Soft Drummer vs SKIIID
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Soft Drummer
This app provides natural acoustic drum sounds and improvises musically with warm grooves for various genres. It offers multi-track MIDI export, live pad performance, and synchronization with other apps. Create rhythmic structures for songs quickly and control parameters via MIDI.
- Natural acoustic drum sounds
- Improvise musically
- Multi-track MIDI export
- Live performance pads
- Ableton Link synchronization
- MIDI control and output
- Song mode for rhythmic structures
Read full descriptionHide full description
Soft Drummer is your subtle session drummer, and now it works as an AUv3 plugin inside GarageBand, AUM, Loopy Pro or your favourite DAW. It doesn't loop. It improvises. With brushes, hot rods and hands, Soft Drummer generates warm, musical grooves for ballads, soft pop, jazz and latin, adapting in real time like a real session player. No patterns. No repetition. AUv3 Use Soft Drummer as a plugin in any AUv3 host. Send and receive grooves between Soft Drummer, Pop Drummer and iBassist. Sync everything in real time. SOUND More than 50 multilayer sounds with 3 hit types (ghost, accented, drag/open) × 3 Round Robin alternating samples for natural, authentic feel. 4 playing styles: Brushes, Hot Rods, Hands and Mallets. 4 Effects: Compressor/Gate, EQ, Delay and Reverb with individual track control. LIVE PERFORMANCE 8 assignable Live Pads for fills, intros and endings, playable live or with any MIDI controller (iRig Blueboard and 4-button compatible). Ableton Link sync for tight integration with your setup. SONG MODE Build your song structure in seconds. Arrange rhythmic sections and let Soft Drummer follow your song from intro to outro. MIDI MIDI Out, MIDI Sync (Legacy, recommended Ableton Link), Sound Module (Play individual sounds by MIDI In). ⏺ Assignable MIDI controls (default mapping): - Transport: Play: G2 · Fill: C2 · Fill + Play/Stop: A2 · Tap Tempo: Bb2 - LivePads: Pads 1–8: C1–G1 · Load LivePad: C3 · Previous LivePad: Db3 · Next LivePad: D3 · Select LivePad Set: Eb3 · Fill on LivePad Change: E2 - Performance: Toggle Hats/Ride: Db2 · Fill + Toggle Hats/Ride: D2 · Toggle Snare: Eb2 · Crash Cymbal: B2 · Random: B1 - Songs: Previous: Gb2 · Next: Ab2 - Continuous controls: Jam: CC1 · Intensity: CC2 · Master Volume: CC7 · Swing: CC11 · Progression: CC12 · Tempo Fader: CC20 · Reverb: CC91 - Sound selection: Bank: CC32 · Rhythm: CC0 · Soundset: Program Change All assignments are user-remappable. Note octave naming follows the Logic / Cubase / Ableton / Pro Tools convention (middle C = C3) and is adjustable in MIDI Setup → OCTAVE REFERENCE. Tempo Fader is standalone-only (host-driven in AUv3). EXPORT Multi-Track or Full Mix export in seconds. Audio, MIDI or with Effects , your choice. TRY FOR FREE Soft Drummer is free to explore for 7 days with access to all features. Some actions are limited during the trial (exports, random grooves, sound changes and bars per session). After the trial, keep playing with more limitations. Unlock everything with a one-time purchase, no subscription.
SKIIID
This app is a percussion synthesizer designed for live performance. It features four morphing pads where finger position controls sound parameters and velocity. Explore deep sound design with a step sequencer, auto-mutation, and chaos engine for instant sound generation.
- Four morphing percussion pads
- Real-time parameter control via touch
- 16-step sequencer per pad
- Auto-mutate sound evolution
- Chaos engine for instant sound generation
- AUv3 plugin support
- MIDI input and Ableton Link sync
Read full descriptionHide full description
SKIIID is a percussion synthesizer built for real-time performance. Four pads. Each one is a sound sculpted by where your finger lands. Move left or right to morph between synth parameters. Move up or down to control velocity. Simple to play, deep to explore. — PADS — Four independent drum voices. Each pad morphs between parameter extremes based on X-axis position. Velocity is Y-axis. — STEP SEQUENCER — 16-step sequencer per pad. Variable step length for polyrhythms. Reverse playback, shuffle, pin and random step modes. Sync to Ableton Link or run free. — AUTO-MUTATE — Evolves your sound automatically. Individual interval and intensity per pad, synced to tempo. — CHAOS ENGINE — RANDOM, CHAOS, and MUTATE modes generate new sounds instantly. — AUv3 PLUGIN — Run SKIIID inside AUM, ApeMatrix, Audiobus, or any AUv3 host. Multiple instances work independently — different patches, different sequencers, no shared state. — MIDI — MIDI In for pad triggering. MIDI Learn for external controller mapping. Ableton Link for tempo sync. — WORKS ON — iPhone and iPad, all modern screen sizes. Landscape mode.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Soft Drummer at Free against SKIIID's $3.99. Soft Drummer also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (91% vs 74%). SKIIID's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Soft Drummer is free to download; SKIIID costs $3.99 up front. Soft Drummer sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. SKIIID asks for nothing beyond the download.
Soft Drummer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Soft Drummer has 509 ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Soft Drummer's written reviews are positive against 74% of SKIIID's.
Soft Drummer ships an update every 2 months, SKIIID every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Soft Drummer | SKIIID |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (509 ratings) — better | 4.4 (31 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 91.3% of reviews — better | 73.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 509 — better | 31 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.3 GB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lumbeat | Stephan Bolch |
Customer experience
Soft Drummer
SKIIID
Bugs and requests
Soft Drummer
Reported bugs
2 issues- Song mode issues, including crashes and missing features
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions and devices
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for time signatures beyond 4/4
- Improve MIDI integration and control
- Implement audio/MIDI export options
- Provide preset management and organization
SKIIID
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Soft Drummer
- Big & Low$3.99
- Presence$3.99
- Raw Brush$3.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Tight Control$3.99
- Clayton$4.99
- Joe$4.99
- Soft Drummer Full Access$22.99
SKIIID
No in-app purchases









