Comparison

Pulsar vs Drum

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

Head to head
About

Pulsar

This music app provides a virtual drum machine with 8 pads for improvising and playing along to built-in rhythm presets. It features real-time rhythm switching, tempo control, and various effects. It also supports Ableton Link and MIDI for seamless integration with other music software and hardware.

Highlights
  • 8-pad drum machine
  • Built-in rhythm presets
  • Real-time rhythm switching
  • Tempo and accent control
  • Drive, reverb, and filter effects
  • Ableton Link synchronization
  • MIDI In/Out support
  • AUv3 compatibility
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Make beats anywhere with Pulsar-ES, an authentic preset drum machine expanded into a mobile groovebox for iPhone and iPad. Inspired by the rare Soviet/Ukrainian PULSAR hardware, Pulsar-ES keeps the original industrial rhythm-box character while adding the missing modern features producers expect: MIDI editing, deeper FX, Ableton Link sync, AUv3 workflow, and mobile project control. Play ideas fast on the 4x2 drum pad grid, then turn them into full patterns with the MIDI Clip Editor. Draw, move, and resize notes directly on the grid so your rhythm stays editable after the first take. Shape your sound with a hands-on FX rack built for quick decisions: - Filter with low-pass, band-pass, high-pass, and notch modes - Reverb with room, hall, and plate spaces - Overdrive with overdrive, distortion, fuzz, and tube modes - Delay with digital, tape, and ping-pong modes - Chorus and compressor for extra movement and control Pulsar-ES also supports Ableton Link sync, project save/load, rhythm presets, and a portrait layout designed for making music on the go. Start a beat, edit every note, shape it with FX, and keep your ideas moving.

About

Drum

This app recreates the distinctive sound of early 1980s electronic drum modules combined with sampled real cymbal sounds. It offers a virtual analog engine for drum synthesis and a separate engine for realistic cymbal playback, providing a unique sonic palette for music production.

Highlights
  • Virtual analog engine for 80s drum sounds
  • Sampled real cymbal sounds
  • Dual sound engines for drums and cymbals
  • Multiple output options
  • Built-in effects (limiter, delay, reverb)
  • Unlimited program storage
Features
Read full description

Please note: 1) This App comes with an AUv3 plugin extension. 2) To play the cymbal samples, a separate download (free, in-app) of ~180 MB is required. The App also works without the cymbal samples. INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND We all know and use electronic drums today, but at the beginning of the 80's the first electronic drums were a real novelty that revolutionized not only the sound of music of those years, but also the workflow in the recording studio. Many producers preferred to record the sound of electronic drums rather than acoustic drums because it saved time and money, avoiding having to mount microphones, find the right positions, spend hours equalizing and correcting the recorded material. With an electronic drum set it was quicker: it was enough to connect the cables and maybe find the right sound for the song, which was a perfect scenario especially for many low-cost productions, for example those of pop music. The first electronic drums were completely analog, they generated the sounds of the drums using only a few elements such as an oscillator and a white noise generator, plus a couple of envelopes and a filter. The sound wasn't exactly realistic but it was peculiar, and perfect for creating certain sounds never heard before. The downside was that electronic drums could only generate the sound of drums but not cymbals. For this reason, the sound of real cymbals was recorded alongside the sound of electronic drums. This kind of setup was also used live quite often. It was common to see a drummer on stage playing the typical hexagonal pads but combined with a set of real cymbals. GSi Drum-80 reproduces that exact scenario. It contains two separate sound engines that can play at the same time. One engine recreates the sounds of the famous electronic drum module known as the Simmons SDS-V (very similar to the later SDS-8 model); at the same time, the exclusive GSi WLF Engine plays a multi-sample of real cymbals recorded exclusively for Drum-80. Main features - Virtual Analog Engine based on the famous SDS-V drum module - Optional VCO phase reset - Supports multiple outputs (one stereo mix, six individual drum synth channels, one stereo channel for Cymbals) - Sampled Cymbal sounds (Hi-Hat, Ride, 4 Crashes, 3 Splashes) provided by the exclusive GSi WLF Engine - Full Polyphony - Separate section with adjustments for Cymbal sounds (tuning, leveling and EQ) - Stereo 1176-Style Limiter - Stereo Delay effect - Stereo Reverb effect - Built-in programmer with unlimited Programs - Embedded user's manual - Available as Stand-alone application and audio plugin (AUv3 for iPad) - Very low CPU and RAM usage Visit home page for audio and video demos.

Screenshots

Pulsar4 screens
Drum3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pulsar at $4.99 against Drum's $14.99. Pulsar also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months) and chart position (#188 vs unranked). Drum's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (80% vs 67%). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Pulsar costs $4.99 and Drum $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Drum holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Pulsar's written reviews are positive against 80% of Drum's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pulsar ships an update every 3 weeks, Drum every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Pulsar versus Drum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPulsarDrum
Price$4.99 — better$14.99
Rating4.3 (7 ratings)4.8 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#188 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDmytro KiroGenuine Soundware

Customer experience

Pulsar

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

Drum

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pulsar

No in-app purchases

None

Drum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pulsar free?
Pulsar costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Drum free?
Drum costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pulsar or Drum?
Drum is rated higher. Pulsar averages 4.3 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Drum averages 4.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Pulsar or Drum have ads?
Neither Pulsar nor Drum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pulsar or Drum?
Pulsar ships an update every 3 weeks, and Drum every 7 months. Most recently, Pulsar was updated on September 18, 2026 and Drum on September 26, 2026.

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