Comparison

Drum Notes vs Drumless

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

Drumless

Learn to play drums with your favorite songs. Generate drum notation from any song, play along with drumless backing tracks, and practice specific techniques. Offers personalized daily plans and a rudiment trainer that scores your timing.

Highlights
  • Generate drum notation from any song
  • Play along to drumless backing tracks
  • Loop and slow down sections
  • Rudiment trainer with timing score
  • Personalized daily practice plans
  • Curated song library with synced notation
Features
Read full description

Drumless turns the songs you love into drum practice. Bring in a song and you get drum notation in time with the music, ready to play along. Open the app and it asks one thing: what do you feel like doing today? Play a song, or practise. Pick one and you are behind the kit in seconds. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Play Any Song You Want Paste a YouTube link or upload an audio file. Drum notation appears in time with the music. No drum chart out there for your song? Drumless writes one for you. • Play Along to a Drumless Backing Track Upload an audio file and the drums are taken out, leaving you the rest of the band to play over. Your kit, the real song, nothing in the way. • Read Drum Sheet Music as It Plays The sheet follows the music, so you always know where you are. See every kick, snare, hi-hat and tom exactly when it hits. • Loop and Slow Down Tap any measure to loop the part that keeps falling apart. Drop the tempo until it is clean, then bring it back up. • Drums-Only Mode Hear just the drum part before you play it. • Today's Plan, Made for You Pick 10, 15 or 30 minutes and get a session for your level: a rudiment challenge, a groove or a fill, and a song to finish on. Only have a practice pad today? There is a pad plan too. • Grooves and Fills for Every Level Rock, funk, blues and metal grooves and fills, from beginner to advanced. Hear each one first, then play it at your own tempo. • A Rudiment Trainer That Listens Single strokes, double strokes, paradiddles, flams and rolls. Your phone listens through the microphone and scores your timing. • A Weekly Goal, Not a Streak Choose how many days a week you want to play. Miss a day and nothing breaks. Your week, your progress and your history live in one place. • Curated Song Library Human-reviewed drumless backing tracks with the notation already synced and checked. HOW IT WORKS 1. Search the library, paste a YouTube link, or upload an audio file. 2. Get drum notation lined up with the music. 3. Play along at your own tempo, loop any measure, and watch your week fill up. WHO IT IS FOR Beginners who want to read their first groove and know they are playing it right. Self-taught drummers who never learned notation. Cover-band players drilling a set list. Students practising between lessons. Anyone with a kit, an electronic set, or a practice pad and ten minutes. Built by a drummer, for drummers. No ads. Free to use. Download Drumless and start practising with real music.

Screenshots

Drum Notes4 screens
Drumless4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Drum Notes at 56% against Drumless's 0%. Drum Notes also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (209 vs 3). Drumless's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Drumless asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Drum Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drum Notes has 209 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Drum Notes's written reviews are positive against 0% of Drumless's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drum Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, Drumless every 5 days. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Drum Notes versus Drumless: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrum NotesDrumless
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (209 ratings) — better2.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews56.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings209 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size133 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUPBEAT STUDIODreamfrog

Customer experience

Drum Notes

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

Drumless

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

Drumless

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
None

Drumless

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drum Notes free?
Drum Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drumless free?
Drumless is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drum Notes or Drumless?
Drum Notes is rated higher. Drum Notes averages 4.6 out of 5 from 209 ratings, while Drumless averages 2.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Drum Notes or Drumless have ads?
Drum Notes shows ads; Drumless does not.
Which is updated more often, Drum Notes or Drumless?
Drum Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, and Drumless every 5 days. Most recently, Drum Notes was updated on November 7, 2026 and Drumless on November 7, 2026.

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