Drum Kits vs Rhythm Pad
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drum Kits
Transform your device into a portable drum machine and recording studio. Easily create beats, grooves, and song arrangements with intuitive controls and a wide variety of instrument sounds. Export your creations as high-quality audio files.
- Portable drum machine
- Beat sequencer
- Recording studio
- 16 professional drum kits
- Song arrangement tools
- AIFF and AAC/M4A export
- Real-time beat editing
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Turn your iPhone or iPad into a powerful portable drum machine, beat sequencer, and recording studio. Designed for beginners and professional musicians alike, Drum Kits makes it incredibly easy to create rhythms, grooves, and complete song arrangements with nothing more than your fingertips. Simply tap the screen to build beats instantly. No complicated setup, no steep learning curve — just fast, intuitive music creation. Featuring 16 unique instruments, Drum Kits gives you a huge range of styles and sounds, including Hip Hop, Rock, Drum & Bass, Jazz, House, Techno, Electronic, Percussion, Steel Drums, Brushes, Congas, and more. Whether you’re producing electronic tracks, practicing rhythms, writing songs, or jamming with friends, Drum Kits gives you the tools to create anywhere. Drum Kits includes: * 16 professional drum kits * 50 built-in sample rhythms * 10 demo songs * Real-time beat editing * Humanise timing control for natural grooves * Song arrangement tools * High-quality stereo playback * AIFF and AAC/M4A export Explore included rhythm styles such as Hip Hop, Disco, Rock, Jazz, Salsa, Merengue, Techno, House, Drum & Bass, and more — or create your own completely original beats from scratch. The powerful song mode lets you combine multiple rhythms into complete arrangements with intros, verses, choruses, and breakdowns. Adjust repeat counts, organize sequences, and build full tracks directly inside the app. When your music is ready, export your creations as high-quality audio files for sharing, recording, or importing into apps like GarageBand and other DAWs. Drum Kits is perfect for: * Songwriters * Music producers * DJs * Drum students * Singers needing backing tracks * Live performers * Anyone who loves creating beats Despite its powerful features, Drum Kits stays fast, clean, and easy to use. Beginners can start making rhythms in minutes, while experienced musicians can create complex layered grooves and full song structures. Use headphones, Bluetooth speakers, AirPods, or studio monitors for immersive stereo sound wherever you play. Whether you’re sketching ideas on the go, practicing timing, building backing tracks, or producing your next song, Drum Kits gives you a complete rhythm production studio that fits in your pocket. Install Drum Kits today and start creating professional beats anytime, anywhere.
Rhythm Pad
Create and record drum beats with high-quality sampled sounds. Utilize a sequencer to build patterns, play along with your music library, and export your creations as audio files. Customize drum kits and apply effects for professional-sounding results.
- High-quality stereo sampled drum sounds
- Sequencer for creating drum patterns
- Live performance recording
- Export recordings as audio files (AAC/WAVE)
- Built-in reverb and compression effects
- Customizable drum kits
- Play along with music library
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Note: This free version is supported by ads. To remove advertisements, either use the in-app purchase or buy Rhythm Pad Pro from the App Store. Play drums and compose beats using high-quality, professionally sampled drum kits with Rhythm Pad. Create drum recordings by tapping on the pads or using the sequencer and export them as audio files. Play drums along with the songs from your Media Library and Apple Music. Rhythm Pad is the smartest way to play drums on your mobile device. Introducing the Sequencer Quickly put together drum patterns of up to 8 bars using the sequencer. You can also record your live performance directly on to the sequencer and edit your sequence to your liking. Save your sequences and export them as audio files. Top features of Rhythm Pad • High-quality stereo sampled sounds with maximum polyphony. • Realistic Open and Closed Hi-Hats function. • Recording feature - Record by playing on the pads or create new patterns using the sequencer. • Quantization - Fix imprecisions during recording by enabling the quantization feature. • Export your recordings as audio files (AAC or WAVE) and use it in other audio applications. • Apply built-in reverb and compression effects to process the drum sounds. • Custom drum kits - Create new drum kits with sounds from other factory drum kits. • Smart Levels - Pads sound louder at the center and softer at the edges. • Optimized layout for maximum playability on iOS devices. • Precise metronome powered by the Metronome M1 engine. • Configure the volume level of individual pads. • Rearrange pad positions to your preference. Follow Rhythm Pad on Twitter for updates: @JSplashApps (https://twitter.com/jsplashapps) Like Rhythm Pad page on Facebook: https://facebook.com/rhythmpad
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Drum Kits at none against Rhythm Pad's shown. Drum Kits also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Rhythm Pad's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 101 months) and review sentiment (75% vs 48%). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Drum Kits sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Rhythm Pad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Drum Kits ships an update every 101 months, Rhythm Pad every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drum Kits | Rhythm Pad |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.5 (316 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.6% of reviews | 75.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 316 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 101 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Makayama.com | Bijoy Thangaraj |
Customer experience
Drum Kits
Rhythm Pad
Bugs and requests
Drum Kits
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Rhythm Pad
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on startup after purchasing the pro version
- Ads still show up even after purchasing the pro version
- Music playback issues when using the app
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to import custom drum samples
- More drum kits and sound options
- Support for additional time signatures
- Improved recording and overdubbing features
- Option to adjust individual pad volumes
In-app purchases
Drum Kits
- Premium Version$3.99
Rhythm Pad
- Upgrade to Pro Version$9.99









