# Hand Drums vs Bongos

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.

Both are free to download. Hand Drums sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Bongos asks for nothing beyond the download.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Hand Drums | Bongos |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hand-drums/id476913839/reviews) | **[4.1 (36 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bongos-drum-percussion-pad/id1520189699/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 11 | **36** |
| Positive reviews | **16.7% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 62 MB | 577 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Drum Starz](https://appshunter.io/developer/299477766) | [Satomi Uchida](https://appshunter.io/developer/1340507560) |

## What reviewers say

### Hand Drums

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hand-drums/id476913839)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hand Drums Upgrade | $0.99 | one-time |
| Exporting | $0.99 | one-time |


### Bongos

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bongos-drum-percussion-pad/id1520189699)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*