Comparison

Decibels vs Drum Touch

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

Head to head
About

Decibels

Measure sound levels in decibels using your device's microphone. View real-time graphs and historical data to detect noise pollution and protect your hearing. Calibrate for accurate readings across various environments.

Highlights
  • Measures sound in decibels (dB)
  • Displays sound samples on a graph
  • Detects loud and low environmental noise
  • Calibrated for accuracy
  • Shows min/avg/max decibel values
  • Saves data and view history
  • Calibrates decibel for each device
Features
Read full description

How loud is it, really? The neighbor's bass at 2 a.m. The workshop that leaves your ears ringing. Decibels gives you a number you can trust — and, when you need it, the evidence to back it up. Decibels is a precision sound level meter built like a real instrument: the IEC 61672 mathematics professionals use, per-device calibration verified against a laboratory-validated reference, and a design that shows what the noise is doing, not just how loud it is. A · C · Z WEIGHTING · FAST · SLOW · IMPULSE · Leq · LCpeak · SEL THE REAL MATHS, IN A REAL METER. MEASURE LIKE AN INSTRUMENT Every reading is a true IEC-weighted level. Choose A, C or Z weighting and Fast, Slow or Impulse response. Sessions record the energy-averaged Leq, the loudest moment, the C-weighted peak, sound exposure level (SEL) and the L10, L50 and L90 statistical levels used in environmental noise reports. An overload lamp shows when the microphone is clipping, and readings below the microphone's own floor are flagged, not faked. Fine-tune against any reference meter with the built-in guide. SEE WHAT THE NOISE IS A number says it's loud; the spectrum says it's a fridge compressor, a bass line or a siren. Switch the meter to a live FFT spectrum analyzer, 1/3-octave bands, or a scrolling spectrogram waterfall that paints frequency against time and identifies a sound by its shape. NIGHT MODE Start it at bedtime, set your wake-up time, and put the phone down. In the morning a quiet-hours report shows your night hour by hour: how quiet it was, when the loud moments happened, and how loud they were. Light on battery. KEEP THE EVIDENCE Set a threshold and get notified when noise crosses it. Turn on Evidence Clips and Decibels saves a 30-second recording around each event — 10 seconds before, 20 after — stored only on your phone, playable from the session, and shared only when you choose. Built for noise complaints. PROTECT YOUR HEARING An exposure dosimeter tracks your daily noise dose against NIOSH, OSHA and EU 2003/10/EC limits: dose percentage, time-weighted average and safe time remaining at the current level. Export sessions to Apple Health as environmental audio exposure. ALWAYS WITHIN REACH A Live Activity keeps the meter on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while you record, Stop button included. Widgets show your last reading and today's dose. Share a session card in one tap, or export CSV data and PDF reports. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No ads. No tracking. No analytics. Audio is analysed on your device and never leaves it unless you share a clip or card yourself. Evidence Clips are off by default and require explicit consent. FREE - Live meter with A/C/Z weighting, Fast/Slow/Impulse response - Leq, Max, Min, C-weighted peak and overload indicator - Calibration trim and reference-meter guide - Sessions with chart, notes, tags and location (last 10) - One threshold alert - Live Activity, widgets, light and dark themes DECIBELS PRO - Unlimited session history - Spectrum analyzer, 1/3-octave bands and spectrogram waterfall - Night mode with quiet-hours reports - Evidence Clips - Exposure dosimeter (NIOSH · OSHA · EU) and Apple Health export - CSV and PDF export, share cards Decibels Pro is available as a yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel subscriptions in your Apple ID account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://realvision.app/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Drum Touch

This app connects to specific electronic drum hardware, allowing users to customize drum kits, tones, triggers, and effects. It also includes a metronome for practice and learning.

Highlights
  • Drum kit selection and custom kit loading
  • Individual percussion tone and pitch adjustment
  • Trigger sensitivity and velocity curve settings
  • Reverb and equalization effect configuration
  • Adjustable metronome tempo, volume, and rhythm
  • System settings for basic options
Features
Read full description

Drum Touch is a supporting APP specifically designed for the NUX DM-100 series electronic drums. Through this APP, users can quickly select the parameter modules that need to be set for adjustment. Whether it's for performances, daily training, or teaching experiences, as long as the Drum Touch APP is connected to the drum machine, all functions can be used quickly and conveniently, allowing you to fully enjoy a perfect playing experience. Contents include: Drum Kit Settings: Classified according to drum kit styles, it enables users to quickly and intuitively choose the style they want to use. Besides the preset drum kits with multiple sets of high-quality timbres, users can also quickly call up the custom drum kits set in advance. Tone Settings: The tone of each percussion trigger can be set, and at the same time, the pitch, volume, and phase of the currently edited tone can be set as well. Trigger Settings: Drum Touch is a professional drum machine debugging software. It can perform trigger settings on the connected devices, including adjusting and saving professional values such as sensitivity, trigger level, detection time, shielding time, crosstalk value, and velocity curve. Effect Settings: The effects unit is an indispensable and important function for electronic musical instruments. The APP supports the settings of reverb and equalization. For the reverb effect, different drums and cymbals can also be specified to set the sending amount. Metronome Function: It has a simple, intuitive, and efficient operation interface, allowing you to adjust the tempo, volume, beat, rhythm pattern, and tone, enabling you to listen, learn, and play smoothly. System Settings: Basic setting options.

Screenshots

Decibels4 screens
Drum Touch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Decibels at 4.3 against Drum Touch's 2.3. Decibels also leads on ratings volume (22 vs 3). Drum Touch's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 30 months). On price, ads 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

Both are free to download. Decibels sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. Drum Touch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Decibels holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Decibels has 22 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Decibels ships an update every 30 months, Drum Touch every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Decibels versus Drum Touch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDecibelsDrum Touch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (22 ratings) — better2.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews22.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings22 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 30 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperReal Vision LtdCherub Technology Co. Ltd

Customer experience

Decibels

All ratings22 ratings
Positive77.3%
Neutral13.6%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral11.1%
Negative66.7%

Drum Touch

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Decibels

Subscriptions1
  • dB Meter Full App Access$3.991 Month
None

Drum Touch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Decibels free?
Decibels is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drum Touch free?
Drum Touch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Decibels or Drum Touch?
Decibels is rated higher. Decibels averages 4.3 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Drum Touch averages 2.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Decibels or Drum Touch have ads?
Neither Decibels nor Drum Touch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Decibels or Drum Touch?
Decibels ships an update every 30 months, and Drum Touch every 2 weeks. Most recently, Decibels was updated on October 24, 2026 and Drum Touch on October 23, 2026.

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