# Holiday Bells vs Vatanator

The clearest difference is price: Holiday Bells at $0.99 against Vatanator's $7.99. Holiday Bells also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 68%) and chart position (#200 vs unranked). Vatanator's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 23 months). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Holiday Bells costs $0.99 and Vatanator $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Holiday Bells against 4.6 for Vatanator. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 56 and 17 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Holiday Bells's written reviews are positive against 68% of Vatanator's.

Holiday Bells ships an update every 23 months, Vatanator every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Holiday Bells | Vatanator |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$0.99** | $7.99 |
| Rating | **[4.7 (56 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/holiday-bells/id300097303/reviews)** | [4.6 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vatanator/id1035157789/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **56** | 17 |
| Positive reviews | **93.8% of reviews** | 68.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 23 months | **Every 3 months** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#200** | — |
| Size | 118 MB | 337 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lightsphere LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/300097306) | [BACKPULLVER SOFTWARE LTD OOD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1035157788) |

## What reviewers say

### Holiday Bells

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/holiday-bells/id300097303)

**Currently charting:** #200 Top Paid · Music (US App Store)

Create and play Christmas music with realistic handbell sounds. Features include interactive song playback with visual cues, a collection of 20 holiday tunes, and customizable home screen widgets. Enhance your messages with festive stickers.

**Highlights:** Realistic handbell sounds, Interactive song playback, 20 Christmas songs, Home screen widgets, Festive stickers

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎶 Beautiful bell sounds
- 🎄 Festive holiday cheer
- 👍 Easy to use and fun
- 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Enjoyed by all ages
- 🎵 Good for learning music

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Lyrics off beat
- 🐛 iPad screen rotation bug
- 🐛 Graphics issue on iPad
- 🐛 Handbells silent for some users
- 🐛 App crashes for VoiceOver users

**Reported bugs**

- Lyrics off beat
- iPad rotate for song doesn't work
- Handbells are silent
- App crashes on handbell/more tab for VoiceOver users
- iPad screen edges graphics issue

**Requested features**

- Label bells with note names
- Add another octave
- Songs that play automatically
- Add non-holiday songs
- Upload sticker pack to iMessage


### Vatanator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vatanator/id1035157789)

This app is a drum machine designed for simple and instant rhythm creation. It offers advanced MIDI functionality, 140 vintage hardware emulations, and real-time pattern recording with quantization. It supports various audio integration technologies and allows for sample import and song arrangement.

**Highlights:** 140 vintage hardware emulations, Real-time pattern recording with quantization, 16/32 step sequencer with advanced MIDI, Full MIDI and Bluetooth MIDI support, Audiobus, IAA, and Ableton Link support, Sample import via Files, Real-time effects with XY pads, Song arranger

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Holiday Bells free?

Holiday Bells costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Vatanator free?

Vatanator costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Holiday Bells or Vatanator?

Holiday Bells is rated higher. Holiday Bells averages 4.7 out of 5 from 56 ratings, while Vatanator averages 4.6 from 17 ratings.

### Do Holiday Bells or Vatanator have ads?

Neither Holiday Bells nor Vatanator shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Holiday Bells or Vatanator?

Holiday Bells ships an update every 23 months, and Vatanator every 3 months. Most recently, Holiday Bells was updated on October 24, 2026 and Vatanator on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*