iKoto vs DronePlayer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iKoto
Experience the traditional Japanese Koto (harp) on your iPhone. This app allows you to play oriental melodies, record your performances, and utilize features like tone scale changes and pitch bends. Enjoy a selection of sample music and export your recordings.
- Virtual Koto instrument
- Recording function
- Tone scale changes
- Pitch-bend function
- WAV file export via WiFi
- Preset tone scales
- Sample music included
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iKoto is an application for playing Koto（Japanese Harp） on iPhone. Koto is a Japanese traditional stringed musical instrument that can produce oriental tone. Recording, playing, and demonstration functions are installed. There are tone scale change and pitch-bend functions. If you like Harp, you will like Koto too. Enjoy Japanese traditional sound. The following three pieces of sample music are installed. -Sakura -Rokudan -Fur Elise Recording data can be stored up to three. iKoto has a function to output recording-data into PC as WAV-file via WiFi. The following eleven tones scale are preset. Hira,Kumoi,Hon-Kumoi,Han-Kumoi,Kata-Kumoi Nakazora,Iwato,Akebono,Nogi,Gaku,Hanagumo *Be sure your iPhone is not in silent mode*
DronePlayer
This app provides a practice tool for musicians to improvise over sustained tones, known as drones. It helps develop ear training and musical ideas by allowing users to mute drone voices for focused practice or add multiple drones for a richer experience.
- Improvisation practice tool
- Extended tonality practice
- Ear training development
- Muteable drone voices
- Multiple drone options
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DronePlayer is a fun, interactive practice assistant for improvising musicians. Playing over extended tonalities is a great way to develop your ears as well as your musical ideas. Long, sustained tones are generally known as drones. Drones have proven themselves quite useful for practicing. Many people use them to assist with intonation. Some enjoy playing scales over them. I personally have found them useful for practicing improvisation and improving my ears. Muting one of the drone voices is a great way to play with just a fundamental pitch. You can then improvise over this and focus on hearing how what you are playing relates. Adding a second drone voice just adds to the fun.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: iKoto at 86% against DronePlayer's 38%. iKoto also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.8) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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
iKoto costs $2.99 and DronePlayer $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iKoto holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of iKoto's written reviews are positive against 38% of DronePlayer's.
iKoto ships an update every 2 months, DronePlayer every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iKoto | DronePlayer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (8 ratings) — better | 1.8 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.6% of reviews — better | 37.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 57 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | GClue, Inc. | tingjing.com |
Customer experience
iKoto
DronePlayer
Bugs and requests
iKoto
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes on startup or immediately after opening
- Sound output fails without clear cause
- Tuning selection screen displays blank/white text
- Unable to change tuning modes
- App crashes when entering settings or changing notes
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- Crashes when transferring songs
- Crashes during recorded music playback
- Display not optimized for newer screen sizes
- Crashes at low battery levels
- Incompatibility with latest iOS versions
Requested features
14 requests- Custom tuning/string adjustment capability
- Support for modern music scales and genres
- More pre-recorded demo songs
- Ability to save unlimited recordings
- MIDI file import/export functionality
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- Continuous loop playback for accompaniment
- Pitch bend control via accelerometer
- Additional Japanese instruments (Biwa, Shamisen, Shakuhachi)
- Ambient background sounds (water, wind, birds)
- Longer note sustain when holding strings
- Variable string plucking force control
- Auto-generated peaceful melodies
- Octave change controls
- Ability to save compositions with titles
DronePlayer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iKoto
No in-app purchases
DronePlayer
No in-app purchases
