Rate my mix, answered by measurement
DJ Set Analyzer
for iPhone.
Import a set you recorded and MixGrade scores every transition on the phone itself: beatmatching drift, key clashes, energy flow, levels and clipping, ending in one MixScore out of 100.
Free to download. 3 full analyses included. Pro is $9.99 once, no subscription.
What comes back
A score, then the reason for it.
The number is the entry point. Underneath it sits a coaching note with timestamps, a timeline you can play back, the key path your set took, and a card for every transition you mixed.
Five sub-scores, published weights
Nothing in the number is a secret.
Every deduction below is a fixed threshold in the app, not a mood. Two people who upload the same file get the same score, and you can check the arithmetic against your own ears.
Beatmatching
30% of the MixScore
Tempo drift inside each transition zone. The first 0.5 BPM is free because nobody hears it over a short blend. Past that it costs 8 points per BPM, so a 4 BPM slip lands as a 28 point deduction on that blend.
Harmonic
20% of the MixScore
The distance your key move travels on the Camelot wheel. Neighbours and same-number swaps pass untouched, two steps costs 10 points, three or more costs 22. Keys it could not read are left neutral rather than praised.
Energy flow
20% of the MixScore
Where the peak sits and whether the set sags. Peaking inside the first fifth costs 20 points, because there is nowhere left to go. Every long stretch below 35% of the running peak costs another 15.
Levels
15% of the MixScore
EBU R128 integrated loudness against a target of minus 14 LUFS, plus a true peak check. Every LU away from target costs 3 points, and a true peak above minus 0.3 dBTP costs a flat 12.
Cleanliness
15% of the MixScore
Digital clipping in the recording itself. Four or more consecutive samples pinned near full scale count as one clipped moment, and each one costs 18 points. The report gives you the timestamp.
Then it is added up
MixScore = 0.30 beatmatching + 0.20 harmonic + 0.20 energy + 0.15 levels + 0.15 cleanliness
Beatmatching carries the most weight because it is the first thing a room hears. A set with no detected transitions scores 75 on those two, which reads as insufficient evidence rather than praise.
Around the score
Auto tracklist, honestly labelled
Optional Shazam matching names what it can and writes ID for the rest, which is the club convention. Export copies the numbered list with timestamps.
Progress across sets
Every analysis stays on the phone, so each sub-score can be followed set over set instead of judged once.
Score card
Grade, energy arc and key journey rendered as one image, sized for the post you were going to write anyway.
When DJs open it
Four moments it earns its place.
After a practice set
You recorded an hour at home and it felt fine. The transition list sorts your blends by score, so you go straight to the two that dragged instead of scrubbing the whole file.
Before you upload
Integrated loudness and true peak are measured before a platform normalises your mix and reveals the pumping you did not hear. Clipped moments come with timestamps you can fix at the source.
Preparing a promo mix
The key journey shows the path your set took around the Camelot wheel. If it jumped three steps twice in ten minutes, that is visible before a promoter hears it.
Learning to hear drift
The score names a number for something your ears are still training on. Play the flagged blend back inside the app and listen for what the measurement heard.
What it does not do
The honest column.
- It does not judge track selection, taste or how a room reacted. Those are not in the waveform.
- Track identification depends on the Shazam catalog and an internet connection. Edits, bootlegs, pitched tracks and long overlaps frequently come back as ID.
- Key detection is a statistical estimate over ten second windows. Percussive, atonal or vocal-only passages can read wrong, which is why an unknown key never costs points.
- The free tier is supported by a banner and an occasional full-screen ad. Pro removes them.
Pricing
Three analyses free, then one payment.
Free
3 full analyses
Every feature included, nothing held back. The counter is kept in the keychain, so reinstalling does not hand out three more.
MixGrade Pro
$9.99 once
Unlimited analyses, the full history with trends, tracklist export and no ads. A non-consumable purchase, so it does not renew and there is nothing to cancel.
Free on the App Store. Pro is a single $9.99 purchase, restorable on your Apple ID.
Guides
The theory behind each score.
- DJ set analyzerWhat a set analyzer actually measures, from FFT frame size to the scoring weights.
- How to beatmatchManual beatmatching step by step, and the drift figures that separate tight from loose.
- Better DJ transitionsThe four faults a blend can have, how to hear each one, and which to fix first.
- Camelot wheelThe full key chart, the three safe moves, and why a detected key is sometimes wrong.
- DJ mix loudnessLUFS, true peak and clipping for uploaded mixes, and why louder stops helping.
- Rate my mixHow to get useful feedback on a mix, and what a machine can and cannot judge.
- Mixed In Key comparisonLibrary preparation versus performance review, and why they are not substitutes.
FAQ
Before you ask
How does MixGrade grade a DJ mix?+
It decodes your recording once and runs signal processing on the result: an onset envelope for tempo, a chromagram for key, a novelty curve for track boundaries, and an EBU R128 loudness meter with a true peak detector. Each transition starts at 100 points and loses points for tempo drift, beat clash, Camelot distance and bass clash. Those roll up into five sub-scores and one MixScore out of 100 with a letter grade.
Does my mix get uploaded to a server?+
No. The analysis runs on the iPhone with Apple's own audio and Accelerate frameworks, and there is no account and no MixGrade server. The one exception is the optional tracklist: if you leave track identification on, short audio fingerprints go to Apple's Shazam service to name the tracks. Turn it off and nothing leaves the phone.
What does MixGrade cost?+
The app is free to download and includes three full analyses with no feature held back. After that, MixGrade Pro is a one-time purchase of 9.99 US dollars that unlocks unlimited analyses, the full history with trends, and tracklist export. It is a non-consumable purchase, so there is no subscription and no recurring charge.
Are there ads?+
Yes, in the free tier. Without Pro the app shows a banner and, from your second session onwards and at most once every three minutes, a full-screen ad. Buying Pro removes both. On first launch you will see a consent form and Apple's tracking prompt, and you can reopen those privacy options from Settings at any time.
What audio formats and set lengths work?+
MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF and FLAC, imported from the Files app or through the iOS share sheet. The decoder streams the file in ten second chunks so memory stays bounded, which keeps sets of around three hours workable on the phone.
Why are some tracks listed as ID?+
Track identification matches against the Shazam catalog and needs an internet connection. DJ edits, bootlegs, heavily pitched tracks and long overlaps often cannot be matched, so those rows read ID, the same way a club tracklist would write them. The scoring itself does not depend on identification and works either way.
Which iPhones does it run on?+
MixGrade requires iOS 26 or later and is built for iPhone. The coaching note is written by Apple's on-device model where that is available; where it is not, the app falls back to a deterministic template built from the same measurements, so there is always a note.
Can it tell me whether my track selection was good?+
No, and it does not pretend to. MixGrade measures execution: tempo, key distance, energy shape, loudness and clipping. Taste, track selection and reading a room are not measurable from the waveform, and that is exactly the part still worth asking a human about.
Import last night’s set and see what it scores.
Free download. 3 full analyses. Analysis runs on your iPhone.