Comparison

Double Kick vs PlayStems

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

Head to head
About

Double Kick

Transform your device into a professional drum kit. Create beats with high-quality audio and graphics, and customize the layout to match your style. Play along to your favorite music library.

Highlights
  • Studio quality drum kit
  • Customizable layout
  • High definition graphics
  • High quality audio samples
  • Excellent response times
  • Play along to music library
Features
Read full description

Double Kick Pro — the ultimate drum kit experience for iPhone and iPad. Turn your device into a full studio-quality drum kit. Double Kick Pro delivers realistic drum sounds, lightning-fast response times, and a fully customizable layout — so you can play exactly the way your style demands. Whether you're a beginner just discovering the drums or an experienced drummer looking for a mobile practice kit, Double Kick Pro puts the feel of a real drum set right in your pocket. FEATURES: • High-resolution, photorealistic graphics • Studio-quality audio samples • Lightning-fast response times — just like a real drum kit • Fully customizable drum kit layout • Double-kick pedal for demanding drummers • Play along with your favorite tracks from your music library • Optimized for iPhone and iPad • No ads, no distractions With a fully configurable pad layout, Double Kick Pro adapts to your playing style — not the other way around. Place your snare, hi-hats, toms, and kicks exactly where you want them. Perfect for rock, metal, jazz, pop, and everything in between. Work on your rhythms, compose new beats, or just jam out. Download Double Kick Pro now and discover the best mobile drum kit experience on the App Store.

About

PlayStems

This app allows musicians to isolate and manipulate individual instrument tracks from stereo songs or multi-track stems. Practice complex sections, learn by ear, or create backing tracks with on-device AI processing for complete privacy.

Highlights
  • On-device AI stem splitting
  • Multi-track mixer
  • Variable tempo and pitch control
  • Loopable practice markers
  • Offline audio processing
  • Per-stem volume and pan adjustment
Features
Read full description

PlayStems is an on-device multi-track stem player and AI audio splitter for musicians, vocalists, and bands to practice, rehearse, and perform with complete mix control. Import multi-track stems or split any stereo song directly on your device into independent vocal, drum, bass, and instrument tracks. Rehearse complex sections, isolate parts to learn by ear, or create backing tracks for live performance—all with zero audio uploaded to the cloud. MULTI-TRACK MIXER & REHEARSAL TOOLS • Synchronized multi-track playback with rock-solid transport stability • Per-stem mixer: adjust volume, solo individual parts, mute tracks, and tweak stereo pan • Variable tempo & pitch: slow down fast passages without changing pitch, or transpose keys • Precise waveform scrubbing and loopable marker ranges for repetitive practice • Master level control and clean library organization by title and artist ON-DEVICE AI STEM SPLITTING • Separate stereo tracks into vocals, bass, drums, and other instruments • 100% private: audio processing runs locally using your device's Neural Engine • No cloud servers, no account required, and no internet connection needed to split • Requires Apple Silicon or recent hardware: iPhone 13 or newer, iPad Pro (2018+), iPad Air (2022+), or Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) INCLUDED IN THE FREE VERSION Start practicing immediately with full core playback capabilities: • Full mixer, tempo adjustment, pitch shifting, markers, and range looping • 1 song in your library (up to 5 songs if you choose to enable anonymous usage analytics) • Up to 10 successful lifetime on-device stem splits • Standard stem-splitting quality models FULL VERSION (ONE-TIME PURCHASE) A single one-time unlock removes all library and processing caps with no subscriptions: • Unlimited song library capacity • Unlimited lifetime on-device stem splits • Access to downloadable High-Quality (HQ) neural stem-splitting models • Supports Family Sharing across your Apple devices Restore Purchases is available at any time in Help & Settings. Purchases are tied permanently to your Apple ID.

Screenshots

Double Kick3 screens
PlayStems4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Double Kick at 47% against PlayStems's 0%. Double Kick also leads on rating (4.3 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). PlayStems's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 8 months). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

PlayStems is free to download; Double Kick costs $2.99 up front. PlayStems sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Double Kick asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Double Kick holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Double Kick has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of Double Kick's written reviews are positive against 0% of PlayStems's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Double Kick ships an update every 8 months, PlayStems every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Double Kick versus PlayStems: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDouble KickPlayStems
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (12 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews47.1% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFoobar CreativeMatthias Santer

Customer experience

Double Kick

All ratings12 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews68 reviews
Positive47.1%
Neutral7.4%
Negative45.6%

PlayStems

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Double Kick

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • No sound at all
  • App crashes frequently
  • App closes when tapping certain areas (e.g., hi-hat pedal)
  • Delayed response times
  • App exits when trying to play along with music
Show 4 more
  • No sound when playing along with music
  • No sound from Bluetooth speakers
  • Keeps closing down whilst in use
  • Very delayed input

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add Audiobus support
  • Add AUV3 compatibility
  • More drum sets/kits
  • Improve hi-hat sound
  • Add sound from cymbal cups
Show 6 more
  • Fix Bluetooth issues
  • Add volume control for individual drums
  • Add recording capabilities
  • Add an options menu with different settings
  • Option to change drum types for different sounds
  • Left-hand option

PlayStems

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Double Kick

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

PlayStems

One-time1
  • Full version$4.99

Questions

Is Double Kick free?
Double Kick costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PlayStems free?
PlayStems is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Double Kick or PlayStems?
Double Kick is rated higher. Double Kick averages 4.3 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while PlayStems averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Double Kick or PlayStems have ads?
Neither Double Kick nor PlayStems shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Double Kick or PlayStems?
Double Kick ships an update every 8 months, and PlayStems every 3 weeks. Most recently, Double Kick was updated on November 6, 2026 and PlayStems on October 31, 2026.

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