Comparison

Darbuka Rhythms vs TextMetronome

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

Head to head
About

Darbuka Rhythms

Learn and practice Middle Eastern rhythms with visual note guides, pre-set rhythms, and a rhythm designer. Includes video lessons and ear training exercises. Ideal for percussionists, bellydancers, and beginners.

Highlights
  • Visual note descriptions
  • 20 rhythms with variations
  • Rhythm designer
  • Rhythm player with speed control
  • Video lessons
  • Rhythm identification training
  • Drum playing mode
Features
Read full description

Educating application for mobile devices, devoted to the Middle Eastern rhythms. A wonderful assistant for both professional percussionists and bellydancers, and the beginners. Darbuka Rhythms: - visual description of notes for visibility and easiness of understanding, - 20 rhythms in 11 variations with the detailed description of each rhythm and instrument, and the rhythm designer for creation of your own rhythms and variations for different instruments, - rhythm player with possibility of playback speed management and combination of the instruments sounds, - video lessons from famous dancers and percussionists - creation of compositions of various rhythms and their variations with the set beat and number of bars, - training of skills related to rhythms identification by ear. 2 modes, 3 difficulty levels and 160 tasks, - possibility to take on the role of a percussionist and play the drums. The author of the application is a famous percussionist Artem Uzunov.

About

TextMetronome

Features
Read full description

TextMetronome is a rhythm practice tool built around a simple idea: type a rhythm, hear and see it immediately. Try it in your browser: https://textmetronome.peckels.com/ Instead of building patterns through menus and clicking, you enter them as text. A syntax such as 4q 4e can be entered in seconds, while fraction-based polyrhythms such as 3:2, 5:3x, 4:7e, 14:3, and 16:3 are also supported. Visual feedback helps you follow the cycle, either as a single circular view or through individual rhythmic pairings. This makes it fast to test note values, tuplets, dotted notes, rests, accents, and polyrhythmic relationships in a direct and flexible way. Whether you are practicing, teaching, composing, or checking an idea, TextMetronome helps you hear rhythmic structures quickly and clearly. # Features: - Text-based rhythm input - One single input field and one play button - Pattern Orbit Visualisation - Digital and sample based click sounds - Fast syntax such as simple patterns 4q 4e (q-uarter e-ight notes) and tuplets. up to 9 (t-riplets, etc.) - Support for fraction-based polyrhythms such as 3:2 14:3, and 16:3 but also precise ratios e.g.: 5:3t (5 clicks over 3 triplets) - Circular visualisation of rhythmic cycles - Alternative visualisation of individual rhythm pairs - Presets save - Built-in example presets - Light and dark themes

Screenshots

Darbuka Rhythms4 screens
TextMetronome4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Darbuka Rhythms at Free against TextMetronome's $2.99. Darbuka Rhythms also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). TextMetronome's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly). 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

Darbuka Rhythms is free to download; TextMetronome costs $2.99 up front. Darbuka Rhythms sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. TextMetronome asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Darbuka Rhythms ships an update monthly, TextMetronome every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Darbuka Rhythms versus TextMetronome: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDarbuka RhythmsTextMetronome
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating3.8 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews53.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArtem UzunovFunkyDrumTutor

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Darbuka Rhythms

Subscriptions2
  • Premium$2.991 Month
  • Premium$14.991 Year
One-time8
  • Premium$0.99
  • Guess rhythm$3.99
  • Rhythms (beginners)$4.99
Show 5 more
  • Rhythms$6.99
  • Darbuka lessons. Level 1$8.99
  • Everything at once$11.99
  • All videos by Diana Gnatchenko$11.99
  • All rhythms and features$12.99
None

TextMetronome

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Darbuka Rhythms free?
Darbuka Rhythms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TextMetronome free?
TextMetronome costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Darbuka Rhythms or TextMetronome have ads?
Neither Darbuka Rhythms nor TextMetronome shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Darbuka Rhythms or TextMetronome?
Darbuka Rhythms ships an update monthly, and TextMetronome every 6 days. Most recently, Darbuka Rhythms was updated on October 24, 2026 and TextMetronome on October 28, 2026.

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