Comparison

Hand Drums vs Bongos

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

Bongos

This app provides a realistic finger bongo pad experience with high-quality sounds. Practice along to songs, customize bongo positions, and utilize built-in metronome and recording features for jam sessions and lessons.

Highlights
  • Realistic finger bongo pad
  • High-quality sound selection
  • Customizable bongo positions
  • Built-in metronome (30-300 BPM)
  • Recording and loop functions
  • Practice along to songs
Features
Read full description

***** This App is a Real Finger Bongo Pad. ***** You can practice according to the Song. ***** Ideal for Jam Sessions with other Instruments. ***** Suitable for Jam Sessions and Lessons. ***** Real High Quality Sound. [Simple Bongos] * Simple Bongo Pads with No Delay. [Sound Selection & Custom Bongo Positions] * Long Press to Select and set Sound. (After selecting the sound, push the selected Bongo again, it will be changed) * Available in All Bongo Positions. [Color] * Abundant Color Variations. [Metronome] * BPM(30〜300) [Rec] * Includes Recording, Loop and Metronome functions. * Suitable for Jam Sessions and Lessons. [List of Bongo Sounds] * Real High Quality Sound. [Bongo 1,Bongo 2,Bongo 3,Bongo 4,Bongo 5,Bongo 6,Bongo 7,Bongo 8,Bongo 9,Bongo 10,Bongo 11,Bongo 12,Bongo 13,Bongo 14,Bongo 15,Bongo 16,Bongo 17,Bongo 18,Bongo 19,Bongo 20,Bongo 21,Bongo 22,Bongo 23,Bongo 24,Bongo 25,Bongo 26,Bongo 27,Bongo 28,Bongo 29,Bongo 30,Bongo 31,Bongo 32,Bongo 33,Bongo 34,Bongo 35,Bongo 36,Bongo 37,Bongo 38,Bongo 39,Bongo 40,Bongo 41,Bongo 42,Bongo 43,Bongo 44,Bongo 45,Bongo 46,Bongo 47,Bongo 48,Bongo 49,Bongo 50,Bongo 51,Bongo 52,Bongo 53,Bongo 54,Bongo 55,Bongo 56,Bongo 57,Bongo 58,Bongo 59,Bongo 60,Bongo 61,Bongo 62,Bongo 63,WoodStick,Dog]

Screenshots

Hand Drums4 screens
Bongos4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bongos at none against Hand Drums's 2. Bongos also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (36 vs 11). Hand Drums's advantage is review sentiment (17% vs 0%). On price, rating, ads 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. Hand Drums sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Bongos asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Hand Drums against 4.1 for Bongos. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 36 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 17% of Hand Drums's written reviews are positive against 0% of Bongos's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hand Drums ships an update every 3 months, Bongos fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Hand Drums versus Bongos: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHand DrumsBongos
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (11 ratings)4.1 (36 ratings) — better
Positive reviews16.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1136 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB577 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzSatomi Uchida

Customer experience

Hand Drums

All ratings11 ratings
Positive63.6%
Neutral18.2%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative75.0%

Bongos

All ratings36 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral5.6%
Negative19.4%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hand Drums

One-time2
  • Hand Drums Upgrade$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99
None

Bongos

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hand Drums free?
Hand Drums is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bongos free?
Bongos is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hand Drums or Bongos?
Bongos is rated higher. Hand Drums averages 4.0 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Bongos averages 4.1 from 36 ratings.
Do Hand Drums or Bongos have ads?
Both Hand Drums and Bongos show ads.
Which is updated more often, Hand Drums or Bongos?
Hand Drums ships an update every 3 months, and Bongos fortnightly. Most recently, Hand Drums was updated on November 1, 2026 and Bongos on November 3, 2026.

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