Comparison

Music Theory Rhythms vs Tempo

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Music Theory Rhythms

Enhance rhythmic and polyrhythmic skills with customizable exercises. Practice hand independence and improve sight-reading through a variety of note values, time signatures, and tempo settings. Save and print results for progress tracking.

Highlights
  • Rhythmic and polyrhythmic skill development
  • Hand independence exercises
  • Customizable time signatures and measures
  • Variety of note and rest values
  • Adjustable tempo with accuracy feedback
  • Printable grade book for saved results
Read full description

Teachers, students and professional musicians: Work on your rhythmic and polyrhythmic skills. Develop better hand independence with two lines of rhythms. From very simple to nearly impossible. Sight reading rhythms won't be a problem anymore. Includes a 'Grade Book' list of all saved results that you can print or send. Customize: • Time signatures: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 or 5/4. • Number of measures: 4 to 16. • One or two lines of rhythms. • One, two, or three pitches per line. • With or without rests. • Any combination of note/rest values you want: Whole, Half, Quarter, Eighth, Sixteenth, Dotted Half, Dotted Quarter, Dotted Eighth, Triplet Half, Triplet Quarter, and Triplet Eighths. • Exclude grading note durations to better test percussionists or to focus on accuracy alone. • Listen to the rhythm before and after you attempt playing it. • Tempo 30 to 150 bpm. The required accuracy of attacks and sustains changes with the tempo selected, so if you slow down the rhythm, you need to be more accurate. Likewise, faster tempos will give you a bigger 'window' but it'll be going by faster. • On/Off scrolling line of current location. The Grade Book is filterable by name. Grades include the name, date and time the quiz was taken, all relevant settings (note values included, rests, length, etc.), and score (percentage and letter grade).

About

Tempo

Features
Read full description

The fastest way to write and save drum notation. Capture the bar you keep coming back to. Every drummer has that one part. The one that slows you down. The one you repeat over and over. Tempo lets you pull it out, keep it with you, and actually nail it. Built for real practice - Quickly input drum notation (including cymbals) - Save bars for later - Export and share as clean images - Play back and hear what you've written - Follow along for that consistent practice experience Perfect for: - Drummers working through tricky sections - Teachers sharing bite-sized exercises - Capturing ideas without friction No clutter. No learning curve. No timelines. No full compositions. Just fast, focused notation when you need it. Terms and conditions for Tempo Premium: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Music Theory Rhythms4 screens
Tempo3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Tempo at Free against Music Theory Rhythms's $3.99. Tempo also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 36 months) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Music Theory Rhythms's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads 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

Tempo is free to download; Music Theory Rhythms costs $3.99 up front. Tempo sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $14.99 per year. Music Theory Rhythms asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Music Theory Rhythms ships an update every 36 months, Tempo every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Music Theory Rhythms versus Tempo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusic Theory RhythmsTempo
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating3.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 36 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPatrick Q. KellyDean Hetherington

In-app purchases

None

Music Theory Rhythms

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Tempo

Subscriptions1
  • Premium$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Music Theory Rhythms free?
Music Theory Rhythms costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tempo free?
Tempo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Music Theory Rhythms or Tempo have ads?
Neither Music Theory Rhythms nor Tempo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Music Theory Rhythms or Tempo?
Music Theory Rhythms ships an update every 36 months, and Tempo every 5 days. Most recently, Music Theory Rhythms was updated on October 27, 2026 and Tempo on October 25, 2026.

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