# TouchBells vs Oriental Strings

The clearest difference is rating: Oriental Strings at 4.2 against TouchBells's 2.5. Oriental Strings also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (11 vs 2). TouchBells's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $7.99) and review sentiment (78% vs 69%). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

TouchBells costs $1.99 and Oriental Strings $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Oriental Strings holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Oriental Strings has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of TouchBells's written reviews are positive against 69% of Oriental Strings's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

TouchBells ships an update every 5 months, Oriental Strings every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | TouchBells | Oriental Strings |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$1.99** | $7.99 |
| Rating | [2.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/touchbells/id378697992/reviews) | **[4.2 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oriental-strings/id945125583/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **11** |
| Positive reviews | **77.8% of reviews** | 69.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Size | 66 MB | 1.9 GB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Thomas Braun](https://appshunter.io/developer/296553965) | [Christian Schoenebeck d/b/a Crudebyte](https://appshunter.io/developer/428367741) |

## What reviewers say

### TouchBells

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/touchbells/id378697992)

This app is a virtual carillon instrument for iPad, offering xylophone, vibraphone, and tubular bell sounds. Users can play freely, record and share songs, and learn to play through a teach mode. It's designed for musical exploration and early childhood education.

**Highlights:** Virtual carillon instrument, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Tubular Bells sounds, Song recording and playback, Song sharing with other users, Teach mode for learning songs, Adjustable stereo effect, Tunable instrument pitch

**In-app purchases:** none


### Oriental Strings

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oriental-strings/id945125583)

This professional sound module app provides authentic oriental and Arabian string instrument sounds for musicians. It offers high-quality stereo samples, master tune, scale tuning, and integrated effects. Connect via Bluetooth MIDI or use it as a virtual instrument within your favorite DAW.

**Highlights:** Authentic oriental and Arabian string sounds, High-quality stereo samples, Master Tune & Scale Tuning, Integrated effects with 18 presets, MIDI velocity response curve editor, Audio Unit, Audiobus, and Inter-App Audio support, MIDI Player/Recorder

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is TouchBells free?

TouchBells costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Oriental Strings free?

Oriental Strings costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, TouchBells or Oriental Strings?

Oriental Strings is rated higher. TouchBells averages 2.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Oriental Strings averages 4.2 from 11 ratings.

### Do TouchBells or Oriental Strings have ads?

Neither TouchBells nor Oriental Strings shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, TouchBells or Oriental Strings?

TouchBells ships an update every 5 months, and Oriental Strings every 2 months. Most recently, TouchBells was updated on September 21, 2026 and Oriental Strings on October 5, 2026.

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