Comparison

ScaleGen vs SimpLoop

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

Head to head
About

ScaleGen

Generate and edit musical scales with intricate detail. Explore traditional and experimental tunings, audition your creations, and export them as MIDI files or to other applications. Ideal for composers and students seeking to expand their musical horizons.

Highlights
  • Generate and manipulate musical scales
  • Detailed scale definition and editing
  • Audition scales within the app
  • Export as MIDI or to Gestrument
  • Predefined scales from various traditions
  • Explore microtonal and experimental tunings
Read full description

ScaleGen - the ultimate scale generator and editor! Generate and manipulate musical scales in any way you can imagine. You think you know what a scale is - think again. In ScaleGen you can do all that you would traditionally imagine when it comes to scales and pitch organisation, and then much, much more. Define or change scales in the most detailed and intricate way. Audition the scales you make from within the app or export it as a MIDI file or to our app Gestrument - the revolutionary gesture-instrument. This is the tool for anyone who wants to go beyond the traditional tonalities in whichever genre. ScaleGen comes with predefined scales of all kinds - from the traditional western scales and early music (Baroque/Renaissance) scales to asian scales from India, Indonesia and elsewhere as well as more conceptual scales based in the classical contemporary music. This is the ultimate tool for experimental composers in any genre as well as for musicians who want to explore new ways of thinking about music. The educational aspects of how pitches can be organised makes ScaleGen a must have for serious music students. But the directness of the app makes the learning both fun and artistically developing. What is a scale? For most people it is a collection of pitches within one octave, with equal temperament (all half tone steps equally long) or with microtonal intonation. That kind of scales are of course possible to make and edit in ScaleGen which gives you a keyboard with complete control of up to 24 pitches within one octave. But the most interesting things with ScaleGen is when you start to think of a scale as something more open. Consider these questions: What if your scale was different in every octave? Why must a scale always go from down to up? What if you could use a variation of the overtone series as a scale? How does it sound if you divide the octave in five steps instead of twelve? In ScaleGen we define a scale as any list of MIDI pitches that you can manipulate in many ways. You can start with a keyboard to input pitches, you can use the concept of the overtone series with multiplication of frequencies, you can define the number and size of the steps in the scale or you can import MIDI files and use them as scales. Then you can fine-tune your scale in a matrix with a number of tools. You can then try and play your scale directly in the app, using built-in sounds or control your favorite external synthesizer/app through MIDI. If you want to try and play on your newly created scales in another way we recommend you open them in the app Gestrument - the revolutionary gesture-instrument. But you can also save the scales as text, Scala, or MIDI files and open them in another program.

About

SimpLoop

This audio effect plugin offers a straightforward approach to live looping, inspired by classic hardware pedals. It allows for simple one-button operation or advanced MIDI control for dynamic performances. Export your creations as WAV files.

Highlights
  • One-button looping
  • MIDI controller support
  • Reverse and half-speed toggles
  • Multiply function for loop extension
  • Auto-record option
  • Variable record fade time
  • Export loops as WAV
Read full description

SimpLoop - A (Fairly) Simple Looper Plugin (AUv3) SimpLoop is an audio effect plugin that can run standalone, or in any AU compatible host application such as Logic Pro or GarageBand. Overview - SimpLoop is a fairly simple looper What does "fairly simple" mean? Well, SimpLoop can be configured to be a very simple one button looper - tap to record a loop, tap again to play your loop, then tap to stop and clear the loop. Alternatively, you could assign 6 button functions and two expression controllers to a MIDI hardware controller for an extremely dynamic live looping setup. To help understand what SimpLoop is, it might be easier to cover what SimpLoop is not... SimpLoop does not have any form of tempo sync capability, or support for multiple sync'd loop tracks or A/B "verse" / "chorus" sections, etc. SimpLoop also does not have an undo function or support for importing audio files (*), and it does not remember the recorded loop between sessions. There are several more advanced looper apps that do those sort of things, but if you're new to looping, or you just need a compact and basic looper to include in your setup, SimpLoop was designed for you! (*) You can export your recorded loops as .WAV files. SimpLoop was also designed for live, "on the fly" looping, and could almost be considered "old-school" now, as it draws inspiration from hardware guitar looping pedals that started becoming popular in the early 2000's. As a live looping "veteran" myself, I wanted to create a looper that included some of my favourite hardware pedal features, plus a few things I wished that those pedals had back in the day! As well as basic looping functionality with a 60 second maximum loop time, SimpLoop includes reverse and half-speed toggles, and a multiply function that doubles the current loop length. For example, you could record a one-bar rhythmic loop, then tap Multiply twice to create a four-bar loop made up of 4 repeats of your original recording. Additional features include an auto-record option, variable record fade time for seamless loops (great for creating drones!) as well as different mode settings to determine how the loop, stop and clear commands work. For maximum hands-free looping enjoyment, I recommend using SimpLoop with some kind of MIDI controller that can send MIDI CCs via buttons / switches or knobs / expression pedal inputs. For more info and support please visit: www.waverley-instruments.com/robjackson

Screenshots

SimpLoop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ScaleGen at 4.7 against SimpLoop's 4.0. ScaleGen also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 60%) and ratings volume (12 vs 4). SimpLoop's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 29 months) and device support (4 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

ScaleGen costs $3.99 and SimpLoop $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScaleGen holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of ScaleGen's written reviews are positive against 60% of SimpLoop's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScaleGen ships an update every 29 months, SimpLoop every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
ScaleGen versus SimpLoop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScaleGenSimpLoop
Price$3.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.7 (12 ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews70.6% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 29 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGestrument ABRob Jackson

Customer experience

ScaleGen

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive70.6%
Neutral17.6%
Negative11.8%

SimpLoop

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

In-app purchases

None

ScaleGen

No in-app purchases

None

SimpLoop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ScaleGen free?
ScaleGen costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SimpLoop free?
SimpLoop costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ScaleGen or SimpLoop?
ScaleGen is rated higher. ScaleGen averages 4.7 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while SimpLoop averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do ScaleGen or SimpLoop have ads?
Neither ScaleGen nor SimpLoop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScaleGen or SimpLoop?
ScaleGen ships an update every 29 months, and SimpLoop every 2 weeks. Most recently, ScaleGen was updated on September 27, 2026 and SimpLoop on October 11, 2026.

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