Comparison

Wilsonic vs AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

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

Head to head
About

Wilsonic

Explore new musical possibilities beyond the 12-note scale. This app provides access to unique tuning systems and scale designs, allowing you to discover and create never-before-heard music. No prior music theory knowledge is needed to experiment with these innovative tonal worlds.

Highlights
  • Access Ervin Wilson's tuning research
  • Explore 12-note scale alternatives
  • Discover new melodic patterns and harmonies
  • Export scales as Scala files
  • Share favorite scales
  • Audiobus 2.3.x compatible
Features
Read full description

Wilsonic is your portal to new musical universes. Ervin Wilson's 65 years of tuning research and discovery are now at your fingertips. By touching, hearing, and feeling Wilson's designs you can intuitively break free of the limits of the 12 note scale used by historical musical instruments such as the piano and guitar to pioneer new music never-before heard by mankind. No previous knowledge of music theory is required. These tonal worlds are based on an entirely unique mode of thought that has little to do with historical musical thinking. The app features Wilson's most profound scale designs. Your hands and ears naturally find new melodic patterns and harmonies that touch on those feelings and emotions you couldn't find before. When you find that perfect scale export it as a Scala file to tune up your favorite software synthesizers. Share your favorite scales with your friends. This version of Wilsonic has the scales "Moments Of Symmetry", Co-Prime Grid, Tetrany Major, Hexany, Tetrany Minor, Mandala (Hexany Stellate), Tetradic Diamond, Hexany Diamond, Aggregate Rotations of Euler Genus 4, Eikosany, Partch 43, Harmonic Spiral, Highland Bagpipes, and Recurrence Relations. Wilsonic is Audiobus 2.3.x compatible.

About

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

This app is a virtual analog and PCM synthesizer for iPad, inspired by the digital synthesizers of the 80s and 90s. It offers a vast library of presets, advanced synthesis features, and built-in effects for creating rich, retro-inspired sounds.

Highlights
  • 64-voice hybrid digital poly synthesis
  • 1GB+ of original samples
  • Stand-alone, IAA, and AUv3 support
  • Vintage-style arp/step sequencer
  • 3 LFOs with fun routings
  • Dual independent per-layer filters
  • Built-in FX suite
Read full description

Epic 64-voice Virtual Analog / PCM iPad Synth Inspired by the Digital Synths of the 80s and 90s - ** TOP 3 iOS MUSIC APPS OF 2018 *** - Music Radar Awards (Computer Music & Future Music Magazine) - * Featured By Apple in "New Apps We Love!" ** "Fans of the D-50, JD-990, 01/W, Wavestation... Rejoice!" - Music Radar FULLY LOADED w/ 500+ presets by Brice Beasley, Matthew Fecher, Red Sky Lullaby, Jakob Haq, Dean Daughters (Electronisounds), Sound of Izrael, Brian Funk, and more DIGITAL D1 is AWESOME: - 64-voice Hybrid Digital Poly Synthesis. - Full 1+ Gigabyte of original samples recorded from analog & fm synths over 30+ years old - Stand-alone iPad Synth, plus IAA & Audiobus - Basic AUv3 Plugin support. Works best with AUM. We're working on upgrading Audio Unit support. - Space-saving Compression - The whole app is under 200mb! - Dual layers per voice. Keyboard splits. Velocity Scaling. - Vintage-style Arp/Step Sequencer that can be routed to specific layers. - 3 LFOs. Fun Routings. LFOs can modify other LFOs. - Dual Independent per-Layer filters - Plus, per-voice Harmonic key-tracked Envelope filters. "Digital D1 Sounds and plays AMAZING!" - The Sound Test Room "Rad retro synth sounds" - Cult of Mac, App of the Week "AudioKit Digital D1 is a beautiful Synthesizer app that recreates the spirit of legendary synths" - Synth Anatomy ADDITIONAL FEATURES: - FX: Glorious Reverb, Phaser, Digital Delay, Distortion, Flanger, Chorus, Crush, and more. - Perfect with a MIDI Keyboard - Ableton Link - All kinds of awesome stuff - The Sound. Oh, the sound. You won't believe it. "Digital D1 synth is pure ‘80s and ‘90s digital lushness" - Computer Music/Music Radar "Beautiful. Lush. Modern and Amazing… An Instant Classic." REQUIREMENTS: Requires newer iPads for best performance. May be slow on iPad 4. IAA is being deprecated by Apple in iOS 13. We're moving to AUv3 as well. Please replace IAA with AUv3 in your projects. GarageBand Audio Unit (AUv3): You can run one instance of D1 as an AUv3 in GarageBand. With a host like AUM, you can run 3 or more instances at once. TROUBLESHOOTING: For iPad 4 - Open the "Settings" button (to the upper left above the keyboard). Turn the buffer to 512 or above. And turn the "CPU Efficient" toggle to on. If still having trouble, try closing other music apps and/or rebooting your iPad. Thanks! - * NOMINATED: Best iOS Music Apps of 2018 ** by Computer Music & Future Music magazine. Subscribe to access to premium app features; subscription details are the following: - Length: weekly or yearly - Free trial: only on selected subscriptions - Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account as soon as you confirm your purchase - You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase - Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription Terms & Conditions: [https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14dcf6557a0880beb991f20561329664?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14dcf6557a0880beb991f20561329664?pvs=21) Privacy Policy: [https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14dcf6557a088042b2beee2382f5d62f?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-Digital-D1-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14dcf6557a088042b2beee2382f5d62f?pvs=21) - * NOTE: This app has no official affiliation with AudioKit Pro, LLC. It was built using the free AudioKit source code.

Screenshots

Wilsonic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Wilsonic at none against AudioKit Digital D1 Synth's 6. Wilsonic also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (93% vs 76%). AudioKit Digital D1 Synth's advantage is ratings volume (2.1K vs 68). On price, rating 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AudioKit Digital D1 Synth sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Wilsonic asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Wilsonic against 4.8 for AudioKit Digital D1 Synth. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AudioKit Digital D1 Synth has 2.1K ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of Wilsonic's written reviews are positive against 76% of AudioKit Digital D1 Synth's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wilsonic ships an update monthly, AudioKit Digital D1 Synth every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Wilsonic versus AudioKit Digital D1 Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWilsonicAudioKit Digital D1 Synth
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (68 ratings) — better4.8 (2.1K ratings)
Positive reviews92.7% of reviews — better76.1% of reviews
Number of ratings682.1K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS11.4 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB636 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarcus SatelliteAudiobus Pty Ltd

Customer experience

Wilsonic

All ratings66 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive92.7%
Neutral2.4%
Negative4.9%

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

All ratings2,007 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews243 reviews
Positive76.1%
Neutral7.4%
Negative16.5%

Bugs and requests

Wilsonic

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Presets not loading correctly
  • MIDI note dropouts and latency
  • Crashes when used with certain DAWs
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Audio Unit (AUv3) support
  • Improve MIDI integration and responsiveness
  • Implement a built-in recording/sampling feature
  • Expand preset library with more genres and styles
  • Add more sound design controls and modulation options

In-app purchases

None

Wilsonic

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly premium$4.997 Days
  • Weekly premium7 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Yearly premium7 Days trial$9.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly premium$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • D1 PCM Expansion-01Free
  • Platinum Expansion PCM EXP-01Free

Questions

Is Wilsonic free?
Wilsonic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AudioKit Digital D1 Synth free?
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Wilsonic or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth?
Wilsonic is rated higher. Wilsonic averages 4.8 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while AudioKit Digital D1 Synth averages 4.8 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Wilsonic or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth have ads?
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth shows ads; Wilsonic does not.
Which is updated more often, Wilsonic or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth?
Wilsonic ships an update monthly, and AudioKit Digital D1 Synth every 3 weeks. Most recently, Wilsonic was updated on October 22, 2026 and AudioKit Digital D1 Synth on October 21, 2026.

Other comparisons