Comparison

DrumLab vs Metric

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

Head to head
About

DrumLab

Create unique drum sounds by blending samples and synthesis. This app features a powerful graphic editor, a step sequencer, and a mixer for detailed sound manipulation. Build songs by arranging patterns and apply a variety of effects.

Highlights
  • Multi-engine sound design (samples & synthesis)
  • Graphic audio engine editor
  • Step sequencer with 16/32 step patterns
  • Mixer with pan and solo
  • 20 stereo effects with quad pad processors
  • Song building with pattern timeline
  • Ableton Link compatible
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DRUMLAB brings a new approach to the Drum Machine by allowing you to play with both Samples & Synthesis drum sounds. With a powerful and easy to use graphic editor to create and manipulate sound, it is packed with 76 ready-made samples and synthesis Drum Kits. You can mix and match any sound from any drum kits to any track of your song. Play a song and load any drum kits (from factory kits or from any other songs) to listen to a completely new song every time. What’s in the box : ◊ 7 Sound Engines including a graphical Sampler ◊ 73 Drum Kits including 24 Classic kits ◊ 20 Stereo Effects including 3 Reverbs ◊ Fully Automatable engines, mixer and effects Sound Engines include : ◊ OSCILLATOR Engine ◊ KICK Engine ◊ SAMPLE Engine ◊ CLAPS Engine ◊ AM/FM Engine ◊ TYMBAL Engine ◊ DRONE Engine DRUMLAB is fully automatable and comes with 73 ready made drum kits: ◊ 24 Vintage Audio Drum Kits ◊ 38 Modern Audio Drum Kits ◊ 14 Syntheses Drum Kits As well as 20 hi-quality stereo effects: ◊ Delay ◊ Ping Pong ◊ Tap Delay ◊ Grain Delay ◊ Overdrive ◊ ResoDrive ◊ BitCrusher ◊ Filter ◊ SwipeFilter ◊ Vowel ◊ Ring Mod ◊ Shifter ◊ Reverse Pitch ◊ Phaser ◊ Chorus ◊ Classic Reverb ◊ Tone Reverb ◊ Box Reverb ◊ Compressor ◊ Big Compressor DRUMLAB offers 6 main sections: 1 - THE STEP SEQUENCER takes advantage of the iPad multi-touch screen for fast and creative patterns drawing. The Sequences handles 16 or 32 steps patterns and is polymeric. Each track can have its own length. Just gently tap and drag the blue handle at the right end of each track. Triplets, Duets, Quadriplets steps can also be added for more complex rhythms. 2 - THE DRUMS PAGE is a powerful graphic Audio Engine editor. Parameters are displayed as graph for visual feedback an d easy of use. Play, experiment and discover new sounds. Don’t forget to tap the little magnifying glass on the bar title of each graph, it will expand the graph to a bigger size for extra precision. 3 - THE PADS PAGE simply lets you play and record any beat that tickles your fingers, with automatic quantize so that you don’t miss a beat. With a Beat Repeat effect for extra fun. 4 - THE MIXER PAGE for quick and subtle sound mixing of your drum kits. Large and spacey so that you can get the big picture. Pan and Solo included. 5 - THE FX SECTION offer a powerful Quad Pads Effect processors. You can stack up to 4 effects at the same time and pick amongst a list of 20 available stereo effects. All effects can be either auxiliary or master effects. All effects are automatable. 6 - THE SONG PAGE allows you to quickly build a song with the patterns you have created. Just drag and drop the patterns onto the timeline. Each pattern in a song can be repeated for compact Song composition. DRUMLAB is Ableton Link compatible. Specifications: • Pure Data powered Audio Engine • 7 Audio Engines • 61 ready-made electronic drum kits • 20 hi-quality stereo effects • Engines, Mixer and Effects parameters are fully automatable • Step Sequencer with multi-touch matrix • Triplets, Duets, Quadriplets steps • 16 or 32 Steps per patterns • Polymetric Sequencer • Graphic Audio Synthesis editor • Copy and Paste sounds • Save your own drum kits • Export your own drum kits • Import drum kits • Export your song • Import songs • 9 Pads to play and record patterns • With Beat Repeat effect • Full screen Mixer with volume, pan and solo mode for each track • 4 FX Pads for your Master Effects chain : Compressor | Overdrive >>> Phaser | Chorus >>> Delay >>> Reverb • Mode song with easy building and pattern repeat • Audio background mode • Audiobus support • Full Midi implementation • Inter-App Audio support • Ableton Link compatible • Import DM2 songs (to extent, DRUMLAB has a new filter that may responds differently) Enjoy! Visit us : audionomy.fr Contact us : contact@audionomy.fr

About

Metric

Features
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Metric is a pocket timing and frequency toolkit for iPhone and iPad, now with a built-in metronome. Whether you're keeping time, setting delay times in a mix, tuning an FM patch, syncing an LFO, or transposing a sample, Metric gives you instant, precise answers in one distraction-free app. Now with Siri, Shortcuts, widgets, and a Live Activity. METRONOME A precise metronome with a large tempo dial, tap-to-set tempo, adjustable time signatures and subdivisions, and a clear visual beat indicator. Background-safe timing keeps the click steady even with the screen locked. TAP TEMPO Tap anywhere on the large touch target to measure tempo. See instant BPM from your last tap and a rolling average over up to eight taps. Send either reading straight into the BPM Converter, Transpose, or LFO Rate tools with a single tap. Your tempo flows across every tool automatically. BPM → ms / Hz CONVERTER Enter a tempo and read straight, dotted, and triplet values for whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes. Every row shows milliseconds and frequency in Hz, so you can dial in delay, reverb pre-delay, or sidechain timing without reaching for a calculator. TRANSPOSE & SPEED Pick an original key and a target key to see the semitone shift, interval name, and exact DAW transpose value. Add an original BPM and Metric computes the new tempo and playback speed ratio. Fine-tune with a cents slider (±100) and a speed slider spanning two full octaves (±24 semitones). NOTE FREQUENCY TABLE Browse all 108 chromatic notes from C0 to B8. Each note shows its MIDI number, frequency in Hz, period in milliseconds, and sample counts at both 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz. Middle C is flagged for quick reference. Configurable A4 tuning (default 440 Hz) recalculates every value instantly. FM CALCULATOR Two modes in one tool. Ratio Explorer lets you set carrier and modulator ratios with a base frequency and choose from ten classic FM presets, from hollow octaves (1:1) to inharmonic bells (1:π). Pitch Correction mode works in reverse: pick a target note and get the exact carrier and modulator frequencies. Both modes show a sideband table with up to ten partials, their frequencies, nearest notes, and colour-coded amplitudes driven by a modulation index slider. LFO RATE CALCULATOR Convert any BPM into LFO rates across 17 musical divisions, from four bars down to 1/32 triplets. Each row displays Hz, period in milliseconds, and samples per cycle at 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz. Reverse lookup lets you enter any Hz value and find the closest matching musical division, with the error clearly shown. HARMONIC SERIES EXPLORER Start from a frequency or pick any note and see the first 32 harmonics listed with frequency, nearest note name, cents deviation, and interval label. Low-order harmonics are colour-coded for easy identification. Deviations greater than 30 cents are highlighted so you can spot inharmonic content at a glance. SIRI, SHORTCUTS & WIDGETS Drive Metric hands-free. Ask Siri to start or stop the metronome, set a BPM, tap a tempo, convert BPM to milliseconds, find a note frequency, or transpose a tempo. Every tool is a Shortcuts action too, and the BPM widget keeps your tempo on the Home and Lock Screen. TOOLS THAT TALK TO EACH OTHER Tap a tempo once and it appears everywhere: BPM Converter, Transpose, and LFO Rate all share the same live BPM. Change your A4 tuning reference and it updates across Note Frequency, FM Calculator, and Harmonics simultaneously. DESIGNED FOR PRODUCERS • Dark-mode aware interface • Adaptive layouts for iPhone and iPad • Two industry-standard sample rates: 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz Whether you're a producer programming delays, a sound designer sculpting FM timbres, a synth player tuning oscillators, or an audio engineer checking frequencies, Metric puts every timing and frequency answer in your pocket. Fast, precise, and always within reach. Try free for 7 days! After the trial, unlock full access with a one-time purchase — no subscriptions.

Screenshots

Metric4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Metric at Free against DrumLab's $9.99. Metric also leads on device support (3 vs 1). DrumLab's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.6). On update cadence and ads 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

Metric is free to download; DrumLab costs $9.99 up front. Metric sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. DrumLab asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
DrumLab versus Metric: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrumLabMetric
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (26 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews63.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings26 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size107 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPascal DouillardGITC

In-app purchases

None

DrumLab

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Metric

One-time1
  • Full Access$9.99

Questions

Is DrumLab free?
DrumLab costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Metric free?
Metric is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do DrumLab or Metric have ads?
Neither DrumLab nor Metric shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DrumLab or Metric?
DrumLab ships an update monthly, and Metric monthly. Most recently, DrumLab was updated on October 12, 2026 and Metric on October 11, 2026.

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