Comparison

Pocket Drums Classic vs Drum Sets

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

Head to head
About

Pocket Drums Classic

This app allows users to play drums on their mobile devices with a wide variety of high-quality drum kits and realistic sound effects. It includes features for recording, sharing, and exporting performances, along with a metronome and loops for practice and jamming.

Highlights
  • 33 high-quality stereo drum kits
  • Recording and sharing capabilities
  • 14 unique drum loops
  • Variable pitch and roll controls
  • Metronome with multiple sounds
  • Lefty mode
  • Play along with iPod music
Features
Read full description

Play the drums anytime, anywhere with Pocket Drums Free! Featuring 33 high-quality stereo drum kits, recording, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), 14 unique drum loops to play along to, variable pitch control, drum rolls, double bass drumming, play to your favorite iPod music from within Pocket Drums Free, variable metronome with half a dozen unique sounds, and lefty mode. Stickteck's DRUMMERZ tablet drumsticks makes playing Pocket Drums Free even that more fun and realistic. Now you can play directly on your iPad -- great for practicing, jamming and recording your favorite drum tracks from anywhere! Each DRUMMERZ drumstick features a plastic inner core surrounded by a conductive rubber-like material. Take a look http://www.getdrummerz.com and start jamming today! FEATURES: • 33 6-piece drum kits all professionally recorded in high-quality 16-bit stereo: Arena, Bebop, Birch, Classic, Country, Delay, Electronic, Funk, Fusion, Garage, Indian, Japan Vintage, Jazz, Latin, Liverpool, Lo-Fi, Marching, Melodic, Natural, Old Skool, Pop, Phat, Punk, Reggae, Retro, Reverb, Rock, Rocket, Tribal, Vintage, Weird, Wood, and World • Recorder that allows you to save, load, loop, and play recorded tracks • Share your recordings through email, Facebook, and Twitter • Export your recordings to your computer (optional in-app purchase) • Metronome with 8 sounds to choose from and variable speed switch (BPM) • 14 Pocket Beats/Loops • PlayAlong Beats: 16 new loops with basic bass drum, hi-hat or snare beats, to play along for added rhythmic expression! • Slide your finger between drums • Shake your device to play sounds to your favorite music • Repeated cymbal and drum taps blend in like real drums • Play multiple drum heads and cymbals simultaneously • Visual feedback when tapping drums and cymbals • Two Real Drums themes • Lefty Mode - reverse the layout • Play along with your favorite music by easily accessing your iPod music right from within Pocket Drums Free • Volume controls for both the drum sounds and music • Pitch control allows for unlimited drum sounds • Rolls on all drums with variable speed adjustment (BPM) • Double bass drumming with variable speed adjustment (BPM) • Runs on both the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad • Bass drum featured is a rare Ludwig 1960s psychedelic red finish • Fun and easy to play for the drummer in all of us IN-APP PURCHASE TO UPGRADE: • Multi-track recording • Record and play on top of loaded/saved tracks • 15 additional metronome sounds • 25 additional beats/loops • 3 additional layouts: Drum Machine, Basic, and Toms • 2 additional Real Drums themes • Ads removed Use headphones when possible to fully hear and enjoy the high quality sounds of Pocket Drums Free. PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html

About

Drum Sets

Experience realistic drumming with multiple genre-specific kits. Use your fingers to play, with options for intense finger movements for dynamic drumming. Optimized for external speakers or headphones for the best audio quality.

Highlights
  • Realistic drum sounds
  • Rock, Jazz, and Metal kits
  • Finger drumming controls
  • Dynamic drumming movement
  • High-quality 44100 kHz audio
Features
Read full description

Want a Drum Set on your Ipad/Iphone Check out these great sounding Drum Sets, we have 3 sets to choose from Rock, Jazz and Metal, all featuring 44100 khz quality audio. Connect a set of speakers crank up the volume and drum away ! - Use your fingers as drum sticks. - For intense drumming move your finger around drums. - Select from Rock, Jazz and Metal drums. - To hear the drums at their best connect a pair of earphones or speakers.

Screenshots

Pocket Drums Classic4 screens
Drum Sets3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Drum Sets at 4.4 against Pocket Drums Classic's 3.8. Drum Sets also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Pocket Drums Classic's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and review sentiment (60% vs 50%). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Pocket Drums Classic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Drum Sets sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Drum Sets holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28 and 18 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 60% of Pocket Drums Classic's written reviews are positive against 50% of Drum Sets's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Drums Classic ships an update every 2 months, Drum Sets every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and August 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pocket Drums Classic versus Drum Sets: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket Drums ClassicDrum Sets
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (28 ratings)4.4 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.3% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings28 — better18
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB92 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzEdgeway Software

Customer experience

Pocket Drums Classic

All ratings28 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral3.6%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews73 reviews
Positive60.3%
Neutral13.7%
Negative26.0%

Drum Sets

All ratings18 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Pocket Drums Classic

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Ads pop up every time a drum is clicked
  • Ads pop up when editing kits or going into settings
  • Ads pop up in the middle of a song
  • Bluetooth has a delay
  • Ads pop up when opening the app
Show 7 more
  • Ads pop up in the middle of the app, taking users to other games
  • Ads redirect constantly
  • Sound decided not to work
  • Bombarded with adverts opening new internet tabs
  • Free things popping up
  • Advertising banner still present after paying for full version
  • Can't even download

Requested features

9 requests
  • Change drum color
  • Fix glitches when editing kits or going into settings
  • Add option to change tempo
  • Add more customization options
  • Add a menu to choose different drum sets/skins
Show 4 more
  • Allow sounds to overlap
  • Improve hi-hat sound
  • Consider a layout geared for finger drumming
  • Add dark mode option

Drum Sets

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Pocket Drums Classic

One-time4
  • Pocket Drums Upgrade$0.99
  • Kit Pack 1$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99
Show 1 more
  • Kit Pack 2$0.99
1 purchases

Drum Sets

One-time1
  • Unlimited Drums$1.99

Questions

Is Pocket Drums Classic free?
Pocket Drums Classic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drum Sets free?
Drum Sets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Drums Classic or Drum Sets?
Drum Sets is rated higher. Pocket Drums Classic averages 3.8 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Drum Sets averages 4.4 from 18 ratings.
Do Pocket Drums Classic or Drum Sets have ads?
Both Pocket Drums Classic and Drum Sets show ads.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Drums Classic or Drum Sets?
Pocket Drums Classic ships an update every 2 months, and Drum Sets every 6 months. Most recently, Pocket Drums Classic was updated on September 21, 2026 and Drum Sets on August 26, 2026.

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