Comparison

Pocket Drums Classic vs Drums AR

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

Drums AR

Experience drumming in your own space with augmented reality. Place and rotate a virtual drum kit anywhere, then tap to play realistic sounds. For an immersive experience, headphones are recommended.

Highlights
  • Place drum kit anywhere in AR
  • Rotate and position drum kit
  • Tap drums to play sounds
  • Immersive headphone experience
  • Augmented reality technology
Features
Read full description

Place the drum-set anywhere you like and play the augmented reality drums. After scanning the floor the app inserts the drum-set. You can rotate the drum-set by panning horizontal with your finger. After rotating you can lock the rotation by pressing the rotate button. Tap the drums and listen to the different drum sounds. Use Headphones for a full immersive experience. Augmented reality is a fun and impressive technology that can bring your virtual and physical worlds into a mixed reality.

Screenshots

Pocket Drums Classic4 screens
Drums AR2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pocket Drums Classic at 60% against Drums AR's 0%. Pocket Drums Classic also leads on rating (3.7 vs 2.5) and ratings volume (29 vs 8). Drums AR's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. Pocket Drums Classic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Drums AR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pocket Drums Classic holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 29 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Pocket Drums Classic's written reviews are positive against 0% of Drums AR's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket Drums Classic ships an update every 2 months, Drums AR weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Pocket Drums Classic versus Drums AR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket Drums ClassicDrums AR
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (29 ratings) — better2.5 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews60.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings29 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB35 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzBo Kalvslund

Customer experience

Pocket Drums Classic

All ratings29 ratings
Positive69.0%
Neutral3.4%
Negative27.6%
Written reviews78 reviews
Positive60.3%
Neutral15.4%
Negative24.4%

Drums AR

All ratings8 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative62.5%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

Drums AR

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
None

Drums AR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pocket Drums Classic free?
Pocket Drums Classic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drums AR free?
Drums AR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Drums Classic or Drums AR?
Pocket Drums Classic is rated higher. Pocket Drums Classic averages 3.7 out of 5 from 29 ratings, while Drums AR averages 2.5 from 8 ratings.
Do Pocket Drums Classic or Drums AR have ads?
Pocket Drums Classic shows ads; Drums AR does not.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Drums Classic or Drums AR?
Pocket Drums Classic ships an update every 2 months, and Drums AR weekly. Most recently, Pocket Drums Classic was updated on November 1, 2026 and Drums AR on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons