiful Costello Reverb • Multi-tap (ping-pong) delay • TouchPads • Preset & Bank Import/Export & More… BONUS: Full Source code is now available! AudiokitPro.com/Synth Plus, it’s completely open-source. Use the code to learn how to build your own synth app or modify the app yourself! OFFICIAL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/hwDNgCYowYs "Amazing noises that will make your ears squee with glee" - Stuff Magazine "Pick of the Week" - MacBreak On the roadmap: • MPE Support (Play w/ a Roli Seaboard) • AUv3 Plug-in support

Screenshots

Windy4 screens
AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer at 95% against Windy's 52%. AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Windy's advantage is iOS requirement (11.3 vs 13.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Windy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer has 27K ratings behind it against 40, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Windy's written reviews are positive against 95% of AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Windy versus AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWindyAudioKit Synth One Synthesizer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (40 ratings)4.9 (27K ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.9% of reviews94.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4027K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.3 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKindred, Inc.AudioKit Pro

Customer experience

Windy

All ratings38 ratings
Positive68.4%
Neutral10.5%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive51.9%
Neutral7.7%
Negative40.4%

AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer

All ratings26,818 ratings
Positive98.5%
Neutral1.0%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews677 reviews
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.7%
Negative2.8%

User reviews

Windy

From 40 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and make music
  • 💡 Clever and innovative concept
  • ✨ Attractive interface
  • 🤩 Fun and entertaining
  • 🚀 Seamless design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes after update
  • 🐛 Stops working after first minute
  • 🐛 Keeps closing when tilting phone
  • 🐛 No sound output
  • 🐛 Sound not working

AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer

From 27K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 😎 Easy to use
  • 🔥 Clean patches
  • 👍 Awesome synth
  • 🎸 Works great with GarageBand
  • 🤩 Absolutely stunning

Room to improve

  • 🤔 No AU support yet
  • 🤔 Crashes with Audiobus 3
  • 🤔 Poor palette of sounds
  • 🤔 Mod wheel issues
  • 🤔 Occasional crashes

Bugs and requests

Windy

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes after update
  • App stops working after first minute
  • App closes when phone is tilted
  • No sound output from the app
  • Sound not working at all
Show 5 more
  • App does not work as intended
  • Notes do not prolong
  • Notes play randomly or not at all
  • Poor recognition of microphone input
  • App not set up for iPad, defaults to iPhone position

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add more instruments (harmonica, clarinet, oboe, french horn)
  • Allow resizing and moving buttons on screen
  • Add dynamic range (volume) for each note
  • Add reverb
  • Prevent sound dropout when changing fingers
Show 5 more
  • Add chromatids
  • Compress buttons on iPad display
  • Make sounds better
  • Make app less complicated
  • Add ability to play eighth notes on one note

AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Keyboard issues on iPhone
  • Crashes with Audiobus 3
  • Mod wheel issues

Requested features

12 requests
  • Add AU support
  • Add just intonation feature
  • Add dotted-8th-note delay option
  • Add more sound packs
  • Add drum machine/sequencing capabilities
Show 7 more
  • Add more complex waveforms
  • Add multi-filter support
  • Add more than 2 oscillators
  • Add ability to record MIDI tracks
  • Add support for Bluetooth MIDI controllers
  • Add dark mode option
  • Add advanced analytics dashboard

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Windy

One-time1
  • Windy Plus$1.99
None

AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Windy free?
Windy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer free?
AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Windy or AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer?
AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer is rated higher. Windy averages 4.0 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer averages 4.9 from 27K ratings.
Do Windy or AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer have ads?
Neither Windy nor AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Windy or AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer?
Windy ships an update monthly, and AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer monthly. Most recently, Windy was updated on November 1, 2026 and AudioKit Synth One Synthesizer on November 7, 2026.

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