# Pocket Bard — user reviews > 339 indexed App Store user reviews of Pocket Bard by Pocket Bard Inc., rated 4.80/5 from 1,349 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-bard/id6444221555/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-bard/id6444221555.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,198 · 4★ 94 · 3★ 29 · 2★ 7 · 1★ 21 ## What do users think of Pocket Bard? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Seamless transitions - 👍 Intuitive and easy to use - 🎨 Great customization options - 🎶 High-quality music and sound effects - 💡 Versatile for various use cases (TTRPG, reading, writing, etc.) - 🎮 Perfect for DMs and game masters **Cons** - 🔒 Unclear subscription model and pricing - 🐛 Bugs and crashes for some users - 🔋 High battery consumption - 📦 Limited content in free version **Commonly reported bugs** - Downloading content causes crashes - Repeated terms of service pop-ups - One-shot sound effects not working - Inconsistent audio quality and balance **Most requested features** - More sound effects (creature sounds, weather, etc.) - Ability to import custom music and sounds - AirPlay support for streaming to speakers - Offline mode or caching for downloaded content - Customizable scenes and soundscapes - Shortcut integration for quick access ## Newest reviews (19 of 339) ### 4/5 — Almost *2026-08-28, version 3.1.17* This app is outstanding for TTRPG needs, almost all your needs. If they had Japanese/Samurai themed scenes it would be perfect. ### 5/5 — Great for Background Ambience at Work *2026-08-06, version 3.1.16* I love this app so much. I have been using it for background ambient noise in my office. I can dial up more intensity if I need it or keep it really chill and calm. It scratches that geeky fantasy vibe I love while I am working. Plus there is enough variety that I don’t notice the looping as much. Thank you for putting this out! ### 5/5 — Fantastic music. *2026-08-05, version 3.1.16* This has taken such a headache away from selecting music before every session. Now it’s more about vibes and gives me time to focus on how to unalive my players ### 5/5 — Yes *2026-08-05, version 3.1.16* PEAK. ### 5/5 — So freaking amazing *2026-08-04, version 3.1.16* Everything about this app is great, the only reason I wanted to leave a review was to bring up having like a live band or a lute playing in the background of the tavern. The tavern still feels fun, but the band would take it the extra mile for me ### 5/5 — So GOOD + No AI !!! *2026-08-04* The fact that some DnD music app use only AI but THIS one is human made + easy to use + detailed make it sooo GOOD !! Hope to see more « places » and variety :) !! **Developer response:** Thanks very much for your review! We are proud that all the content in Pocket Bard was lovingly made by human artists and creatives - even our scene art! We have a ton of new scenes coming, so we appreciate your patience as we continue work expanding Pocket Bard. If there's anything you need, or if you have any suggestions, please let us know: support@pocketbard.app - thanks so much for your time! ### 5/5 — Pocket Bard Leveled up!!!!! *2026-08-03, version 3.1.16* I attempted using pocket hard years ago when it was still new, and ended up trying music other ways. BUT IN 2026 IM BACK! I redownloaded it recently for a new D&D campaign and was absolutely blown away by how many new places, new features, and quality of life changes. From one DM to any other out there you should really seriously consider adding pocket bard to your bag of tricks, it makes it so much easier to never ruin the vibe of a session with ads, or a wrong song in the playlist, and it flows SO SEAMLESSLY. Pocket Bard I love you❤️ ### 5/5 — Worth Every Penny *2026-08-01, version 3.1.16* By far the best audio app for DND/TTRPG I have EVER used! Seamless, easy, and the free content alone covers the vast majority of what you'd need. I have the subscription for more particular settings and because I want to support the creators. I listen to the Tavern Soundtrack with Vocals in my own time bc it's just sooo beautiful and peaceful. 10/10 app! ### 5/5 — Meets all my needs *2026-07-31, version 3.1.16* I love this app and my players do to, its simple to use and the only thing i have to worry about is forgetting to change the tone as we move through the session ### 4/5 — Wonderful app *2026-07-29* I really love this app, all the music and sound effects. The only thing that bothers me a bit is it not playing on bluetooth speakers, but its a really minor thing (also, could be just user error, lol) **Developer response:** Hello Cabo! Thanks so much for this feedback. It sounds like something may be going wrong on either our end or yours - Pocket Bard should be able to work with most bluetooth speakers. Not to worry, we're here to help. Please reach out to support@pocketbard.app so we can assist you! Sorry for the inconvenience and we look forward to hearing from you soon! ### 5/5 — D&D *2026-07-29, version 3.1.16* My family and I love to play D&D a lot and pocket bard helps us set a great atmosphere for the setting and mission at hand. Overall it makes a great atmosphere for any game setting and style you want. Cheers! ### 5/5 — Great! But needs one thing *2026-07-29, version 3.1.16* This app is great, honestly one of the best I’ve seen, it’s seamlessly transitions into different scenarios like to other and the sound effects are great, however there’s just one thing that I want. I want the ability to share what you’re playing with your friends. I play D&D entirely online and it’d be great to experience this with them seamlessly ### 5/5 — Muito bom *2026-07-28* Simplesmente perfeito, a qualidade sonora é incrível não tem do que reclamar. Dou uma salva de palmas para os compositores pois não erraram em nada **Developer response:** Thank you so much for your kind words! We are so happy to hear that you're a fan of what we've created. If there are any additional suggestions or feedback you'd like to share, especially regarding our Portuguese translations, please let us know: support@pocketbard.app - thanks again for your time! Muito obrigado pelas suas palavras gentis! Ficamos muito felizes em saber que você gosta do que criamos. Se tiver mais alguma sugestão ou comentário para compartilhar — especialmente em relação às nossas traduções para o português —, por favor, entre em contato conosco pelo e-mail support@pocketbard.app. Agradecemos novamente pelo seu tempo! ### 4/5 — Great on android but apple is struggling *2026-07-28, version 3.1.16* I have a full subscription and am very happy with the customization and available sounds but for some reason when I attempt to download anything (scenes, sounds, anything) on my iPad it auto fails and won’t do anything. No retry, not loading, just immediately fails. Checked my WiFi, restarted my device, nothing. I hope this gets fixed soon if it’s the app and not my device ### 5/5 — Best app for ttrpg sound effects *2026-07-26, version 3.1.16* I use this app on my games. It’s great and makes them so much more immersive ### 5/5 — Best unobtrusive TTRPG backgrounds *2026-07-24, version 3.1.16* I’ve tried a bunch of similar services. This is the first that has great background themes that aren’t too distracting. My friends are neurodivergent, and other services I’ve tried have led to sensory overload or not being able to hear past the music. This is super customizable without being overwhelming and sets the mood without being overwhelming. ### 3/5 — Doesn’t work *2026-07-23, version 3.1.16* I’ve used the iPhone version of it and it worked fine but I’ve tried and it opened, but wouldn’t let me press get started. ### 5/5 — Brilliant *2026-07-23, version 3.1.16* This app is a must have for DMs. It has great free content allowing you to move between scenes such as city, town, village, tavern, desert, swamp, graveyard, cave, dungeon etc. with built in location and other sounds, music, and combat music. You can turn the music off and just have location sounds or you can have music and select the level of intensity out of 5 options. You can also layer over sounds such as rain, thunder, river, waterfall with different levels of intensity too. Incredible. I’ve just recommended this to my group of DMs who all said it’s amazing. It also has free LOFI music for anyone who wants to just have nice music to listen to. Beyond the free content, there is far more on offer for £40 for a year which is very reasonable given the time and effort this must have taken and the makers are still updating the content and adding new things. They list the composers and musicians etc, which I really appreciate, especially with the rise of AI these days. I’ll be buying the yearly subscription on my next payday and I am excited to see what new content they add over the next few years. I would love to see more medieval and fantasy scenes like castle and fairy pond. I would also love music for tense conversations and fun but competitive games, like archery competition music, and a one shot sound of a crowd clapping or cheering would be so helpful. ### 4/5 — Great Ttrpg soundscapes *2026-07-20, version 3.1.16* Love this app. Can’t wait to use it in more sessions. My one complaint is the “whispers” & “crowd” moods are all too loud. I would really appreciate some way to lower their volume. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Doesn’t AirPlay to HomePod or to Bluetooth speaker *2026-08-16, version 3.1.17* Title says it all… Also I would prefer paying once for each scene instead of an expensive subscription ### 1/5 — Freezes *2026-06-27, version 3.1.15* I can’t even get the tutorial to play. As soon as I downlod it, it’s feozen and no amount of tapping or swiping anywhere in the app gets it to work. ### 1/5 — Is this thing on? *2026-04-25, version 3.1.4* It’d be nice if it actually worked. Nice layout, it looks nice. But I was looking for something that actually played sounds, not just previews. ### 1/5 — cannot load at all! *2026-04-14* After you check the agreement box, it cannot process to the next page, leaving the prompt says “Unknown error occurred” **Developer response:** Hey culunv, thanks so much for this feedback. This is one of the first reports we've heard regarding this issue and we would REALLY love to follow up with you so we can figure this out. Based on your description, we think this may be caused by a network issue, but we won't be able to know unless we troubleshoot this problem. Please reach out to us at support@pocketbard.app and we'll figure it out together - thanks again for letting us know about this, and we look forward to hearing from you soon! ### 1/5 — Paid for the extra content before subscription *2026-02-22, version 3.0.25* I feel rather cheated. I paid for the extra content before it became a subscription. ### 1/5 — Removed Door Sounds *2025-12-20, version 3.0.22* Literally unusable now, bring back all the one shots! ### 1/5 — Tutorial download fails *2025-10-26, version 3.0.13* Consistent failed download of the “Tavern” scene in the tutorial. Not ready for a $50 annual price tag. ### 1/5 — Got greedy *2025-10-26, version 3.0.13* I would buy some of the scenes if I had money but now it’s locked behind a pay per month… or pay per year… just going to delete. ### 1/5 — Don’t purchase, unusable *2025-08-22, version 2.2.7* This is a scam at worst and unfinished beta at best ### 1/5 — This seems suspicious *2025-01-18, version 2.2.4* I tried to read (view terms) the “updated terms of service” popup before using and every time I choose to read it’ll refresh and keeps serving the same option. It won’t allow me to “view terms” leaving me with just “agree”. I’ll happily change the rating if the dev fixes this. I’d like to know if you are locked into an auto subscription, timed trial, or less options for free unlimited use. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Dude the free version is amazing *2026-08-27, version 3.1.17* So I am no Matt Mercer, but as a DM I like to throw some flare…….. how do I do so, well simple I just grab blue tooth speaker and put on pocket bard. Now the control are simple where I don’t need to mix any thing. I run a computer and then pocket bard off my phone. Works like a charm. You in a town, ya bet you are going to here busy streets. A dark entity is trying to talk to my player- the whispers will be ever faint but heard. Wolves at the gates ya know the got them howls. I guess what I am trying to say is stop looking this is the app you want for your next d&d session to emersion our players crave ever since baulders gate came out. ### 5/5 — Set the tone for your next dnd adventure! *2026-08-27, version 3.1.17* I was looking to improve my audio experience for my players. And I stumbled upon Pocket Bard. The control you have over a scene is phenomenal! I’m only using the free version right now and it’s so good! Hope to purchase the year subscription to support this wonderful app! ### 5/5 — A scene for everything *2026-08-22, version 3.1.17* This app has been so great for my campaigns. I’ve also been enjoying having it on as I do everyday things. You can tell a lot of effort has gone into the music and sound effects. The developers also are really quick to help out on the discord and very friendly. ### 5/5 — First choice *2026-08-19, version 3.1.17* Great tool for sessions - unobtrusive and easy to set up. ### 5/5 — No sound *2026-08-18, version 3.1.17* I have been trying for a bit but no audio is coming from this app. it didn’t ask for the permission for audio either, could someone help please? uptdate: i downloaded it on my pc and it started working on both. i’m not sure what the issue was or why it is solved but i enjoy this app. ### 5/5 — Soooo handy *2026-08-17, version 3.1.17* This is the best ambience app I’ve ever had. It has so many ambiences that help with my campaign, especially when my space clown player does something completely random lolz ### 5/5 — Best music *2026-08-16, version 3.1.17* Ever since I got this my games have gotten so much more interesting and fun ### 5/5 — It’s perfect in every way *2026-08-14, version 3.1.16* As a musician who plays dnd, when I first tried out the app, I thought it was all AI music because of how perfect and smoothly it all transitioned but when I learned that it was all composed and played by actual people??? Absolutely amazing app with so many choices, even with the free part you get everything you could possibly need for every situations your players will get you in. And you can adapt to that in the simple click of a button. Love it 🔥 ### 5/5 — Amazing *2026-08-11, version 3.1.16* Best way to play music for my dnd campaign ### 5/5 — It’s the best DND app I’ve ever seen *2026-08-08, version 3.1.16* It is a crime that this app isn’t 5 stars, as I don’t even need to pay to use this app’s beautiful music and ambience. I’m shocked that there aren’t some form of ads at all. EDIT: Fun fact - if you turn on the lyrics in the Tavern, set the intensity to max, and turn on the crowd, there will be a crowd of singers. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-04.*