Comparison

Drum Kits vs Pocket Drums

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Portable drum machine
  • Beat sequencer
  • Recording studio
  • 16 professional drum kits
  • Song arrangement tools
  • AIFF and AAC/M4A export
  • Real-time beat editing
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Pocket Drums

Experience realistic drumming with a virtual drum kit that fits in your pocket. This app offers responsive touch controls, high-fidelity drum sets, and various beats to help you play along. Learn rudiments with included videos and customize your sound with adjustable pitch, volume, and effects.

Highlights
  • Realistic touch-sensitive drum response
  • 15 high-fidelity recorded drum kits
  • 16 PlayAlong Beats and 20 music/drum beats
  • Basic drum rudiment videos
  • Adjustable pitch, sensitivity, volume, reverb, and delay
  • Multi-track recording and sharing capabilities
Features
Read full description

Pocket Drums is the most realistic sounding and looking drum app out there! Perfect for both beginners and pros alike, Pocket Drums utilizes the latest technology and decades of real drum experience to create the ideal drumming app for the iPhone or iPad. All of the features of the app combine to make you feel as if you are sitting down and playing a real drum set. The drums respond to your touch - the pitch changes slightly depending on where you hit the toms, just like a real kit. Playing realistic rolls is as easy as swirling your finger around, simply adjusting the roll speed by how fast or slow you swirl your finger. There is also 15 different professionally recorded high fidelity drum sets to choose from, and an amazing drum wrap, with more to come. Pocket Drums also features 16 PlayAlong Beats, 10 unique Drum Beats and 10 Music Beats to rock out with, as well as 10 different metronome sounds. A unique feature is the addition of 10 basic rudiment videos, so you can see firsthand how to play the drum rudiments. With the ability to adjust the pitch, sensitivity, individual drum volume, reverb, and delay, recording, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), and so much more, Pocket Drums is by far the most comprehensive and realistic drumming app available today! FEATURES: • 15 professionally recorded 44.1 khz high fidelity kits, with more to come • Drum Pitch Sensitivity - the pitch changes depending on where you strike the toms, just like a real kit • Reverb and Delay Controls - slider adjustments allows limitless drum sounds • Pitch Control - lower or raise the pitch of the drums • Drum Volume - adjust volume of each individual drum • Snares - 11 more snares that you can mix and match to create your ideal sound (optional in-app purchase) • Videos of basic drum rudiments played on a real snare drum • Amazingly realistic drum wraps • Realistic visual effects - drums and cymbals look and respond like a real drum set, visually corresponding to your every touch • Retina Display for both iPad and iPhone for incredibly crisp graphics • PlayAlong Beats: 16 new loops with basic bass drum, hi-hat or snare beats, to play along for added rhythmic expression! • 10 Drum Beats and 10 Music Beats to play along to, with more to come! • Realistic Rolls - simply swirl your finger around to create slower or faster rolls • Double Bass drum feature with slider adjustment • 10 Metronome Sounds and 4 Time Signatures to choose from, with BPM adjustment • Recording - easily add or delete tracks, save and loop recordings • Multi-track recording functionality • Share your recordings through email, Facebook, and Twitter • Export your recordings to your computer (optional in-app purchase) • Lefty Mode - reverse the entire drum layout • Play along to the music on your iPod • Option to add bass drum when hitting crash cymbal IN-APP PURCHASES TO UPGRADE: • Additional kit pack • 11 more snares that you can mix and match to create your ideal sound • 3 more wraps: Turquoise, Black Oyster, and Dark Wood • Export recordings • Ads removed PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Drum Kits4 screens
Pocket Drums4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Drum Kits at none against Pocket Drums's shown. Drum Kits also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Pocket Drums's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 101 months). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Drum Kits sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pocket Drums sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drum Kits ships an update every 101 months, Pocket Drums every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 7, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Drum Kits versus Pocket Drums: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrum KitsPocket Drums
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (289 ratings) — better
Positive reviews47.6% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—289 — better
Update frequencyEvery 101 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB84 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperMakayama.comDrum Starz

Customer experience

Drum Kits

Written reviews21 reviews
Positive47.6%
Neutral23.8%
Negative28.6%

Pocket Drums

All ratings289 ratings
Positive73.7%
Neutral7.6%
Negative18.7%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative47.5%

Bugs and requests

Drum Kits

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Pocket Drums

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App crashes when playing drums rapidly
  • Glitching audio that stutters and repeats loudly
  • App freezes when recording multiple times
  • Screen stretches and becomes unresponsive
  • App fails to open after updates
Show 4 more
  • Video upload functionality broken
  • Drums don't register input properly
  • Incompatibility with recent iOS updates
  • Ads freeze the app and prevent closing

Requested features

9 requests
  • Double bass pedal for metal songs
  • Reggae drum tones
  • Splash and china cymbals
  • Mix and match custom drum sets
  • Built-in drumming lessons
Show 4 more
  • Ability to modify and remove playlists
  • Better disco beat drum sounds
  • More instruments and variety
  • Reduced ad frequency

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Drum Kits

One-time1
  • Premium Version$3.99
6 purchases

Pocket Drums

One-time6
  • Remove ads$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99
  • Kit Pack$0.99
Show 3 more
  • Wraps$0.99
  • Snares$0.99
  • Full - Unlock everything$2.99

Questions

Is Drum Kits free?
Drum Kits is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pocket Drums free?
Pocket Drums is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Drum Kits or Pocket Drums have ads?
Pocket Drums shows ads; Drum Kits does not.
Which is updated more often, Drum Kits or Pocket Drums?
Drum Kits ships an update every 101 months, and Pocket Drums every 2 months. Most recently, Drum Kits was updated on September 7, 2026 and Pocket Drums on September 25, 2026.

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