Comparison

Shruti Laya vs Layam

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

Head to head
About

Shruti Laya

This app provides essential tools for Carnatic music practice, including a tanpura drone, Mrudanga, and Manjira. It allows users to set custom pitches, tempos, and choose from various talas and gaties for an authentic practice experience.

Highlights
  • Adjustable tanpura drone
  • Mrudanga with real strokes and nadai
  • Manjira with beat, clap, or sam accents
  • Support for 7 Suladi Sapta talas
  • Customizable tempo and gaties
  • On-stage performance display
  • Integrated tuner
Features
Read full description

Shruti-Laya is a practice companion for Carnatic music. It gives you a tanpura drone, a Mrudanga and a Manjira that play together, locked to one beat, in the tala you choose. Turn on any of them, set your shruti and tempo, and practise. TANPURA • Set the shruti (Sa) to any standard pitch, or to a custom pitch. • Choose the first string: Pa, Ma, Ni or upper Sa. • Slow, Normal or Fast plucking. • Keeps playing when the screen locks. MRUDANGA • Plays a theka in Adi tala, built from real recorded strokes and traditional nadai patterns. • Tuned to your shruti automatically, so it always sits with the tanpura. • Accents on sam and on each anga, with a natural, human feel. • Other talas are kept with the Manjira and the tanpura. • Optional variation: the pattern changes across cycles, with a cadence into sam, instead of repeating one fixed phrase. MANJIRA • Strikes on every beat, on claps only, or on sam only. TALA • All seven Suladi Sapta talas: Dhruva, Matya, Rupaka, Jhampa, Triputa (Adi), Ata and Eka. • Misra Chapu and Khanda Chapu. • Jaati: Tisra, Chatusra, Khanda, Misra, Sankeerna. • Gati (nadai): Tisra, Chatusra, Khanda, Misra, Sankeerna. • Kalai: 1x or 2x. • Tempo from 40 to 150 BPM. Set it with the slider, or tap the beat with Tap Tempo. • Each tala remembers its own tempo. • A four-click count-in before the rhythm starts, always at sam, with a big 4, 3, 2, 1 on screen. ON STAGE A full-screen performance display shows the beat count, tala and tempo in large type, readable from across the room. It opens on its own a few seconds after the rhythm starts. MUKTHAYA • In Adi tala, tap Mukthaya on the performance display and the Mrudanga plays a mukthaya that fills the rest of the cycle and lands on sam, then goes back to the theka. • Tap End to finish the same way: the mukthaya lands on sam with Dhin and Thom, and the rhythm stops. • The mukthaya fits whatever is left of the cycle, from 2 to 8 beats, drawn from traditional lesson patterns. TUNER Check your voice or instrument against your shruti. The tuner shows the swara you're on and how many cents sharp or flat you are. ALSO • Five colour themes. • Play and pause from the Lock Screen and Control Center. It never starts on its own when you connect to a car or headset. • Works on iPhone and iPad, with a layout made for the larger iPad screen. PRIVATE The microphone is used only by the Tuner, and only while it's on. Sound is analysed on your device. Nothing is recorded, stored or sent anywhere. No accounts, no ads, no tracking.

About

Layam

This app helps users learn and practice Carnatic rhythm. It offers real-time visual beats, adjustable speed, and detailed information on various talas. Ideal for students, teachers, and musicians seeking to master rhythmic patterns.

Highlights
  • Carnatic rhythm learning
  • Real-time visual beats
  • Adjustable speed and cycle length
  • Tala selection (Triputa, Rupaka, etc.)
  • Count, structure, and syllable display
Features
Read full description

Layam – Your Tala Trainer Learn and practice Carnatic rhythm anywhere, anytime. Choose your tala, set your speed, and follow along with real-time visual beats. Tap through talas like Triputa, Rupaka, and more See the count, structure, and syllables Adjust speed and cycle length Perfect for students, teachers, and musicians Make rhythm easy.

Screenshots

Shruti Laya4 screens
Layam3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Shruti Laya at every 5 days against Layam's every 3 months. Shruti Laya also leads on ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Shruti Laya against 5.0 for Layam. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shruti Laya ships an update every 5 days, Layam every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Shruti Laya versus Layam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShruti LayaLayam
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews16.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRamachandra MallappaShashwath Manjunath

Customer experience

Shruti Laya

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative83.3%

Layam

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Shruti Laya

No in-app purchases

None

Layam

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shruti Laya free?
Shruti Laya is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Layam free?
Layam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shruti Laya or Layam?
Shruti Laya and Layam are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Shruti Laya or Layam have ads?
Neither Shruti Laya nor Layam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shruti Laya or Layam?
Shruti Laya ships an update every 5 days, and Layam every 3 months. Most recently, Shruti Laya was updated on October 29, 2026 and Layam on October 24, 2026.

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