Comparison

Hand Drums vs Drum Studio

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 Studio

Experience a realistic drumming simulation with multitouch capabilities. Explore various instruments and styles like rock, pop, and hip-hop, suitable for all skill levels.

Highlights
  • Realistic drum sounds
  • Multitouch support
  • Right-handed drumming option
  • Rock, pop, and hip-hop instruments
  • Suitable for beginners and experts
Features
Read full description

Let's try the most realistic drum application in the Apple Store !! Drum Studio is multitouch drum application which is suitable for both experts and beginners. The cool features such as Right handed drumming, realistic drums sound, rock pop, and hiphop instruments.

Screenshots

Hand Drums4 screens
Drum Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Hand Drums at 4.0 against Drum Studio's 3.0. Hand Drums also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (11 vs 2). Drum Studio's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 10%) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). 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. Hand Drums sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Drum Studio asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hand Drums holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hand Drums has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 10% of Hand Drums's written reviews are positive against 50% of Drum Studio's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hand Drums ships an update every 3 months, Drum Studio every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Hand Drums versus Drum Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHand DrumsDrum Studio
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (11 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews10.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 6 months
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
Size62 MB45 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzPanus Tantikornphan

Customer experience

Hand Drums

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

Drum Studio

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative37.5%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hand Drums

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

Drum Studio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hand Drums free?
Hand Drums is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drum Studio free?
Drum Studio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hand Drums or Drum Studio?
Hand Drums is rated higher. Hand Drums averages 4.0 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Drum Studio averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Hand Drums or Drum Studio have ads?
Hand Drums shows ads; Drum Studio does not.
Which is updated more often, Hand Drums or Drum Studio?
Hand Drums ships an update every 3 months, and Drum Studio every 6 months. Most recently, Hand Drums was updated on October 8, 2026 and Drum Studio on October 9, 2026.

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