Comparison

Drum Journey vs Glorian Narthex

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

Head to head
About

Drum Journey

This app facilitates shamanic journeying with customizable drumming and rattling tracks. Set your journey duration, choose drumming styles, and adjust tempo and instrument volumes for a personalized meditation experience. It also allows importing your own audio and sharing your location with other users.

Highlights
  • Customizable journey duration
  • Choice of drumming styles
  • Adjustable tempo and volumes
  • High-quality drum and rattle tracks
  • Import your own audio
  • Share location with users
  • Works with AirPlay
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

You've found Drum Journey, the first app for shamanic journeying. Shamanic journeying, as you probably already know, is a kind of insight meditation.  It’s a spiritual practice that combines visualization with acoustic accompaniment, usually fast drumming or rattling. Drum Journey works like a timer; dial in the journey duration, set your options, and tap Start.  Included in the app are several professionally-produced drum and rattle tracks, and you can also import your own from iTunes. Features: - flexible journey duration, from 5 minutes to an hour - choice of drumming styles (single, double, or with rattle) - adjustable tempo (slow, normal, and fast) - adjustable instrument volumes - high quality drumming tracks - works with AirPlay - Optimized graphics for iPhone Retina screens - light up the globe; share your location with other Drum Journey users For centuries, shamans have used journeying to gain insight and clarity. I was inspired to create this app while participating in the three year program of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. Note: This app does not teach shamanic journey practices. Visit the Mindful Bear website for links to shamanic educators, books, and practitioners.

About

Glorian Narthex

Learn meditation through structured courses and receive guidance from experienced instructors. Explore ancient wisdom in a modern format, with community events and spiritual practices to deepen your journey.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step meditation courses
  • Support from qualified guides
  • Ancient meditation techniques explained
  • Modern application of practices
  • Online community events
  • 30-day practice challenges
Features
Read full description

Learn real meditation using easy to follow courses and support from qualified guides. LEARN MEDITATION FROM THE VERY BEGINNING Narthex provides a step-by-step series of courses. Using simple practices, each course builds upon each other, to develop all the skills necessary for meditation, in the right order. The courses are based on the given practices, and do not require any set of beliefs or complicated theories. If you do the practices, you can judge for yourself the results. SUPPORT FROM QUALIFIED GUIDES Guides are always ready to support your efforts and clarify the practices, so you always know if you are progressing correctly. ANCIENT SOURCES, MODERN FORMAT While meditation has become mainstream, its true meaning and purpose has been diluted. Our meditation courses are primarily based on the Eight Steps of Raja Yoga explained in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, but explained in a way easy to understand and apply in today’s world. This clarity is made possible through the depth of meditation instruction found in the teachings of Samael Aun Weor. COMMUNITY EVENTS & SPIRITUAL PRACTICES Online events such as one day retreats and 30 day practice challenges are also offered in addition to courses. GLORIAN & NARTHEX Narthex is an offering of Glorian: https://glorian.org/ Glorian is a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization founded in the United States and serving a global community. Glorian was founded to ensure that anyone, anywhere, can access the teachings of Samael Aun Weor. The term “narthex” is Greek and refers to the entryway into a church. This church is not a physical institution to believe in, but something internal, and can be contacted by anyone who practices meditation.

Screenshots

Drum Journey3 screens
Glorian Narthex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Glorian Narthex at Free against Drum Journey's $1.99. Glorian Narthex also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Drum Journey's advantage is ratings volume (89 vs 4) and chart position (#163 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Glorian Narthex is free to download; Drum Journey costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Glorian Narthex holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drum Journey has 89 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drum Journey ships an update every 2 months, Glorian Narthex every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Drum Journey versus Glorian Narthex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrum JourneyGlorian Narthex
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (89 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings89 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#163 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size197 MB90 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperMindful Bear AppsCHURCH OF GLORIAN, INC.

Customer experience

Drum Journey

All ratings89 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.1%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews65 reviews
Positive83.1%
Neutral3.1%
Negative13.8%

Glorian Narthex

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Drum Journey

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Drum beats too fast on slowest setting
  • App crashes when changing settings
  • Settings not sticky
  • Preset tempos don't vary much
  • App freezes/won't play on iOS 7
Show 4 more
  • Journey map crashes when zooming
  • Drumming becomes unrhythmic/slows down after iPhone lock
  • Drums sound poor quality
  • App not updated for iOS 7

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add callback feature for ceremonial drum
  • More drum sound options
  • Option for a slower drum included by default
  • Numerical BPM control
  • Add a lead-in option
Show 6 more
  • Add a 'random intent' feature
  • Definite beginning to journey (e.g., four strikes)
  • Variable tempo option
  • Add rattle to settings
  • Improve rattle sound quality
  • Basic guide to journeying

Glorian Narthex

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Drum Journey

No in-app purchases

None

Glorian Narthex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drum Journey free?
Drum Journey costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Glorian Narthex free?
Glorian Narthex is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drum Journey or Glorian Narthex?
Glorian Narthex is rated higher. Drum Journey averages 4.7 out of 5 from 89 ratings, while Glorian Narthex averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Drum Journey or Glorian Narthex have ads?
Neither Drum Journey nor Glorian Narthex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drum Journey or Glorian Narthex?
Drum Journey ships an update every 2 months, and Glorian Narthex every 2 weeks. Most recently, Drum Journey was updated on November 6, 2026 and Glorian Narthex on October 31, 2026.

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