Comparison

Dhol vs Tabla!

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

Head to head
About

Dhol

Experience the joy of playing the Dhol on your iPhone or iPod Touch. This app allows you to tap out rhythms with your fingers, offering multiple drum sounds and the ability to play along with your music library. It also features a unique Bluetooth connection mode for interactive learning and playing with friends.

Highlights
  • Virtual Dhol instrument
  • Multiple drum sounds
  • Play along with music
  • Bluetooth Dhol-E Connect
  • Interactive learning mode
  • Tap-based controls
Features
Read full description

For all the Bhangra fans around the world, you can now play the Dhol on the go on your iPhone or iPod Touch using Dhol-E. Dhol is a musical instrument played in the Asian subcontinent especially in the northern part of India in Punjab. Playing the Dhol on Dhol-E is as simple as tapping on the screen using your fingers. Other features of Dhol-E include 3 sounds (one for each side of the Dhol and one for tapping on the Dhol barrel itself) and the ability to play the Dhol to a song in your iPod collection. For optimal sound quality use headsets or for even better results connect to powered external speakers. Let Dhol-E bring out the real Dholi inside you. Version 2.0 adds a revolutionary new method to teach and learn the Dhol using "Dhol-E Connect". Using "Dhol-E Connect" you can connect to a another iPhone/iPod running Dhol-E over Bluetooth. Once connected you can see your friend play the Dhol on your screen and follow/play along. To connect using Dhol-E Connect just follow these easy steps -Make sure both phones are running the latest version of Dhol-E -On both devices press the Dhol-E Connect button. -Within a few minutes both the devices should see each other and display the name of the device. -On any one of the device tap on the device name and click the accept button on the other device. -To change Dhol-E Connect options tap on the Settings icon on your iPhone home screen and scroll down to Dhol-E. (Note: Dhol-E Connect requires an in-app upgrade on both devices and does not support the original iPhone and the original iPod) iPad Owners: Download the exclusive iPad only Dhol-E HD app! Check out the Dhol-E Fan Page on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dhol-E-iPhoneiPod-App/130114227036549

About

Tabla!

This app offers a realistic drumming experience for Tabla and Pakhawaj on mobile devices. It features responsive drums, adjustable effects, and a variety of beats and metronome sounds for practice and performance. Users can record, share, and export their musical creations.

Highlights
  • Realistic drum response to touch intensity
  • Adjustable pitch, sensitivity, reverb, and delay
  • Multi-track recording and playback
  • Professionally recorded high-fidelity drum kits
  • Variety of percussion and music beats
  • Metronome with adjustable sounds and time signatures
  • Share and export recordings
Features
Read full description

Tabla! is the fun and easy way to play the Tabla and Pakhawaj. Perfect for both beginners and pros alike, Tabla! Free utilizes the latest technology and decades of real drum experience to create the ideal tabla 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 real Tabla or Pakhawaj. The drums respond to your touch, as the sound varies according to how hard you hit them. 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. Other features include pitch, sensitivity, reverb, delay adjustments, multi-track recording, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), and so much more. There is also 7 different professionally recorded high fidelity drum layouts, including Tabla, Tabla Jam, Pakhawaj, and Tambourine, with more to come. Tabla! also features 25 unique Percussion Beats and 10 Music Beats to play to, as well as 24 different metronome sounds. Tabla! is by far the most fun, easy to use, and realistic tabla app available today! FEATURES: • 7 professionally recorded 44.1 khz high fidelity kits • The harder you hit the drums, the louder they sound! • Reverb and Delay Controls - slider adjustments allows limitless drum sounds • Pitch Control - lower or raise the pitch of the drums • Realistic visual effects - drums visually correspond to your every touch • Retina Display for both iPad and iPhone for incredibly crisp graphics • 25 Percussion Beats and 10 Music Beats to play along to, with more to come! • PlayAlong Beats: 16 new loops with basic bass drum, hi-hat or snare beats, to play along for added rhythmic expression! • Realistic Rolls - simply swirl your finger around to create slower or faster rolls • Double beat feature with slider adjustment • 24 Metronome Sounds and 4 Time Signatures to choose from, with BPM adjustment • Multi-track recording - easily add or delete tracks, save and loop recordings • 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 PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Dhol2 screens
Tabla!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Dhol at 91% against Tabla!'s 31%. Dhol also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.1) and ads (none vs shown). Tabla!'s advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 7 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Dhol sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Tabla! sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dhol holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 145 and 38 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Dhol's written reviews are positive against 31% of Tabla!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dhol ships an update every 7 months, Tabla! monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Dhol versus Tabla!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDholTabla!
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (145 ratings) — better4.1 (38 ratings)
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews — better30.8% of reviews
Number of ratings145 — better38
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB69 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperMutual Image LLC.Drum Starz

Customer experience

Dhol

All ratings145 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral3.4%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews163 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral4.3%
Negative4.9%

Tabla!

All ratings38 ratings
Positive78.9%
Neutral5.3%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive30.8%
Neutral7.7%
Negative61.5%

Bugs and requests

Dhol

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lags and delays when playing
  • Not working, no shop beats
  • Doesn't load, stuck on settings
  • No sound on iPhone 5

Requested features

8 requests
  • Update and improve sound effects
  • Add kin and ke as well as dha ne ge and click
  • Add option to record when playing with songs
  • Add more accurate sounds and ghir ghira
  • Add volume setting to be louder when playing along to tracks
Show 3 more
  • Add ability to change sounds, dugga side could use different sample
  • Add dark mode option
  • Add advanced analytics dashboard

Tabla!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Dhol

One-time6
  • Peer Connect Upgrade$0.99
  • Dhol With Khanda$0.99
  • Disable Ads$0.99
Show 3 more
  • Dhol Bling$0.99
  • DholE Dance$0.99
  • Get Everything!$4.99
2 purchases

Tabla!

One-time2
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99

Questions

Is Dhol free?
Dhol is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tabla! free?
Tabla! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dhol or Tabla!?
Dhol is rated higher. Dhol averages 4.7 out of 5 from 145 ratings, while Tabla! averages 4.1 from 38 ratings.
Do Dhol or Tabla! have ads?
Tabla! shows ads; Dhol does not.
Which is updated more often, Dhol or Tabla!?
Dhol ships an update every 7 months, and Tabla! monthly. Most recently, Dhol was updated on September 28, 2026 and Tabla! on September 25, 2026.

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