Comparison

PhaseRings vs VJ

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

Head to head
About

PhaseRings

Create expressive music with intuitive touch gestures. Explore various sound schemes and generative composition tools to craft unique musical pieces. Supports MIDI and Audiobus for advanced integration.

Highlights
  • Expressive touch gesture music creation
  • Seven unique sound schemes
  • Generative composition engine
  • Customizable pitch compositions
  • Core MIDI support
  • AudioBus and Inter-App Audio support
Features
Read full description

PhaseRings is a musical instrument for performing expressive music with touch gestures. Anyone can create a beautiful piece of music with our sound schemes and generative composition engine! Each ring on the screen represents a different pitch, and you can tap and swirl on each ring to create combinations of long and short notes. The angle and size of your tap will change the timbre of the notes you create! New in version 3.0, PhaseRings is also an AUv3 Audio Unit plugin. Load it as an instrument in hosts like AUM, GarageBand, Logic Pro for iPad, and Cubasis — play the rings inside your host, run several instances at once, drive it from MIDI tracks, and record it through your host's effects. PhaseRings includes seven expressive "sound schemes" featuring percussive sounds like marimba and singing bowls as well as pure synth sounds like phase and string synthesis. Four "compositions" of pitches are included in the app, but you can also create your own custom composition by choosing three base notes and scales. PhaseRings will do the rest, generating a series of great setups from the harmony you choose! Features: - AUv3 Audio Unit instrument for AUM, GarageBand, Logic Pro, Cubasis, and other hosts - 7 sound schemes - 4 built-in compositions - Custom generative composition - 11 scales and modes - Core MIDI in and out for iOS MIDI accessories and MIDI-enabled apps - VoiceOver support and light/dark appearance

About

VJ

Create and perform live visual sets using your MIDI controller. Import your own media or use built-in clips to trigger scenes and apply visual effects in real-time. Output visuals to an external display while controlling the performance from your device.

Highlights
  • Import custom videos, photos, and GIFs
  • Layered canvas clips
  • Built-in matrix clips
  • Real-time VFX control
  • MIDI controller integration (Bluetooth/USB-C)
  • External display output
  • Scene and set preparation
Features
Read full description

VJ-XY is a live visual instrument for your midi controller. prepare. connect. perform. no footage required to start. build your sets on iPad, iPhone or Mac*. connect your midi controller over bluetooth or USB-C midi. play notes to launch clips and sweep vfx live as your track moves. send clean visuals to an external display while the iPad stays in your hands. — prepare — create scenes and order them into a set. import your own videos, photos, and animated gifs. layer stills and gifs into canvas clips, a single 16:9 visual built from arranged, scaled, rotated layers. no footage required to start. use the built-in matrix clips, or draw and animate your own frame by frame on a 64×36 light grid. share the clips you draw. — connect — pair your midi controller over bluetooth or USB-C midi. set each scene to a midi channel. notes from F3 upward trigger clips. cc1 to cc4 control four vfx slots, live. — perform — launch clips by playing notes. trigger canvas layers live. sweep vfx by moving cc. let your controller's patterns and scenes drive clip changes as the song progresses. mix between clips with transitions. blend layers and clips against a chosen background color. VJ-XY is your control surface; the external display is the room. what's inside · import videos, photos, and animated gifs · layered canvas clips · built-in matrix clips · draw and animate your own matrix clips · share matrix clips as files · vfx with custom presets · blend modes and background color · loop modes and transitions · launch and sequence clips with midi · bluetooth and USB-C midi · external display output VJ-XY produces visuals only. it stays muted, so your audio setup is untouched. sets are not shared across devices. one-time price, no subscription. you buy it, you own it. made by thx. support@thinkthx.com

Screenshots

PhaseRings3 screens
VJ4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PhaseRings at Free against VJ's $24.99. PhaseRings also leads on ratings volume (18 vs 4) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). VJ's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). 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

PhaseRings is free to download; VJ costs $24.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

VJ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of PhaseRings's written reviews are positive against 100% of VJ's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PhaseRings ships an update every 5 months, VJ every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
PhaseRings versus VJ: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhaseRingsVJ
PriceFree — better$24.99
Rating4.5 (18 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCharles MartinJuan Sampera

Customer experience

PhaseRings

All ratings12 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative15.0%

VJ

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PhaseRings

No in-app purchases

None

VJ

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PhaseRings free?
PhaseRings is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VJ free?
VJ costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PhaseRings or VJ?
VJ is rated higher. PhaseRings averages 4.5 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while VJ averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do PhaseRings or VJ have ads?
Neither PhaseRings nor VJ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PhaseRings or VJ?
PhaseRings ships an update every 5 months, and VJ every 3 weeks. Most recently, PhaseRings was updated on November 1, 2026 and VJ on October 31, 2026.

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