# Soft Drummer vs Backpack Studio

The clearest difference is update cadence: Backpack Studio at weekly against Soft Drummer's every 4 weeks. Soft Drummer's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 79%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Soft Drummer sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and Backpack Studio sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Soft Drummer against 4.6 for Backpack Studio. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 515 and 307 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Soft Drummer's written reviews are positive against 79% of Backpack Studio's.

Soft Drummer ships an update every 4 weeks, Backpack Studio weekly. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Soft Drummer | Backpack Studio |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (515 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soft-drummer-brush-sessions/id1120957633/reviews)** | [4.6 (307 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/backpack-studio/id1438882186/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **515** | 307 |
| Positive reviews | **91.3% of reviews** | 78.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 816 MB | 133 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lumbeat](https://appshunter.io/developer/590278231) | [Ed Filowat](https://appshunter.io/developer/657780411) |

## What reviewers say

### Soft Drummer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soft-drummer-brush-sessions/id1120957633)

This app generates realistic, improvisational drum grooves for various genres using brushes, hot rods, and hands. It functions as an AUv3 plugin for DAWs and offers extensive sound customization, live performance pads, and song structuring capabilities. Export options include audio, MIDI, and effects.

**Highlights:** Improvisational drum groove generation, AUv3 plugin for DAWs, Brush, hot rod, and hand playing styles, Multi-layer sounds with round robin, Live performance pads, Song structure building, MIDI In/Out and Ableton Link sync

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Big & Low | $3.99 | one-time |
| Presence | $3.99 | one-time |
| Raw Brush | $3.99 | one-time |
| Tight Control | $3.99 | one-time |
| Clayton | $4.99 | one-time |
| Joe | $4.99 | one-time |
| Studio Mix | $8.99 | one-time |
| Soft Drummer Full Access | $22.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Excellent sound quality
- 🎢 Realistic and natural-sounding rhythms
- 🎛️ Flexible and customizable features
- 🎶 Great for practicing, jamming, and composing
- 🎧 Authentic brush and mallet sounds

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤔 Unintuitive user interface
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 💰 Expensive for an iOS app
- 📚 Lack of documentation and tutorials

**Reported bugs**

- Song mode issues, including crashes and missing features
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions and devices

**Requested features**

- Add support for time signatures beyond 4/4
- Improve MIDI integration and control
- Implement audio/MIDI export options
- Provide preset management and organization


### Backpack Studio

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/backpack-studio/id1438882186)

Record, mix, and master professional-sounding podcasts and radio shows directly from your mobile device. This app automates post-production, allowing you to focus on creativity with live sound triggering and advanced audio processing.

**Highlights:** Live sound triggering with automatic volume adjustment, Unlimited soundboard pages with customizable pads, Import sounds from various cloud services and apps, Optional subscription for remote guest recording and live streaming, Create video versions of podcasts with animations, Automatic studio-quality audio mastering and EQ, Customizable shortcuts for recording and sound triggering

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Backpack Live 10 Hours | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Pro Subscription | $11.99 | per month |
| Backpack Live 25 Hours | $19.99 | per month |
| Backpack Live 60 Hours | $29.99 | per month |
| backpack pro annual | $99.00 | per year |
| Live Streaming | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for video editing
- 👍 Compatible with screen readers
- 👍 Easy to create videos with text and audio
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 👍 Flawless performance and stability

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Text displayed in videos differs from original
- 🐛 Crashes when trying to load pads from Dropbox or Google Drive
- 🐛 Buttons not responsive, causing issues during live playback
- 🐛 Crashes when trying to add album art to saved audio files
- 🔒 Lacks support for Google Drive and 2FA security

**Reported bugs**

- Text displayed in videos differs from original
- Crashes when trying to load pads from Dropbox or Google Drive
- Buttons not responsive, causing issues during live playback
- Crashes when trying to add album art to saved audio files

**Requested features**

- Add more audio effects (reverb, echo, etc.)
- Implement Apple Watch integration for controls
- Add video recording and editing capabilities
- Improve multi-track output for further audio editing
- Provide option to disable the dark pad after playing


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Soft Drummer free?

Soft Drummer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Backpack Studio free?

Backpack Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Soft Drummer or Backpack Studio?

Soft Drummer is rated higher. Soft Drummer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 515 ratings, while Backpack Studio averages 4.6 from 307 ratings.

### Do Soft Drummer or Backpack Studio have ads?

Neither Soft Drummer nor Backpack Studio shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Soft Drummer or Backpack Studio?

Soft Drummer ships an update every 4 weeks, and Backpack Studio weekly. Most recently, Soft Drummer was updated on November 2, 2026 and Backpack Studio on November 2, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*