Drumline vs Djembe!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drumline
This app offers a comprehensive virtual drumline experience with realistic sounds and instruments. It includes practice tools, tuning features, and engaging games to hone drumming skills. Designed for serious percussionists, it provides a professional marching experience on your mobile device.
- Realistic snare, tenor, bass, and cymbal sounds
- Xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone instruments
- Adjustable metronome with various modes
- Drumhead tuning functionality
- Memory and speed challenge games
- Practice pad tools
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Snare drum, Tenors, Basses, Cymbals, Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone, Metronome, Drumhead Tuner, Challenges, and Practice Pad Tools!!! In your pocket for the cost of a drum key. This app isn't for people who like drums or are drum-curious. This app is for those who can't stop drumming on anything and everything around them to the point where they are considered "disruptive" to their family, friends, and neighbors. Honored by Apple as "New & Noteworthy" in the Music apps category and sits in the top 50 music apps most days. This isn't some free tap app with canned sound effects and busted graphics. We're bringing the world's best drumming hardware to your fingertips. We've partnered with Dynasty USA Drums, Pro-Mark Drumsticks, Evans Drumheads, and Sabian Cymbals to deliver an optimized marching experience directly to your iPhone and iPad. If you're reading this you're late. 1000s of drummers before you downloaded this app and continue to download it every day: • All battery audio samples are professional recordings by DCI DVD sound engineer Jamie Vanadia at NoiseFloor Ltd. in Chicago • All front ensemble samples are courtesy of University of Iowa Musical Instrument Samples (MIS) project (you guys rock!) • In Snare: toggle between dynamics and standard modes • In Basses and Tenors, toggle between Pro•Mark nylon and soft mallets while playing • In Cymbals, perform crashes, crash chokes, taps, sizzles, sizzle chokes, hi-hats, and zings • In Xylophone toggle between full keyboard and split layouts • In Marimba toggle between full keyboard and split layouts • In Vibraphone toggle between full keyboard and split layouts and operate foot pedal • Choose a color theme to matches your drumline • Play along with a metronome 30-300 bpm in wood block, metal, or "duts" mode • Configure the practice metronome with subdivision and offbeats and all that sweetness you need • Do the impossible: Tune your tenors or basses • Test your phrasing memory with the memory game • Test your BPM knowledge in the line leader game • Test your single stroke roll speed in the Speed Test challenge with your drum pad • Blazing fast touch responsiveness, literally to the limit of iOS • It's a whole drumline in your pocket for less than a drum key. Are you kidding?! Get all this when you buy now! Like no tricks. Snare: Dynasty's MS-XD14 Marching Snare Drum Tenors (5 drum and corps config): Dynasty's MT-680234 Tenor Drums in Corps Configuration with 6 inch and 8 inch shot drums Basses: Dynasty's MB-18 thru MB-26 Bass Drums - 18", 20", 22", 24", 26" Crash Cymbals: Sabian's Synergy HHX Cymbals - 18" and 20" Plus NEW: Xylophone, Marimba, and Vibraphone Memory Game • Test your drumming memory through sound and visuals • Test yourself on Snare, Tenors or Basses • Drumline captains, this will put your titles to the test! Metronome • 30-300 BPM Metronome • Subdivision of quarter, eighths, sixteenths, and triplets • NEW Save and store presets Drumhead Tuner • Hit-and-hold detection captures pitch instantly and displays for 5 seconds • Pre-configured for DCI specs with Low, Standard, and High tuning modes • Smart harmonic correction finds the true fundamental, even on bass drums • Built for marching percussion - no piano tuner nonsense, just drums Line Leader Game • Put your BPM senses to the test • You get 8 beats, then you pick which of the 3 BPMs was that tempo • The further you go the hard it gets! Speed Test • Challenge yourself to see how many taps you can do in 30 seconds! Learn more at: http://drumlineapp.com Join other drummers on Facebook (15000 likes and counting!!!): http://facebook.com/drumlineapp Or X: http://twitter.com/drumlineapp Yo! don't use real drumsticks on your device... you'll crack your screen and your friends will point and laugh at you! Let's try not to make this the bad, 1985. :)
Djembe!
Experience the authentic sound of African drums on your mobile device. Explore various drum types, play along to beats, or jam with your own music. Features include realistic graphics, high-quality audio, and recording capabilities.
- Multiple African drum types
- Professionally recorded sounds
- Play along to beats and loops
- Integrates with iPod music
- Recording and sharing options
- Realistic 3D visual effects
- Metronome with adjustable tempo
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Have you always wanted to play an African drum? Now you can, anytime, anywhere, with Djembe! Featuring professionally recorded sounds and high quality graphics, Djembe! is the ultimate African drumming app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. You can play a large Djembe, small Djembe, or even play intricate beats like a pro with 2 different Djembe jams. Play alone, to the metronome with 43 different sounds, or to over 80 unique Pocket Beats and Loops. You can even play along to your favorite music on your iPod right from within Djembe!. With features including amazing 3D effect when hitting the drums, low latency 16-bit stereo sounds, slide 'n play, pitch control, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), drum rolls, and more, you'll sound like a pro from the moment you start playing! FEATURES: • 7 different layouts: Large Djembe, Small Djembe, Djembe Jam 1, Djembe Jam 2, African Drum, Bata Drum, and Talking Drum • 4 Unique Playing Zones on each drum create a realistic sounding drum • Share your recordings through email, Facebook, and Twitter • Export your recordings to your computer (optional in-app purchase) • Visual 3D effect when drums are hit maximizes the drumming experience • Metronome with 43 sounds to choose from and variable speed switch (BPM) • 63 Pocket Beats and Loops to play along to • PlayAlong Beats: 16 new loops with basic bass drum, hi-hat or snare beats, to play along for added rhythmic expression! • Slide your finger between the drums • Shake your device to play sounds to your favorite music • Play drum heads simultaneously • Play along with your favorite music by easily accessing your iPod music right from within Djembe! • Volume controls for both the drum sounds and music • Pitch control allows for unlimited drum sounds • Rolls on drums with variable speed adjustment (BPM) • Using headphones will allow you to fully enjoy the high quality sounds of Djembe! Free PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Djembe! at Free against Drumline's $4.99. Djembe! also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (52% vs 39%). Drumline's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 46). On update cadence, 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
Djembe! is free to download; Drumline costs $4.99 up front. Drumline sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Djembe! sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Djembe! holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drumline has 1.2K ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Drumline's written reviews are positive against 52% of Djembe!'s.
Drumline ships an update every 4 months, Djembe! every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drumline | Djembe! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (1.2K ratings) | 4.7 (46 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 39.2% of reviews | 52.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 46 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #25 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 171 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | John Ostler | Drum Starz |
Customer experience
Drumline
Djembe!
Bugs and requests
Drumline
Reported bugs
4 issues- Drums not registering hits correctly
- Tenors and bass drums not playing proper pitches
- Cymbals not functioning as expected
- App crashing or not producing any sound
Requested features
4 requests- Add landscape mode for better playability
- Allow customization of drum tuning and sound
- Implement a metronome and ability to play along with music
- Add more advanced drumming techniques (rolls, diddles, etc.)
Djembe!
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Drumline
- Memory Game$0.99
- Pro Version$1.99
Djembe!
- Djembe! Upgrade$0.99
- Exporting$0.99









