Comparison

Drum Notes vs GigNotes

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

Head to head
About

Drum Notes

Create, share, and practice percussive music scores with an intuitive editor. Explore a global community of drummers and percussionists, access thousands of beats, and utilize practice tools. Ideal for musicians, teachers, and bands of all levels.

Highlights
  • Intuitive score editor for drum set and percussion
  • Explore and learn from community-shared beats and rhythms
  • Practice tools including metronome and rhythm trainer
  • Organize rhythms, arrangements, and exercises
  • Create and share drum exercises for students
  • Export scores as audio or image formats
Features
Read full description

* Grammy Academy awarded: app to support percussive music preservation. Write, share, and practice drum music like never before. Join over 200,000 drummers and percussionists in 180 countries who have already created 400,000+ scores with Drum Notes, a simple app to create and share drum beats, music scores, drum lessons, drum loops, drum tabs and rhythms. Ideal for beginners and pros alike. Drum Notes features an intuitive score creator, perfect for drumset and percussive genres like Samba, Marching Bands, Drumlines, Cuban percussion, and Drum grooves. Think of it as a more accessible version of Musescore, Flat or Finale, tailored for drummers. Like a drum machine or drum sequencer with real drum scores. FOR DRUMMERS - ALL LEVELS Intuitive Music Score Editor: Effortlessly create percussive sheet music with a user-friendly music writing editor, for drum set or any percussion instrument. Explore Beats: Learn drums by discovering thousands of beats, loops, and percussion samples from our drumming community. Practice Tools: Adjust your own pro metronome, customize grooves, and use the drum score editor as a rhythm trainer. Organize Your Notes: Keep rhythms, arrangements, recordings, and exercises neatly organized. FOR TEACHERS - ENHANCE YOUR INSTRUCTION Drum Exercises: Create, share, and manage exercises with ease. Student-Teacher Groups: Maintain shared spaces for class materials and track progress. Public Library: Access and share a wealth of exercises and materials. FOR BANDS - PERFECT FOR BATUCADAS Arrange and Share: Organize complex patterns and rhythms, and export them in audio or image formats. Private Groups: Create groups for sharing compositions and performance notes. Explore Percussion Rhythms: Discover diverse samples and beats to inspire and enhance your band’s sound. FOR CONTENT CREATORS - SHARE PROFESSIONAL CONTENT Export Options: Share drum grooves as high-quality audio or images. Perfect for showcasing your work on social media. Diverse Library: Use an extensive collection of beats and samples for creating stunning content. FOR MUSICIANS - EXPAND YOUR PLAYBACK OPTIONS Playback Tool: Use Drum Notes to playback loops and samples for various instruments. Versatile Use: Ideal for enhancing rhythm and practice sessions with authentic beats. ADDITIONAL FEATURES Diverse percussion instruments: Drum Set Electronic Drum Kit Cajon Rumba Instruments: Congas, Clave, Cowbell, Shaker, etc. Samba Instruments: Surdos, Repique, Caixa, Agogos, Rebolo, Pandeiro, etc. Samba Reggae Instruments: Timbal, Bacurinha, etc. Marching Band / Drumline Instruments: Quads, Snare Drums, Bass Drum, Cymbals. Capoeira Instruments: Berimbau Viola, Berimbau Berra Boi, Berimbau Medio, Agogo, Pandeiro, Atabaque And many more… Percussion Library: Rock, Jazz, Samba, Marching Band, Capoeira, and many more. Customizable Settings: Adjust metronome BPM, sound accents, and more. Global Community: Connect with percussionists and drummers worldwide. PREMIUM FEATURES Unlock unlimited compositions, percussive instruments per score, and private groups. Support our mission to improve musical knowledge. JOIN THE DRUM NOTES COMMUNITY Developed by a team dedicated to empowering drummers and percussionists. Drum Coach App: Explore our app for developing practice habits with exercises, scores, and audio instructions. We wish you great grooves! #drum, #drums, #drumline, #samba, #percussion * if you are looking for the app Drumap (drum app; drum map), this is it! Now we are called Drum Notes. upbeat.studio https://upbeat.studio/privacy-policy-drum-notes/ https://upbeat.studio/terms-and-conditions-drum-notes/

About

GigNotes

Manage your songs, sheets, and setlists for live performances and rehearsals. Import various file types, transpose chords instantly, and organize gigs with detailed notes. Features include half-page turns, full-screen mode, handwritten notes, and offline functionality.

Highlights
  • Import sheet music (PDF, photos, ChordPro)
  • Instant chord transposition
  • Create setlists with gig details
  • Half-page turns and full-screen mode
  • Handwritten notes on sheets
  • Offline functionality
  • Built-in metronome
  • MIDI command support
Features
Read full description

Play live without paper.
 GigNotes keeps your songs, sheets, and setlists ready for rehearsals and gigs.
 Built for musicians who perform on stage. Whether you’re playing concerts, rehearsing with your band, or preparing for worship services, GigNotes helps you stay organized and focused on what matters most — your performance. Key Features (Free) • Import sheet music your way
Add PDFs, photos, or ChordPro files in seconds. • Instant chord transposition
Change keys on the fly for vocalists or instruments (ChordPro). • Create setlists for gigs and rehearsals
Organize songs with tempo, key, notes, date, time, and venue. • Half-page turns
Smooth page turning, perfect for Bluetooth pedals. • Full-screen performance mode
Clean, distraction-free view on stage. • Handwritten notes
Write directly on your sheets using Apple Pencil or stylus. • Works fully offline
No internet required. • Built-in metronome
Accurate tempo control with tap tempo. • MIDI command support
Control MIDI devices (for example keyboards) directly from each song. Go Professional – Play as a Band Unlock powerful collaboration tools with GigNotes Professional: • Share setlists and music notes instantly with bandmates. • Receive complete gigs and setlists from other musicians. • Store unlimited gigs and setlists. • Secure cloud backup and easy data restore. Why Musicians Choose GigNotes • Designed by live musicians, not office software. • Perfect for concerts, rehearsals, tours, and worship bands. • Paperless workflow with no binders or loose pages. • Supports ChordPro, PDFs, photos, MIDI, and Bluetooth pedals. • Reliable on stage, even without internet access. GigNotes adapts to your workflow whether you’re a solo performer, part of a band, or leading a worship team. Focus on playing, not organizing.
Try GigNotes and take your live performance to the next level.

Screenshots

Drum Notes4 screens
GigNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: GigNotes at none against Drum Notes's shown. GigNotes also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 56%). Drum Notes's advantage is ratings volume (208 vs 35). On price, rating, update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Drum Notes sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and GigNotes sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Drum Notes against 4.7 for GigNotes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drum Notes has 208 ratings behind it against 35, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Drum Notes's written reviews are positive against 82% of GigNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Drum Notes versus GigNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrum NotesGigNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (208 ratings)4.7 (35 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.3% of reviews81.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings208 — better35
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size133 MB97 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUPBEAT STUDIOAccent Studio

Customer experience

Drum Notes

All ratings207 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral3.4%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral18.8%
Negative25.0%

GigNotes

All ratings34 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.2%

Bugs and requests

Drum Notes

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • App crashes constantly
  • App crashes on iPad
  • Accents don't work after saving
  • Beta score writing features don't work
  • App freezes on loading screen
Show 16 more
  • App crashes when trying to access saved rhythms
  • Previously created playlists don't show up
  • Unable to listen to playlists
  • App closes out several times a minute
  • App deleted created content
  • Sounds lag, creating flam type sounds
  • Agogo bell sounds reversed
  • Loss of content after account creation
  • Loss of content after app name change
  • Unexplained charges and card locking
  • App not opening arrangements or showing instruments
  • App crashes after 15 minutes
  • Inability to share on iPad
  • Inability to save as image on iPad
  • Unresponsive beta features
  • App crashes and closes unexpectedly

Requested features

19 requests
  • Add whole note bass drum roll
  • Increase save space
  • Add MIDI export
  • Add feature to play individual instruments by tapping
  • Improve marching percussion sounds
Show 14 more
  • Add dark mode
  • Add 8th note/1 time division option
  • Allow export of sheet to image on free version
  • Fix accent bug
  • Make accented beats easier to create
  • Add BPM configuration
  • Improve sound quality of marching percussion
  • Add feature to play different instruments instead of editing
  • Make score layout better for longer scores
  • Fix iPad specific sharing issues
  • Fix beta score writing features
  • Offer a one-time purchase option
  • Fix issues with previously created playlists not showing up
  • Fix issues with not being able to listen to playlists

GigNotes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Drum Notes

Subscriptions8
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$5.991 Month
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$7.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly Subscription$42.991 Year
Show 5 more
  • Premium Yearly Subscription1 Year trial$42.991 Year
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$44.996 Months
  • Premium yearly Subscription$49.991 Year
  • Premium yearly subscription14 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Drumap PRO Yearly Offer1 Year trial$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • Samba on Drum set workshop$5.99
  • Music Capoeria Workshop$6.99
5 purchases

GigNotes

Subscriptions5
  • Monthly Professional$2.491 Month
  • Annual Professional$23.991 Year
  • Professional – 5 Seats$107.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Professional – 10 Seats$214.991 Year
  • Professional – 15 Seats$300.001 Year

Questions

Is Drum Notes free?
Drum Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GigNotes free?
GigNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drum Notes or GigNotes?
GigNotes is rated higher. Drum Notes averages 4.6 out of 5 from 208 ratings, while GigNotes averages 4.7 from 35 ratings.
Do Drum Notes or GigNotes have ads?
Drum Notes shows ads; GigNotes does not.
Which is updated more often, Drum Notes or GigNotes?
Drum Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, and GigNotes every 2 weeks. Most recently, Drum Notes was updated on October 24, 2026 and GigNotes on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons