Comparison

Drumstik vs Drum

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

Head to head
About

Drumstik

Record musical ideas directly from your electronic drum kit and automatically generate transcriptions. Edit, share, and analyze your performance with a unique coaching mode. Access an online platform for lessons and practice materials to improve your drumming skills.

Highlights
  • Automatic transcription from electronic drums
  • Score editing and sharing
  • Online content platform for lessons
  • Performance analysis with 'coach' mode
  • Progress tracking and history
  • Practice with provided working documents
Features
Read full description

TRANSCRIPTION, EDITING AND SHARING Drumstik is an application that allows you to create scores while playing directly on your electronic drum kit! You have an idea ? Need to quickly lay down your inspiration? Launch Drumstik, play your groove to generate your transcription automatically! Rework it as much as you want from the Score Editor, then share it with those who need it. CONTENT PLATFORM You want to develop your playing techniques? You are looking for exciting new challenges? Drumstik gives you access to online content platform to become a better drummer. The lessons are accessible to everyone: whatever your level! The working documents are provided with the sessions so that you can practice directly with the software. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS All scores edited with Drumstik (or available on our online platform) are compatible with our unique functionality: "coach" mode! You want to achieve the perfect performance? You want to know if you are playing over time? Load the partition you want to train on in the software, play over it and that’s it! Drumstik analyzes your game, and provides you with a performance history to view your progress!

About

Drum

This app recreates the distinctive sound of early 1980s electronic drum modules combined with sampled real cymbal sounds. It offers a virtual analog engine for drum synthesis and a separate engine for realistic cymbal playback, providing a unique sonic palette for music production.

Highlights
  • Virtual analog engine for 80s drum sounds
  • Sampled real cymbal sounds
  • Dual sound engines for drums and cymbals
  • Multiple output options
  • Built-in effects (limiter, delay, reverb)
  • Unlimited program storage
Features
Read full description

Please note: 1) This App comes with an AUv3 plugin extension. 2) To play the cymbal samples, a separate download (free, in-app) of ~180 MB is required. The App also works without the cymbal samples. INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND We all know and use electronic drums today, but at the beginning of the 80's the first electronic drums were a real novelty that revolutionized not only the sound of music of those years, but also the workflow in the recording studio. Many producers preferred to record the sound of electronic drums rather than acoustic drums because it saved time and money, avoiding having to mount microphones, find the right positions, spend hours equalizing and correcting the recorded material. With an electronic drum set it was quicker: it was enough to connect the cables and maybe find the right sound for the song, which was a perfect scenario especially for many low-cost productions, for example those of pop music. The first electronic drums were completely analog, they generated the sounds of the drums using only a few elements such as an oscillator and a white noise generator, plus a couple of envelopes and a filter. The sound wasn't exactly realistic but it was peculiar, and perfect for creating certain sounds never heard before. The downside was that electronic drums could only generate the sound of drums but not cymbals. For this reason, the sound of real cymbals was recorded alongside the sound of electronic drums. This kind of setup was also used live quite often. It was common to see a drummer on stage playing the typical hexagonal pads but combined with a set of real cymbals. GSi Drum-80 reproduces that exact scenario. It contains two separate sound engines that can play at the same time. One engine recreates the sounds of the famous electronic drum module known as the Simmons SDS-V (very similar to the later SDS-8 model); at the same time, the exclusive GSi WLF Engine plays a multi-sample of real cymbals recorded exclusively for Drum-80. Main features - Virtual Analog Engine based on the famous SDS-V drum module - Optional VCO phase reset - Supports multiple outputs (one stereo mix, six individual drum synth channels, one stereo channel for Cymbals) - Sampled Cymbal sounds (Hi-Hat, Ride, 4 Crashes, 3 Splashes) provided by the exclusive GSi WLF Engine - Full Polyphony - Separate section with adjustments for Cymbal sounds (tuning, leveling and EQ) - Stereo 1176-Style Limiter - Stereo Delay effect - Stereo Reverb effect - Built-in programmer with unlimited Programs - Embedded user's manual - Available as Stand-alone application and audio plugin (AUv3 for iPad) - Very low CPU and RAM usage Visit home page for audio and video demos.

Screenshots

Drumstik4 screens
Drum3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Drum at 4.8 against Drumstik's 1.0. Drum also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 53%) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). Drumstik's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 7 months) and price ($13.99 vs $14.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Drumstik costs $13.99 and Drum $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Drum holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drum has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Drumstik's written reviews are positive against 80% of Drum's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drumstik ships an update every 6 weeks, Drum every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Drumstik versus Drum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrumstikDrum
Price$13.99 — better$14.99
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.8 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.3% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size238 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerjulien juraGenuine Soundware

Customer experience

Drumstik

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative40.0%

Drum

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

None

Drumstik

No in-app purchases

None

Drum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drumstik free?
Drumstik costs $13.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Drum free?
Drum costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drumstik or Drum?
Drum is rated higher. Drumstik averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Drum averages 4.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Drumstik or Drum have ads?
Neither Drumstik nor Drum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drumstik or Drum?
Drumstik ships an update every 6 weeks, and Drum every 7 months. Most recently, Drumstik was updated on September 28, 2026 and Drum on October 12, 2026.

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