Beater vs k
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Beater
This digital metronome offers comprehensive features for musicians, allowing for the creation of simple and complex time signatures. Customize individual beats, subdivide them, and practice polyrhythms with high accuracy.
- Customizable time signatures
- Beat subdivision
- Beat on/off selection
- Polyrhythm practice
- High audio sample accuracy
- Ad-free and in-app purchase free
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Built by a musician for musicians, Beater is a full-featured and compact digital metronome, containing all the features you need to build simple and complex meters. On the Time and Tempo screen, set the overall meter and tempo. Then for more customization, dive into the beats view, where you can select the sound of individual beats, subdivide beats into parts, and turn beats on and off. Beater is accurate down to a single audio sample. The current version of Beater was designed for practicing polyrhythms in addition to standard meters. By setting a fast tempo and 11 beats per measure for example, the user can use a variety of sounds and accents to practice a repeating meter of 4/4 followed by 3/8. Like all my apps, Beater will always be free of ads and in-app purchases!
k
This metronome app helps users master complex rhythms by applying Karnatic rhythmic principles to Western music. It offers advanced features like tuplets, polyrhythms, and flexible sequence design for interactive practice.
- Tuplets (pulse divisions) from 2 to 13
- Triplet phrasing and randomisation
- Triplet groupings and accents
- Fade feature for advanced polyrhythms
- Nested tuplets
- Flexible user sequence design
- Polyrhythm chains (e.g., 4:5)
- Video tutorials and keyboard shortcuts
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The purpose of this metronome is to eventually eliminate the need for itself. The goal, of course, is to master the exercises without the help of an electronic aid. Until then, this tool may offer some support. Please keep in mind, however, that the primary function of the k-metronome is to facilitate the application of Karnatic (South Indian) rhythmic principles to Western music. # Features - Tuplets, or pulse divisions (gati or nadai), ranging from 2 to 13 - Tuplet phrasing (tuplet randomisation to help ultimately master the rhythm pyramid) - Tuplet groupings or accents applied to tuplets (jathis) - Fade feature to practise groupings or advanced polyrhythmic chains - Nested tuplets - Flexible user sequence design based on numbers, paving the way for various creative approaches to - practice - Polyrhythm chains, e.g. 4:5, 5:3, 20:3 - Video tutorials and how-tos - Keyboard shortcuts - Presets can be stored locally, exported and shared Please note that any parameter changes will take effect on the next beat. Combined with keyboard shortcuts, this feature offers great flexibility for interactive practice, distinguishing it from other metronome apps. This practice tool aims to be helpful for students of the "Applications of Karnatic (South Indian) Rhythm to Western Music" programme at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. It may also inspire other musicians who want to explore the intricate world of rhythm and enhance their skills through the solid methodology laid out in Rafael Reina’s book Applying Karnatic Rhythmical Techniques to Western Music (Routledge, 2015). Of course, the primary credit goes to the incredibly rich karnatic and Hindustani traditions and to the brilliant musicians who have shaped this unique musical art form. One of the most outstanding mridangam players and konnakol artists of his generation is B. C. Manjunath. He is also well known for his contributions to the worlds of jazz and contemporary music, for example through his work with Aka Moon, Riccardo Nova, and many others. At its core, k-metronome is designed from a Western pedagogical perspective, while drawing deeply on Karnatic rhythmic principles.
Screenshots
Verdict
Beater and k both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of k's written reviews are positive against 0% of Beater's. k also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 12 months). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
k is free to download; Beater costs $0.99 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 — 5.0 for Beater against 5.0 for k. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 0% of Beater's written reviews are positive against 100% of k's.
Beater ships an update every 12 months, k every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Beater | k |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.4 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Geilich | FunkyDrumTutor |
Customer experience
Beater
k
In-app purchases
Beater
No in-app purchases
k
No in-app purchases









