Comparison

LH Grain Pad vs Koala Sampler

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

Head to head
About

LH Grain Pad

This app is a powerful granular synthesizer with two independent channels for creating unique sound textures. It offers extensive control over grain parameters, built-in samples, and a variety of audio effects for complex sound design. Ideal for both live performance and studio production.

Highlights
  • Dual independent granular channels
  • 8 amplitude envelopes
  • Built-in sample library
  • Extensive audio effects suite
  • Touchpad grain control
  • Customizable pitch bar
  • OSC message support
  • Audio recorder
Features
Read full description

LH Grain, a granular synthesizer with two channels -- each channel independent for generating and controlling granular textures -- is focused on stunning granular sound. To make your grains unique, LH Grain offers you 8 kinds of amplitude envelopes used for the grains and built-in samples furnishing a wide variety of wave shapes. There are a lot of audio effects which give you more possibilities to process the sound and make the sound more complex. To take advantage of LH Grain to deal with both live performance and studio work, the touch pad visualizing the grains and the customizable pitch bar provide you with the easy way to control sound. The support for OSC format message makes it possible LH Grain’s associating with other devices in real time. When you are ready to play, you can record what your are producing and share your pieces with other devices. ------notice ------- LH Grain does not support Audiobus. ------features------ --Sample Location Control --Grain Waveform Selector --Frequency Jitter --Grain Duration & Density Control With Touchpad --Pitch Bar --OSC Format Message Receive & Send —Audio Recorder. ———-FXs——— EQ, Format Filter, Ring Modulation, Low/High/Band pass filter, Chorus, Flanger, Distortion, Delay, Reverb, 3D Sound.

About

Koala Sampler

This app allows you to record sounds with your phone's microphone, transform them with effects, and create beats and tracks. Its intuitive interface focuses on a fast and fun music-making process.

Highlights
  • Record up to 64 samples with mic
  • Apply 16 built-in effects
  • Load and use own samples
  • Create beats with high-resolution sequencer
  • Export loops and tracks as WAV
  • AI sample separation
  • AUv3 and MIDI compatibility
Features
Read full description

Koala is the ultimate pocket-sized sampler. Record anything with your phone's mic or load your own sounds. Use Koala to create beats with those samples, add effects and create a track! Koala's super intuitive interface helps you make a track in a flash - there is no brake pedal. You can also resample the output of the app back into the input, through the effects, so the sonic possibilities are endless. Koala's design focuses totally on making the music-making process instant, keeping you in the flow and keeping it fun, not getting bogged down by pages of parameters and micro-editing. "Been putting that $4 koala sampler to good use lately. Undeniably great tool that puts some of these expensive beat boxes to shame. A must cop." -- flying lotus, twitter * Record up to 64 different samples with your mic * Transform your voice or any other sound with 16 superb built-in fx * Load your own samples * Choose from one of 250 built-in sounds * Resample the output of the app back into a new sample * Export loops or entire tracks as professional quality WAV files * Direct export to Ableton Live Set * Copy/paste or merge sequences just by dragging them * Create beats with the high-resolution sequencer * Import samples from the Files app or even from videos * Keyboard mode lets you play chromatically or one of 9 scales * Quantize, add swing to get the right feel * Normal/One-shot/Loop/Reverse playback of samples * 6 Choke groups * Attack, release and tone adjustable on each sample * Mute/Solo controls and note repeat * Add any (or all) of the 16 effects to the entire mix * AUv3 compatible - use in GarageBand, Logic, Cubasis etc etc * MIDI controllable - play your samples on a keyboard, map the effects to knobs * Jam with others over WiFi with Ableton Link * Free copy of Ableton Live Lite included * AudioShare compatible * Use AI to separate samples into individual instruments (drums, bass, vocals and other) * Set your own background image and choose from a growing list of background visual FX 8 Built-in Microphone FX: * More Bass * More Treble * Fuzz * Robot * Reverb * Octave up * Octave down * Synthesizer 16 Built-in DJ Mix FX: * Bit-crusher * Pitch-shift * Comb filter * Ring modulator * Reverb * Stutter * Gate * Resonant High/Low Pass Filters * Cutter * Reverse * Dub * Tempo Delay * Talkbox * VibroFlange * Dirty * Compressor Features included in SAMURAI In-App Purchase * Pro-quality Timestretch (5 modes: Modern, Retro, Beats, Re-pitch and Cyclic) * Piano roll editor * Auto-chop (auto, equal, and lazy chop) * 3 Band EQ * Pocket operator sync out * Quokka Synth - powerhouse polyphonic synthesizer * MIDI Out - control external MIDI hardware with Koala's sequencer * Chopper - multimodal sample chopping instrument Features included in MIXER In-App Purchase * Mix your beats professionally with a 4 channel mixer + main bus * Route any sample to any channel * Mute/solo, faders and accurate metering on every channel * 5 effect slots per channel * 29 high-quality effects - compressors, filters, phasers and more, with new effects to come * Host AUv3 plugins - both audio effects and instruments

Screenshots

Koala Sampler4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Koala Sampler at 4.8 against LH Grain Pad's 4.0. Koala Sampler also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 50%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 25 months). LH Grain Pad's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). On ads 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

LH Grain Pad costs $2.99 and Koala Sampler $4.99 up front. Koala Sampler sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. LH Grain Pad asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Koala Sampler holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Koala Sampler has 1.5K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of LH Grain Pad's written reviews are positive against 88% of Koala Sampler's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LH Grain Pad ships an update every 25 months, Koala Sampler fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
LH Grain Pad versus Koala Sampler: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLH Grain PadKoala Sampler
Price$2.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews88.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings41.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 25 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#5 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer昊 刘Mazbox Limited

Customer experience

LH Grain Pad

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

Koala Sampler

All ratings1,438 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews618 reviews
Positive88.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative7.4%

Bugs and requests

LH Grain Pad

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Koala Sampler

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Samples not loading or disappearing after app updates
  • Sequencer timing and quantization issues
  • Crashes when using certain features or with large projects

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to record and edit MIDI sequences
  • More comprehensive effects and sound processing tools
  • Improved sample management and organization features
  • Support for external MIDI controllers and hardware integration
  • Customizable color schemes and UI themes

In-app purchases

None

LH Grain Pad

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Koala Sampler

One-time8
  • Koala AUv3 Plugin$1.99
  • Ese-O's Sample Pack$2.99
  • Solar Studies Samplepack$2.99
Show 5 more
  • Soon Come Dub Sample Pack$2.99
  • Analog Astronaut Samplepack$2.99
  • Cirrus Cuts Sample Pack$2.99
  • Samurai Edition$3.99
  • Mixer$4.99

Questions

Is LH Grain Pad free?
LH Grain Pad costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Koala Sampler free?
Koala Sampler costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LH Grain Pad or Koala Sampler?
Koala Sampler is rated higher. LH Grain Pad averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Koala Sampler averages 4.8 from 1.5K ratings.
Do LH Grain Pad or Koala Sampler have ads?
Neither LH Grain Pad nor Koala Sampler shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LH Grain Pad or Koala Sampler?
LH Grain Pad ships an update every 25 months, and Koala Sampler fortnightly. Most recently, LH Grain Pad was updated on October 24, 2026 and Koala Sampler on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons