Comparison

e vs KAiKU Control

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

Head to head
About

e

Create retro-style music with a sampling keyboard featuring tempo-based looping. Record, manipulate, and play back samples with various effects and flexible playback modes. Integrate with other audio apps and control parameters via MIDI.

Highlights
  • Retro sampling keyboard
  • Tempo-based looping
  • Reverb, bit crusher, resonant filter
  • Multiple loop and start/stop modes
  • MIDI control and Core MIDI support
  • AUv3, Audiobus, Inter App Audio integration
Features
Read full description

Elsa is a retro style sampling keyboard with tempo based looping. Record, save, load, reverse samples with a multi octave on screen keyboard or plug in your core midi device of choice, soft- or hardware. Elsa comes with three built in effects, a reverb, a resonant filter and a sample rate/bit crusher. Samples are looped in three different modes, one off, forward and/or forward-reverse. The start and end of playback also comes in three modes, one set of start and stop for all, one set per note and/or one set per octave, allowing for many different types of samples. Additionally at playback time, sample length can also be controlled by a set of sample dividers, 1-8. Elsa supports connections with AudioCopy, AudioBus, Inter App Audio and AUv3. Plus all audio parameters can be modulated by MIDI. +++ Sample keyboard +++ Tempo based looping +++ ADSR +++ Bit/sample crush +++ Reverb +++ Resonant filter: low, band or high pass +++ Record, trim, normalise, reverse, zoom +++ Chromatic and scale keyboard +++ 3 loop modes (one off, forward, forward-reverse) +++ 3 start/stop modes (one for all, one per note, one per octave) +++ Playback length dividers (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) +++ Arpeggiator +++ Presets: save/load settings +++ Audio connections: AUv3, Audiobus, Inter App Audio +++ Midi: Core Midi, Bluetooth Midi, AUv3 Midi +++ Ableton Link

About

KAiKU Control

Features
Read full description

With Lou-Hi Control you can edit the settings of your Lou-Hi devices (Glove, Mat, Cuff, Sense Board): - Change sensor note mapping. - Change sensor types between note, cc, bend, action and gyroscope control. - Change touch and gyroscope sensitivity calibrations. - Play and create sounds with internal sampler and it's editor. - Save and load user mappings. - Set default initial settings to the device.

Screenshots

e4 screens
KAiKU Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: KAiKU Control at Free against e's $5.99. e's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

KAiKU Control is free to download; e costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

e ships an update every 3 weeks, KAiKU Control every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
e versus KAiKU Control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametereKAiKU Control
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (31 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings31 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperErik SigthCare Us Oy

In-app purchases

None

e

No in-app purchases

None

KAiKU Control

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is e free?
e costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is KAiKU Control free?
KAiKU Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do e or KAiKU Control have ads?
Neither e nor KAiKU Control shows ads.
Which is updated more often, e or KAiKU Control?
e ships an update every 3 weeks, and KAiKU Control every 5 months. Most recently, e was updated on November 1, 2026 and KAiKU Control on October 26, 2026.

Other comparisons