# Sapling Beats — Calm, ad-free drums for kids

> Calm, ad-free drums for kids (iPhone/iPad app by Jonathan Hood.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sapling-beats/id6788583903 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Jonathan Hood](https://appshunter.io/developer/6788411702)
- Category: Education, Music
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 35 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-08-26
- Data updated: 2026-09-19
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sapling-beats/id6788583903/reviews.md

## What is Sapling Beats?

Sapling Beats is a calm, ad-free drum machine and beat maker for curious kids.

Two ways to play:
- Play Drums: tap big, colorful pads and explore sound kits inspired by drums, forests, music, robots, and more.
- Make Beats: a simple step sequencer where kids tap squares to build a groove and press Play. Beat Idea offers a ready-made rhythm to start from, and speed animals (snail, turtle, rabbit) set the tempo. Add more beats, Half Beats, and more drums as their ideas grow.

The parent-gated Recordings kit lets families make six short sounds of their own. Hold a pad to record, release to save, then use that sound in Play Drums or Make Beats. Recordings stay in private app storage and never leave the device.

Made for little hands and big imaginations:
- Picture-labeled controls for pre-readers
- Grow the grid from 4 to 8 to 16 steps, and 4 to 6 drum rows, as kids are ready
- A quiet, warm look that's easy on the eyes and ears
- Uses the device's familiar volume buttons, plus a parent-gated Half Volume for little ears

Made by two professors and parents who were tired of "educational" apps that are really ad machines. So we built the opposite:
- No ads, ever
- No accounts and no sign-in
- No data collected from children
- No social features and no links kids can wander out of
- Works completely offline

Start with a generous collection of core sound kits free. A parent-gated,
optional one-time Sound Pack purchase adds more playful sounds, including
Silly Notes, Weather, Farmyard, Spooky, and Jingle. There is no subscription,
and the free kits stay free.

From Sapling Hollow Studios — calm educational apps for curious kids.

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sound Pack | $1.99 | one-time |



## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 1.0.2 — 2026-09-06

Making music is simpler with a clearer toolbar on phones and tablets, a playable starting rhythm, and easier access to Beat Idea. Hold Beat keeps one rhythm so Play Together can layer it with the rhythm you are making. Drum pads have larger pictures and playful tap animations. We also refined Settings and purchase messaging.

### 1.0.1 — 2026-08-29

Beat grids now stay easy to tap on phones, with simple pages for longer patterns and Half Beats. Current work and Saved Beats now survive closing the app. Tablet sound-kit and Settings layouts are roomier, with additional reliability and purchase-safety improvements.

### 1.0 — 2026-08-26

No release notes.

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## More apps by Jonathan Hood

- [Sapling Draw](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sapling-draw/id6788411700)
- [Sapling Tangram: Kids Puzzle](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sapling-tangram-kids-puzzle/id6791771560)

All apps by Jonathan Hood: https://appshunter.io/developer/6788411702

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*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 2026-09-19.*