Comparison

Handpan vs Aether Jam

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

Head to head
About

Handpan

This music application transforms your smartphone into a realistic Hang instrument simulator. It offers high-quality sounds, intuitive design, and is suitable for musicians of all levels. Record, save, and play your own tunes with ease.

Highlights
  • Hang instrument simulation
  • High-quality audio
  • Low latency playback
  • Sound customization
  • Record and save tunes
  • Intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

At the moment, Handpan is a best and closest sounding Hang instrument simulator. Handpan is a simple and easy-to-use music application which will turn your smartphone into a real musical instrument! Handpan contains only high-quality sounds, has good graphics and neat design. The app is suitable for both a beginner musician and an experienced percussionist. Features: - 2 different types of the Handpan instrument - High-quality sounds - Playback without delays (low latency audio) - Sound settings - Possibility to record, save, and play saved tunes - Animations - Easy-to-use

About

Aether Jam

Features
Read full description

Aether is the simplest way to jam progressive and melodic house from your phone. Build a track as a stack of layers — Bass, Chords, Drums, and a live Lead — each started from a curated loop and tuned with friendly controls. No timeline, no clutter: just pick a sound and play. One synth, everywhere. A single wavetable engine powers Bass, Chords, and Lead. Morph the oscillator from sine to saw to square, sweep the filter, shape the envelope, and save your sound to a global library you can reuse on any layer. Play, don't program. The Lead is performed live on a scale-locked pad grid — every pad is in key, so there are no wrong notes. Hold several pads for chords, slide for glissando, and ride the one-finger filter-morph ribbon. The shimmer river. A shared shimmer-reverb send that any track can attach to or detach from with a tap — add lush, blooming octaves to exactly the tracks you want. Make it yours. • Swap loops, kits and chord progressions in one tap • Per-track volume faders and mute • Adjustable tempo, live • Transpose the bass, change the lead octave • Record your jam to a file and grab it from the Files app Everything stays on your device. No account, no sign-up, no data collected. Plug in headphones and start jamming.

Screenshots

Handpan3 screens
Aether Jam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Aether Jam at every 2 weeks against Handpan's every 8 months. Handpan's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $8.99) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads and in-app purchases 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

Handpan costs $2.99 and Aether Jam $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handpan ships an update every 8 months, Aether Jam every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Handpan versus Aether Jam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandpanAether Jam
Price$2.99 — better$8.99
Rating3.8 (21 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews35.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings21 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAliaksei VatutsinDiego Ponciano

In-app purchases

None

Handpan

No in-app purchases

None

Aether Jam

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Handpan free?
Handpan costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Aether Jam free?
Aether Jam costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Handpan or Aether Jam have ads?
Neither Handpan nor Aether Jam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Handpan or Aether Jam?
Handpan ships an update every 8 months, and Aether Jam every 2 weeks. Most recently, Handpan was updated on September 30, 2026 and Aether Jam on October 9, 2026.

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