# Drum Beats vs Beat Station

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Drum Beats at none against Beat Station's 3. Drum Beats also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 64%). Beat Station's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 16 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Beat Station sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Drum Beats asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Drum Beats against 4.5 for Beat Station. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 962 and 498 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Drum Beats's written reviews are positive against 64% of Beat Station's.

Drum Beats ships an update every 16 months, Beat Station every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drum Beats | Beat Station |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (962 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drum-beats/id353093075/reviews)** | [4.5 (498 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beat-station-drum-machine/id1207156644/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **962** | 498 |
| Positive reviews | **76.4% of reviews** | 63.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Subscription |
| Size | 10 MB | 209 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Alvin Yu](https://appshunter.io/developer/310457194) | [Sonar Multimedia](https://appshunter.io/developer/992774946) |

## What reviewers say

### Drum Beats

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drum-beats/id353093075)

This app offers a diverse collection of drum loops in various genres like funk, rock, reggae, and blues. It's designed to assist musicians of all levels during practice, jamming, or songwriting with features like adjustable speed and background audio.

**Highlights:** Funk, rock, reggae, blues drum beats, Seamless looping, Adjustable playback speed, Background audio support, Intuitive interface

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Solid drum beats
- 🎶 Useful for practice and jamming
- 💡 Diverse range of beats and genres
- 🎛️ Simple and intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Drum rolls make some beats unusable
- 🔊 Low audio output volume
- 🕰️ Lack of tempo/BPM controls
- 🔀 Difficulty navigating between beats

**Reported bugs**

- Beats not visible in dark mode
- Beats reset to original tempo when stopped

**Requested features**

- Add more beat styles (e.g. jazz, techno, Middle Eastern)
- Implement tempo/BPM controls
- Add ability to bookmark/favorite beats
- Display time signature and other beat metadata


### Beat Station

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beat-station-drum-machine/id1207156644)

This app provides a versatile drum machine for musicians, offering realistic drum sets and extensive loop libraries. It allows for real-time control of song sections and hands-free operation via a Bluetooth MIDI pedalboard, enhancing practice, production, and live performance.

**Highlights:** Realistic drum sets, Extensive drum loop library, Multiple control modes (Loop, Pedal, Song), Bluetooth MIDI pedalboard support, Inter-App Audio and background audio, Export songs as audio files, MIDI implementation and DAW integration

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Beat Station Pro (Monthly) | $2.99 | per month |
| Beat Station Pro (Yearly) | $22.99 | per year |
| Beat Station Pro (Lifetime) | $59.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Intuitive interface
- 💡 Versatile beat options
- 🎸 Great for guitarists and musicians
- 🎧 Realistic drum sounds

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Subscription-only model
- 🔒 Lack of one-time purchase option
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes
- 🔋 Battery drain issues
- 💸 Perceived as overpriced

**Reported bugs**

- Subscription issues (unable to restore purchases)
- App freezing or closing unexpectedly
- Blank tutorial screens
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between beats

**Requested features**

- More beat variety (Latin, jazz, waltz, etc.)
- Ability to import custom drum samples
- Tempo and style changes within a song
- Midi export option
- Better tutorial and customer support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Drum Beats free?

Drum Beats is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Beat Station free?

Beat Station is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Drum Beats or Beat Station?

Drum Beats is rated higher. Drum Beats averages 4.6 out of 5 from 962 ratings, while Beat Station averages 4.5 from 498 ratings.

### Do Drum Beats or Beat Station have ads?

Drum Beats shows ads; Beat Station does not.

### Which is updated more often, Drum Beats or Beat Station?

Drum Beats ships an update every 16 months, and Beat Station every 5 weeks. Most recently, Drum Beats was updated on October 20, 2026 and Beat Station on October 21, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*