Decibel vs Smaart

Decibel provides customizable real-time audio metering for sound engineers and video makers, and can also analyze tracks offline. Its modules measure loudness (LUFS), dynamics (TrueDyn), true peak, RMS, frequency content, and stereo phase. Users can drag a track into the app for offline analysis and export measurement statistics. Available analysis views include LUFS, histogram, spectrum, spectrogram, VU, digital meter, phase scope, stereo cloud, and super meter. Decibel comes as 64-bit AU, VST3, and AAX plugins, plus a standalone version. The product page lists compatibility with Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic Pro X, Ableton, Studio One, and Luna, as well as Premiere Pro; DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro are described as coming soon. It can connect unlimited iOS and Android displays over Wi-Fi or USB for real-time metering. Decibel is listed for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. The maker says it complies with ATSC A/85, EBU R128, Netflix, and DVD/Blu-ray broadcast standards. Licenses are perpetual and include free updates, with no subscriptions.

Smaart is professional audio acoustic test and measurement software from Rational Acoustics, a company founded in 2008. Its Suite edition includes Real-Time, Impulse Response, and SPL measurement modes; other editions are RT, LE, and SPL. Analysis views include RTA, spectrograph, magnitude, coherence, phase, live impulse response, linear and logarithmic views, energy time curve, frequency, histogram, and SPL history. Each product includes an API for accessing measurement data and parameters through JSON commands over WebSocket, with an SDK available free upon request. Listed integrations include Eclipse Audio FIR Designer, Globcon, Lab Gruppen Lake Controller, Powersoft ArmoniaPlus, and Waves TRACT. Smaart is available for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, but does not support Windows on ARM. Demo installers for Suite, LE, and SPL expire after 30 days and cannot be reactivated or converted to a license. Annual subscriptions provide one year of use and renew automatically unless canceled before the term ends. Pricing includes subscriptions from $159 a year and perpetual licenses from $349, paid once.