Comparison

modstep 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

modstep

Create music with a powerful MIDI sequencer for iPad. Control external hardware, IAA apps, and Audio Units. Features unlimited tracks, real-time editing, and integrated synths/samplers for on-the-go or studio production.

Highlights
  • Session-style MIDI sequencer
  • Unlimited tracks and scenes
  • Real-time editing and modulation
  • Integrated synth and sampler
  • IAA and Audio Unit integration
  • Ableton Link sync
  • MIDI and Audio export
Features
Read full description

Modstep Introducing Modstep, Modulation Monster and the first full-blown MIDI sequencer for the iPad. Modstep allows you to create music and jam with your iPad and your favorite IAA Apps, Audio Units, Mac and PC software and MIDI hardware as well as the internal drum sampler and synth. Use it as the centerpiece of your setup to create and perform music on the go, in the studio and on stage. "If you´re looking for a versatile, adaptable MIDI sequencer for iOS, Modstep comes highly recommended" Sound On Sound “Modstep could change how an iPad fits into your music making” CDM “If you’ve ever dreamed of a touchscreen brain for your studio, this is it.” FACTMag "Modstep is a great step forward for step sequencing.” Audionewsroom FEATURES: -Session-style MIDI sequencer with unlimited tracks & scenes. -Play individual clips or whole scenes, or use the included arrangement features to manage more sophisticated song-structures. -Clips are pattern based which allows quick edits on the fly. Set a variable speed per pattern. -Edit clips with either the Step Sequencer or the Piano Roll -Step Sequencer with active steps and step-shifting. -Piano Roll with variable quantization including triplets, access to modulations, velocities and scales. -Everything can be edited, arranged, modulated or changed in real-time. -Note Repeat from 1-48th to 1/4th. -Global Swing -Unlimited MIDI & Audio tracks - only restricted by the power of your iPad. -Tempo range from 20 to 999bpm. -Sync via Ableton Link. -Stable and low-latency MIDI Clock In & Out with latency adjustment. -Trigger out -integrated global keyboard with scales & drum-pads allow quick recording of individual tracks with a single surface. -Use an external controller or keyboard to control, record or play any given track. -Midi mappable via external MIDI controllers -Internal additive synth with up to 64 harmonics per voice, 3-band eq, delay, reverb, lfo and detune. -Internal sampler with pitch, volume, reverse, fx per slot, 3 band-eq, delay and reverb. -Integrate any IAA compatible app or Audio Unit as an instrument or effect. -unlimited number of effects per track. -Audiobus support. -convenient plugin management via drag and drop. -Integrated mixer with Arm, Mute, Solo per track -Any loaded instrument or external MIDI hardware is completely modulatable via CCs. -Up to 128 CC modulations per track. -Audio and MIDI streaming directly via charger cable to Mac and PC using studiomux technology -Export sample perfect loops of audio per track. Choose which channels to record. The internal quantization will make sure they are sample-perfect and ready for any DAW. -Import / Export of MIDI files. -Import / Export of Audio & MIDI files via AudioShare. -A sophisticated template system allows quick setup of tracks to control external MIDI hardware, apps or plugins. -Includes many preconfigured templates for popular external hardware. -Template editor to create your own templates for IAA Apps, desktop Apps and external MIDI devices -Supports all MIDI interfaces for the iPad -Works on all iPads (iPad 1 restricted to MIDI only) Requirements: iOS 8 or later for audio and MIDI streaming to a Mac or PC, the studiomux server software is required: get the latest for free at studiomux.net Manual: You can find the manual here: http://www.modstep.net/manual

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.

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AudioKit Digital D1 Synth at Free against modstep's $9.99. AudioKit Digital D1 Synth also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.8) and review sentiment (76% vs 46%). modstep's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence 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

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth is free to download; modstep costs $9.99 up front. AudioKit Digital D1 Synth sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. modstep asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AudioKit Digital D1 Synth has 2.1K ratings behind it against 39, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of modstep's written reviews are positive against 76% of AudioKit Digital D1 Synth's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
modstep versus AudioKit Digital D1 Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermodstepAudioKit Digital D1 Synth
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating2.8 (39 ratings)4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.8% of reviews76.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings392.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS7.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB636 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristian BlomertAudiobus Pty Ltd

Customer experience

modstep

All ratings39 ratings
Positive41.0%
Neutral5.1%
Negative53.8%
Written reviews155 reviews
Positive45.8%
Neutral14.2%
Negative40.0%

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

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

User reviews

modstep

From 39 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎛️ Powerful MIDI sequencing capabilities
  • 🎨 Clean and polished user interface design
  • 🔗 Excellent integration with external hardware and IAA/AU apps
  • 🎵 Ableton Live-like clip launching workflow
  • 🎚️ Extensive automation and CC control options

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • ⏸️ App appears abandoned with no recent updates
  • 🔌 IAA/AU instrument loading causes crashes
  • 📖 Poor documentation and lack of tutorials
  • 🎚️ Confusing and unintuitive user interface

AudioKit Digital D1 Synth

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Excellent sound quality
  • 🎹 Versatile and inspiring presets
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💰 Great value for the price
  • 🔥 Cutting-edge digital synthesis

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🔒 Lack of Audio Unit (AUv3) support
  • 🤔 Some presets not easily usable
  • 🕰️ Slow loading times in certain DAWs

Bugs and requests

modstep

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes when loading external IAA/AU instruments
  • Constant clicking sound with metronome off
  • Projects fail to load or require multiple restart attempts
  • MIDI input routing ignores channel settings
  • Track names change when using 'save as' function
Show 13 more
  • App crashes when adding second synth to project
  • Black screen on startup
  • Crashes when editing notes in pattern editor
  • MIDI note hanging and stuck notes
  • Random crashes during playback or editing
  • Instruments deleted after app crash
  • Inter-app audio broken on newer iOS versions
  • App crashes when deleting tracks
  • Editing while playing causes crashes
  • Clip deletion causes crashes
  • IAA apps lock in slots
  • Screen goes blank during operation
  • Skipped notes and misfired triggers

Requested features

18 requests
  • Undo/redo functionality
  • MIDI import capability
  • Pre-roll for recording
  • Dedicated mixer with send/returns
  • Audio loop recording and playback
Show 13 more
  • State saving for synth presets
  • Bank MSB/LSB support for program changes
  • Precise CC automation entry
  • Song mode for arrangement
  • MIDI CC scene launching
  • Metronome volume and pan control
  • Note selection tool in piano roll
  • Groove templates
  • Better transposition tools
  • Pan control for instruments
  • Reset function for faders and values
  • AU MIDI plugin support
  • Sample upload over IP

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

modstep

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 modstep free?
modstep costs $9.99, 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, modstep or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth?
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth is rated higher. modstep averages 2.8 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while AudioKit Digital D1 Synth averages 4.8 from 2.1K ratings.
Do modstep or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth have ads?
AudioKit Digital D1 Synth shows ads; modstep does not.
Which is updated more often, modstep or AudioKit Digital D1 Synth?
modstep ships an update every 3 weeks, and AudioKit Digital D1 Synth every 3 weeks. Most recently, modstep was updated on November 5, 2026 and AudioKit Digital D1 Synth on November 2, 2026.

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