Comparison

Hand Drums 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

Hand Drums

Explore a collection of 25 professionally recorded hand drums, including bongos, congas, and djembes. Play along to a metronome, custom beats, or your own music library. Record and share your drumming creations.

Highlights
  • 25 professionally recorded hand drums
  • Play along to metronome, beats, and loops
  • Record and share drumming sessions
  • Pitch and roll controls
  • Play along with iPod music
  • Visual 3D effects
Features
Read full description

If you've always wanted to play the bongos, conga, or any other hand drum, or already know how, Hand Drums Free is for you! Easy to use, extremely fun and entertaining, Hand Drums Free features 25 unique hand drums, including Bongos, Conga, Djembe, Doumbek, Cajon, Tabla and more, all professionally recorded in high quality 16 bit stereo. You can play alone, to a metronome, or to unique Pocket Beats and Loops. You can even play along to the music on your iPod right from within Hand Drums Free. With features including pitch control, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), metronome, drum rolls, drum loops, and more, you'll sound like a pro from the moment you start playing! FEATURES: • 25 different hand drums, all professionally recorded in high-quality 16-bit stereo: Bendir, Bongo, Bongo Jam, Boudran, Cajon, Conga, Djembe, Doumbek, Duff, Electronic Drums, Frame Drum, Frame Drum with Bells, Mini Djembe, Pakhawaj, Snare & Bass, Tabla, Talking Drum, Tambourine, Timbale, and Tom Tom, with more to follow. • 4 Unique Playing Zones on each drum create a realistic drumming experience. • Share your recordings through email, Facebook, and Twitter • Export your recordings to your computer (optional in-app purchase) • Visual 3D effect when drums are hit maximizes the drumming experience • Metronome with 43 sounds to choose from and variable speed switch (BPM) • 67 Pocket Beats and Loops to play along to • 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 the drums • Shake your device to play sounds to your favorite music • Play drum heads simultaneously • Play along with your favorite music by easily accessing your iPod music right from within Hand Drums Free • Volume controls for both the drum sounds and music • Pitch control allows for unlimited drum sounds • Rolls on drums with variable speed adjustment (BPM) • Using headphones will allow you to fully enjoy the high quality sounds of Hand 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

Hand Drums4 screens
Drum Sets3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Drum Sets at 50% against Hand Drums's 10%. Drum Sets also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Hand Drums's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 6 months). 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. Hand Drums sells 2 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 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 18 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 10% of Hand Drums's written reviews are positive against 50% of Drum Sets's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hand Drums ships an update every 3 months, Drum Sets every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hand Drums versus Drum Sets: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHand DrumsDrum Sets
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (11 ratings)4.4 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1118 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 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
Size62 MB92 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzEdgeway Software

Customer experience

Hand Drums

All ratings11 ratings
Positive63.6%
Neutral18.2%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive10.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative80.0%

Drum Sets

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

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hand Drums

One-time2
  • Hand Drums Upgrade$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99
1 purchases

Drum Sets

One-time1
  • Unlimited Drums$1.99

Questions

Is Hand Drums free?
Hand Drums 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, Hand Drums or Drum Sets?
Drum Sets is rated higher. Hand Drums averages 4.0 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Drum Sets averages 4.4 from 18 ratings.
Do Hand Drums or Drum Sets have ads?
Both Hand Drums and Drum Sets show ads.
Which is updated more often, Hand Drums or Drum Sets?
Hand Drums ships an update every 3 months, and Drum Sets every 6 months. Most recently, Hand Drums was updated on October 8, 2026 and Drum Sets on September 25, 2026.

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