iTanpura vs Thrayam
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iTanpura
This app provides a realistic simulation of multiple Indian classical music instruments, including tanpuras, a Swar Mandal, and a Sur-Peti. It offers high-quality sampled sounds and tuning options for practice, performance, or meditation.
- Two 5-string tanpuras with independent controls
- 15-string Swar Mandal with auto-loop
- Sur-Peti/Shruti Box
- Integrated auto-tuner
- Background playback
- Wide pitch range and fine-tuning
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Got tanpura? Well guess what, we have two for you, PLUS a Swar Mandal AND a Sur-Peti / Shruti box! Come listen to the beautiful, meditative sound of real Hemraj tanpuras, and get lost in the mysteries of Indian Classical music. ________________________________________ ◆◆◆ 5-STRING TANPURAS & AUTO-TUNER! ◆◆◆ Before buying also consider iTablaPro ◆◆◆ which has all iTanpura features + tabla ◆◆◆ Note: All updates are always free! ________________________________________ And the reviews are in: ***** "BEAUTIFUL SOUND" ***** "Excellent App, superb sound" ***** "Concert-quality tanpura in your pocket" ***** "This is what I've been waiting for" ________________________________________ ◆ ABOUT THE TANPURA ◆ The Tanpura is a musical instrument used in Indian classical music to provide a background "drone" against which the rest of the music is performed. It is a 4-stringed instrument with a base made from cured pumpkin gourd and a stem made from wood. ________________________________________ ◆ AND NOW PRESENTING - iTanpura ◆ iTanpura is an electronic Tanpura for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It uses stereo digital sound to simulate a set of two tanpuras each of which can be tuned with a different string combination. It uses sounds sampled from real Hemraj tanpuras to provide beautiful yet realistic sound in a pleasing and intuitive package. And now iTanpura also includes fantastic Swar Mandal sound (with presets for 75+ raags) for an instant concert atmosphere guaranteed to inspire! iTanpura is ideal for everyday music practice, concerts, or even as a serene background for meditation. ________________________________________ ◆ KEY FEATURES ◆ √ FOUR fantastic instruments in one app: includes two 5-string tanpuras with independent pan and volume controls, a 15-string Swar Mandal, and a Sur-Peti/Shruti Box √ Uses sounds sampled from actual male & female tanpuras for realistic tanpura sound throughout the pitch range √ Wide range of pitch from lower A (A2) through upper E (E4) for one and a half octaves of tuning √ INTEGRATED AUTO-TUNER: Auto-Tune iTanpura to your instrument such as harmonium, or use it to tune other instruments (microphone capability required such as iPhone built-in mic or 2nd/3rd generation iPod Touch with external microphone) √ BACKGROUND PLAY: Start playing the tanpuras and switch to another app, or play along with iPod music √ Integrated 15-string Swar Mandal - completely tunable & can be played manually OR set to auto-loop √ Suitable for Hindustani or Carnatic, vocal or instrumental music √ Fine-tune pitch in cents. The display shows the fine-tune value to allow exact recreation of any pitch √ Play one or two simultaneous tanpuras both controlled by the master pitch controls √ Each tanpura's first string can be tuned to Pa, Ma or Ni, or any custom note such as Re, Ga, Dha, etc √ Or tune first string to any shruti in the octave using a slider √ Each tanpura has its own pan and volume controls to allow precise placement within the stereo image. For example you can have a tanpura with Pa on your left and one with Ni on your right √ PRESETS: Save your favorite settings as named presets. Includes presets for the 100+ most popular raags. And now you can also export/import presets via email or iTunes File Sharing. √ Turn the Sur-Peti/Shruti Box on or off and adjust its volume from the settings page √ Can be used with speakers, headset, or the internal speaker (a high-quality speaker dock is recommended for maximum effect) ________________________________________ Not yet convinced? Try iTanpura Lite for free! It has most of the features of the full version, except the sound stops playing after 30 seconds and it does not include the Swar Mandal or the Tuner. ________________________________________
Thrayam
This app provides essential tools for Karnatik musicians, including a digital thaalam with animated hand gestures and tempo control, a customizable tanpura with string animations, and a precise tuner that displays swaras in multiple languages. It helps musicians practice and refine their skills with detailed visual and auditory feedback.
- Animated thaalam hand gestures
- Tap-tempo for thaalam
- Playable tanpura with string animations
- Single/Dual tanpura options
- Fine-tune Shruti
- Swaras display in multiple languages
- Color-coded sharp/flat tuning
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A Thaalam, Tanpura, and Tuner app for Karnatik musicians. It is the brainchild of Maestro Kumaresh Rajagopalan, designed and developed by Dr. Raghavasimhan Sankaranarayanan. Thaalam: Detailed Hand animations for each thaalam with 1 or 2 kalai options. Tap-tempo option to easily provide tempo for the thaalam. A thaalam progress bar to track the current aksharam. Tanpura: Playable tanpura with engaging string animations. Extensive controls for the tanpura. Single / Dual tanpura options. Fine-tune Shruti easily. Tuner: Display swaras in various Languages. Note wheel display along with fine-tune view. Note, frequency, and octave display for clear reference Color-coded sharp and flat tunings
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Thrayam at 4.8 against iTanpura's 4.1. Thrayam also leads on price ($14.99 vs $17.99). iTanpura's advantage is chart position (#126 vs unranked) and ratings volume (45 vs 12). On review sentiment, update cadence, 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
iTanpura costs $17.99 and Thrayam $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Thrayam holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 45 and 12 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of iTanpura's written reviews are positive against 92% of Thrayam's.
iTanpura ships an update every 6 weeks, Thrayam monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iTanpura | Thrayam |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $17.99 | $14.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (45 ratings) | 4.8 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews | 92.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 45 — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #126 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17 | 17 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 52 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Prasad Upasani | Raghavasimhan Sankaranarayanan |
Customer experience
iTanpura
Thrayam
Bugs and requests
iTanpura
Reported bugs
15 issues- App shuts down when a call comes
- App needs to be re-triggered after phone calls or voice to text activation
- Layout issues on iPadOS
- Phone gets hot during use
- Bass is missing by default
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- Swarmandal sound is not natural
- Presets cannot be deleted
- Swar mandal volume adjustment does not work
- App hangs sometimes
- Crashing for IOS 14
- No sound coming out even when attached to a speaker
- Stopped working
- No app support
- App suddenly exits when adjusting volume or panning
- Tuner not working with iphone earphone
Requested features
19 requests- App should not shut when a call comes
- App should be re-triggered automatically after phone call or voice to text activation
- Optimize for iPadOS
- Button for increasing base
- Add Raga - Vachaspathi and Gawathi
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- Include recording feature
- Add a start and stop play button
- Make available to download on MacBooks
- Implement sub bass on tanpura strings (customizable)
- Add Jawari option for all scales and octaves
- Improve swarmandal sound to be more natural
- Add Carnatic notes in the sruthi
- Provide presets for Carnatic ragas
- Separate controls for each string (length of each string being played)
- Tempo control
- More tuning or transposing possibilities of each tanpura separately
- Tabla accompaniment app
- More raga presets
- Add tabla samples or beats
Thrayam
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iTanpura
No in-app purchases
Thrayam
No in-app purchases







