Handpan vs Aether Jam
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Hang instrument simulation
- High-quality audio
- Low latency playback
- Sound customization
- Record and save tunes
- Intuitive interface
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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
Aether Jam
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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
Verdict
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
Handpan costs $2.99 and Aether Jam $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
| Parameter | Handpan | Aether Jam |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 3.8 (21 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 35.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 21 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aliaksei Vatutsin | Diego Ponciano |
In-app purchases
Handpan
No in-app purchases
Aether Jam
No in-app purchases









