DM1 vs Samplr
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DM1
Create electronic music with a powerful drum machine app. Features a step sequencer, drum pads, mixer, FX trackpads, and song composer. Offers a vast library of drum kits and instruments, with options to import your own samples.
- Step Sequencer
- Drum Pads
- Mixer
- FX Trackpads
- Song Composer
- Instrument Mode
- Sample Import
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As electronic musicians ourselves, we, at Fingerlab, have developed DM1 with the intention of delivering the perfect mix between fun playability and powerful sonic capacities. We always keep in mind the importance of a beautiful design with the right balance of powerful abilities while avoiding clumsy, overbusy interfaces. Check our 154 electronic drum kits. 42 classic vintage drum kits plus 112 in-house produced electronic kits, edited and mastered at Fingerlab professional studio. DM1 offers 5 main sections: 1 - THE STEP SEQUENCER frees your imagination with a smart use of the multi-touch screen. Just turn on and off steps in your sequence with the tip of your fingers to create cool beats, or unexpected rhythms! 2 - THE DRUM PADS simply lets you play and record the beat that tickles your fingers. No need to be a first-class drummer, automatic quantize does the work for you. 3 - THE MIXER for quick and subtle sound mixing of your drum kits. Featuring settings for volume, pitch, sample length, custom drum kit element for each channel, mute and solo mode. 4 - THE FX TRACKPADS a creative duo of FX trackpads to distort, modulate and transform your beats. The effects include: Overdrive, Delay, Reverb, Envelope follower, Phaser, Dub Delay, Formant, Texturizer, Robotizer, Filter, Dalek filter, Compressor and Noise Gate. 5 - THE SONG COMPOSER allows you to quickly make a song with the beat patterns you have created. Just drag and drop the patterns onto the timeline. Fast and easy. Specifications: • Retina Display • Graphic design by Jonas Eriksson • Smart ergonomy for fast creativity and fun • 108 vintage and produced drum kits, mastered at in-house Fingerlab Sound Studios • 48 additional drum kits available with In-App Purchases • Instrument mode allowing to add bassline, chord and melody • 3 instruments: Piano, Korg MicroPreset and Cello Strings • 3 other instrument (Clavinet, Marimba, MiniLogue) are available with In-App Purchases • Samples Import from AudioShare, iPod Library, microphone, DropBox, AudioCopy and iTunes shared folder • Step Sequencer with multi-touch matrix • Time signature • 16 or 32 Steps per patterns • Mixer page with pitch, length and level rotary controls, pan controls, choke and custom drum kit per channel • Automation Panel for a precise and intuitive control of any Mixer parameter over time • Duo FX Trackpads for real-time sonic destruction and multi-FX • Live Waveform display for FX pads • FX per track • FX automation (FX parameters and FX per pattern) • 9 Big Drum pads, quantized recording and pitch-bend ribbon • Pitch-bend ribbon automation • Mode song with intuitive editing • High-quality export to SoundCloud, DropBox, AudioShare, Facebook, email, iTunes shared folder or AudioCopy • Separated tracks and AAC encoding export options • The Randomizer tool • Extra fast drum kit loading • Playable pattern selection for extra creativity • Audio background mode • Audiobus support • Import & Export your song project (DropBox, Mail, iTunes folder) • Full Midi implementation • Midi export • Inter-App Audio support Watch DM1 video trailer on YouTube Fingerlab's channel: http://www.youtube.com/fingerlab Feel free to let us know what you think and what you'd like to see in the next DM1 update. Enjoy! Watch us : vimeo.com/fingerlab Visit us : fingerlab.net Follow us : twitter.com/fingerlab Contact us : contact@fingerlab.net Powered by Fingerlab http://www.fingerlab.net
Samplr
This app offers a unique multitouch interface for exploring and manipulating audio samples. Create music through various play modes, record gestures for sequencing, and experiment with audio effects. It's designed for audio experimentation, composition, and live performance.
- 8 distinct play modes (Slicer, Looper, Granular, etc.)
- Gesture recorder for sequencing
- Audio input recording and resampling
- 6 sample slots with 16 voices each
- 5 per-sample effects (Distortion, Reverb, etc.)
- Import audio from cloud storage and other apps
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The app used by renowned musicians like Fred again.., Richard Devine, Apparat, Weval or Matmos live and in the studio. Samplr introduced a brand new way to make music, only possible on multitouch devices. Explore the samples melody and texture using the different play modes and create compositions with the gesture recorder. Samplr is the ideal tool for audio experimentation, music composition and live performance. USER REVIEWS “The most profound audio manipulation tool on iOS” 5 stars “There is NOTHING on the market hardware or software like this” 5 stars “Stunningly beautiful interface and exceptionally easy to use” 5 stars “This is the most musical app I've ever used. It's polished, it's musical, it's fun, it's inspiring” 5 stars “It’s the best realization of what touch screen sampling should be” 5 stars FEATURES • 8 play modes: Slicer, Looper, Granular, Tape, Scratch, Arpeggiator, Keyboard and Loop Player • Gesture recorder for sequencing • Audio input recording and resampling • 6 sample slots (x16 voices) • 5 effects per sample: Distortion, Filter, Amplitude Modulator, Feedback Delay and Reverb COMPATIBILITY • Ableton Link • MIDI Keyboard, Controller and Sync input • IAA (Inter-App Audio) • Audiobus Input and Output • WAV and AIFF file support • Import files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, AudioShare, etc Learn more and see how it works on samplr.net. For feedback or support please reach out to support@samplr.net
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: DM1 at $9.99 against Samplr's $19.99. Samplr's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
DM1 costs $9.99 and Samplr $19.99 up front. DM1 sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Samplr asks for nothing beyond the download.
Samplr holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 138 and 153 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of DM1's written reviews are positive against 79% of Samplr's.
DM1 ships an update every 2 months, Samplr every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DM1 | Samplr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 — better | $19.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (138 ratings) | 4.7 (153 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.3% of reviews | 79.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 138 | 153 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 310 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fingerlab | Marcos Alonso |
Customer experience
DM1
Samplr
User reviews
DM1
From 138 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful and feature-rich
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 💯 Excellent sound quality
- 🎨 Versatile with many drum kits
- 🎢 Fun and engaging to play with
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔊 Distortion and audio quality problems
- 🕰️ Inaccurate tempo and sync issues
- 🔀 Difficulty with pattern and song management
- 🔒 Limited import/export and sharing options
Samplr
From 153 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Intuitive and responsive interface
- 🎨 Powerful sample manipulation capabilities
- 🎶 Excellent for live performance and sound design
- 💰 Great value for the price
- 🎉 Inspiring and creative app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 🔌 Lack of audio import/export options
- 🔀 Difficulty with sample organization and management
- 🔇 Missing features like panning, MIDI support, and AUv3
Bugs and requests
DM1
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes on startup or during use
- Audio distortion and quality degradation
- Inaccurate tempo and timing issues
- Inability to save or load custom patterns
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Custom sample import and kit creation
- Expanded time signature and subdivision options
- Independent pattern tempo and effects control
- Improved MIDI and inter-app connectivity
- Ability to rearrange and loop song sections
Samplr
Reported bugs
3 issues- Recording functionality not working as expected
- Dropbox integration causing crashes
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Implement Ableton Link for better sync
- Add support for more audio file formats
- Improve sample import/export workflow
- Introduce a more robust sequencing and automation system
- Provide multi-channel audio output
In-app purchases
DM1
- More Vintage Pack 1$0.99
- More Acoustic Pack 1$0.99
- More DM1 Pack 1$0.99
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- More Styles Pack 1$0.99
- More Instrument Pack 1$0.99
- All Packs$3.99
Samplr
No in-app purchases









