Comparison

ThumbJam vs LoopBud

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

Head to head
About

ThumbJam

This app provides a powerful musical performance experience with over 40 high-quality instrument sounds and hundreds of scales. It allows users of all skill levels to play in any style, offering expressive controls and loop-building capabilities.

Highlights
  • Over 40 high-quality multi-sampled instruments
  • Hundreds of included scales for any style
  • Expressive controls using tilt and shake
  • Loop building and audio export
  • Extensive MIDI and Audiobus support
  • Powerful arpeggiator feature
Features
Read full description

ThumbJam is a powerful musical performance experience. You get over 40 high-quality real instruments multi-sampled exclusively for this app. Hundreds of included scales allow you to effortlessly play in any style from rock to classical, whether you are a musical novice or a seasoned professional. ---====--- Jordan Rudess, the world-renowned keyboardist for Dream Theater says: "ThumbJam stands at the very top of the overcrowded music app world. The sounds included absolutely rival those found in pro instruments and making music on the app is a total joy. The only problem I have with this app is that I did not make it myself! Luckily, I'm able to work with the developer and offer a few good feature ideas as well as some choice sounds from my personal collection!" ---======---- Even if you've only played air guitar, ThumbJam lets you sound like a pro. Pick an instrument and jam -- with all the scales to choose from you'll never hit a wrong note. The high quality instrument samples will make you sound like you just skipped years of music lessons. For the performing musician, this app is awesome for soloing on an instrument you didn't bring along. Play in any key, any style -- go from a string ensemble to a wailing guitar. ThumbJam was developed and tested by musicians to feel and sound like a real instrument. You'll be surprised at how expressive it can be, make sure to check out the videos and audio at thumbjam.com. ThumbJam makes use of tilt and shake to add vibrato, tremolo, note bends, and volume swells for more realistic and expressive results. It supports up to five (eleven on iPad) simultaneous touches and up to 32 voice polyphony, for each of up to 8 loaded instruments! Delay and stereo reverb add depth to the sound, and a resonant lowpass filter gives you more tone shaping power. Put on your headphones or plug in to your home stereo to experience some of the highest quality instruments in the App Store, even after all these years! Build your own loops from the ground up or import your favorites and jam from there. Layer as many loops as you want, with different instruments for each. Export your loops as audio files via WiFi. Copy and paste audio from other apps using AudioCopy/Paste as well the general pasteboard, via email, AudioShare, iTunes Document Sharing, Files, or open directly in another application. Supports Audiobus and InterApp Audio for streaming sound to/from other apps in real-time, including state save/restore with Audiobus 3. Extensive MIDI input and output support over WiFi or Bluetooth, with any CoreMidi compatible device, or other apps on the same iOS device with virtual MIDI. Now also supports Ableton Link for tight sync between apps on the same network. Supports MPE input and output (and did so before it was even a thing)! New powerful arpeggiator feature lets you play patterns with perfect time sync, from the screen or via MIDI control. The app includes a huge variety of scales, from western to eastern. Save your favorites for quick access, or create your own in-app. You can even import new scales in the Scala format for complete flexibility. You can also record your own multi-sampled instruments using a built-in or attached microphone, or from file import. Included instruments: + Cello, Violin, Viola + Upright Bass (plucked and bowed) + Several drumkits + Darabukka + Djembe + Electric Guitar + Electric Bass + Trumpet + Trombone + Tenor Sax + Flute + Low Whistle + Acoustic Guitar + Hammered Dulcimer + Mandolin + Cittern + Grand Piano + Drawbar Organ (2 types) + Rhodes + Pipe Organ + Synth Strings + Synth Choir + Theremin + Sawtooth Waveform + Sine Waveform + Triangle Waveform And from Jordan Rudess: + JR Zendrix + JR Smooth Steel Many more for immediate FREE download in the app including several drumkits, Mellotron, basses, banjo, tabla, ukelele, guitars and more! Go to the Sound menu under Download Samples....

About

LoopBud

Record, loop, and jam with unlimited MIDI patterns and bars. Features two recording modes, quantization, and tempo control for live performance effects. Export MIDI for further editing in other applications.

Highlights
  • Unlimited MIDI patterns and bars
  • Add and New recording modes
  • Quantization with adjustable levels
  • Tempo control for live effects
  • Single bar focus for recording/looping
  • MIDI export for external editing
Features
Read full description

LoopBud is a super simple yet very powerful MIDI recorder and looper. You can work with unlimited patterns. Although the 4-bar loops are very fun, you can work with an unlimited number of bars on each pattern! LoopBud has two record modes, Add mode and New mode. The "add mode" keeps adding new notes on each loop-cycle. The "new mode" clears out the previous recording and lets you record freshly on each cycle. You can work very fast with those modes. If you make a mistake, don't worry, you can use the "undo" option and get everything back! LoopBud has quantization enabled by default. You can toggle quantizing by pressing the "quantize" button on the top-left side. You can also set the level of quantization from the settings menu. If you want to speed up or slow down the clock, you can do so by pressing the "clock" button on the top-left side. You can achieve different effects on your live performances without a new recording. You can also focus on a single bar by pressing the bar measure on the top. You can either record or loop a single bar - which is a unique feature of LoopBud. In the settings menu, you can edit the piano roll's lowest and highest notes. The notes on the piano roll is not editable. However, you can export MIDI from the settings menu, and do editing on your favorite piano roll editor app! LoopBud is not an audio app, it's a MIDI app. You need to connect a MIDI input and a MIDI output for LoopBud to work. You can do so from the settings menu in the standalone app. You can use the MIDI matrix editor on your DAW if you are using the AUv3 plugin. LoopBud also supports Ableton Link on the standalone app.

Screenshots

ThumbJam4 screens
LoopBud4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ThumbJam at 4.7 against LoopBud's 3.8. ThumbJam also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 63%) and ratings volume (218 vs 14). LoopBud's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and price ($5.99 vs $6.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

ThumbJam costs $6.99 and LoopBud $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ThumbJam holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ThumbJam has 218 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of ThumbJam's written reviews are positive against 63% of LoopBud's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ThumbJam ships an update every 4 months, LoopBud every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ThumbJam versus LoopBud: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThumbJamLoopBud
Price$6.99$5.99 — better
Rating4.7 (218 ratings) — better3.8 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews84.6% of reviews — better62.5% of reviews
Number of ratings218 — better14
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size215 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSonosaurus LLCCem Olcay

Customer experience

ThumbJam

All ratings218 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews298 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral4.4%
Negative11.1%

LoopBud

All ratings14 ratings
Positive64.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative21.4%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral18.8%
Negative18.8%

Bugs and requests

ThumbJam

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Instrument muting when switching apps or opening help
  • Inconsistent behavior and freezing after recent updates
  • Inability to load/save recorded sets or mixes

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add chord mode for easier chord playing
  • Improve loop recording and syncing capabilities
  • Implement quantization options for tighter timing
  • Expand instrument library with more diverse sounds
  • Add support for Audio Unit (AUv3) to integrate with DAWs
Show 1 more
  • Improve interface for adjusting octave/span across multiple instruments

LoopBud

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ThumbJam

No in-app purchases

None

LoopBud

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ThumbJam free?
ThumbJam costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LoopBud free?
LoopBud costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ThumbJam or LoopBud?
ThumbJam is rated higher. ThumbJam averages 4.7 out of 5 from 218 ratings, while LoopBud averages 3.8 from 14 ratings.
Do ThumbJam or LoopBud have ads?
Neither ThumbJam nor LoopBud shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ThumbJam or LoopBud?
ThumbJam ships an update every 4 months, and LoopBud every 3 weeks. Most recently, ThumbJam was updated on September 23, 2026 and LoopBud on September 24, 2026.

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