Comparison

Drumline 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

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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. :)

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

Drumline4 screens
Pocket Drums4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pocket Drums at Free against Drumline's $4.99. Pocket Drums also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (50% vs 39%). Drumline's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#23 vs unranked). On rating, 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

Pocket Drums is free to download; Drumline costs $4.99 up front. Drumline sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Pocket Drums sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for Drumline against 4.0 for Pocket Drums. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 289 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 39% of Drumline's written reviews are positive against 50% of Pocket Drums's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drumline ships an update every 4 months, Pocket Drums every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Drumline versus Pocket Drums: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrumlinePocket Drums
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (1.2K ratings) — better4.0 (289 ratings)
Positive reviews39.2% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.2K — better289
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#23 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size171 MB84 MB
Age rating4++9
DeveloperJohn OstlerDrum Starz

Customer experience

Drumline

All ratings1,151 ratings
Positive75.5%
Neutral6.1%
Negative18.4%
Written reviews125 reviews
Positive39.2%
Neutral17.6%
Negative43.2%

Pocket Drums

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

User reviews

Drumline

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app for practicing percussion
  • 👍 Realistic drum and cymbal sounds
  • 🥁 Variety of percussion instruments (snare, tenors, bass)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unresponsive or inaccurate hit detection on drums
  • 🔧 Bugs with certain drum sounds (e.g. buzzing tenors, incorrect bass pitches)
  • 📱 Compatibility issues on newer phones
  • 🤔 Confusing in-app purchase model

Pocket Drums

From 289 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎵 Realistic drum sounds and quality audio
  • 👍 Great for drum practice and learning
  • 🎯 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🎸 Multiple drum kits and sound options
  • 💰 Free app with useful features

Room to improve

  • 📢 Excessive and intrusive advertisements
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing
  • 🔊 Occasional loud glitching sounds
  • ⏱️ Timing issues and lag during fast playing
  • 🎵 Poor drum sound quality in some kits

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.)

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

2 purchases

Drumline

One-time2
  • Memory Game$0.99
  • Pro Version$1.99
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 Drumline free?
Drumline costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Pocket Drums free?
Pocket Drums is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drumline or Pocket Drums?
Drumline is rated higher. Drumline averages 4.1 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Pocket Drums averages 4.0 from 289 ratings.
Do Drumline or Pocket Drums have ads?
Pocket Drums shows ads; Drumline does not.
Which is updated more often, Drumline or Pocket Drums?
Drumline ships an update every 4 months, and Pocket Drums every 2 months. Most recently, Drumline was updated on September 24, 2026 and Pocket Drums on September 21, 2026.

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