# Hand Drums vs Chinese Instruments

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chinese Instruments at 100% against Hand Drums's 10%. Chinese Instruments also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). Hand Drums's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 32 months) and rating (4.0 vs 3.8). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

Hand Drums holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 10% of Hand Drums's written reviews are positive against 100% of Chinese Instruments's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Hand Drums ships an update every 3 months, Chinese Instruments every 32 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hand Drums | Chinese Instruments |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hand-drums/id476913839/reviews)** | [3.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chinese-instruments/id560434784/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **11** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 10.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 months** | Every 32 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 62 MB | 198 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Drum Starz](https://appshunter.io/developer/299477766) | [Hon Fai Yiu](https://appshunter.io/developer/498484006) |

## 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 |


### Chinese Instruments

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chinese-instruments/id560434784)

Explore the rich history and diverse sounds of traditional Chinese musical instruments. Discover detailed information, high-resolution images, and representative music for 24 unique instruments, categorized by type.

**Highlights:** 24 Chinese instruments detailed, High-resolution instrument images, Descriptive text for each instrument, Representative music samples, Integrated music player, YouTube video links, Categorized instrument list

**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 Chinese Instruments free?

Chinese Instruments is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Hand Drums or Chinese Instruments?

Hand Drums is rated higher. Hand Drums averages 4.0 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Chinese Instruments averages 3.8 from 4 ratings.

### Do Hand Drums or Chinese Instruments have ads?

Both Hand Drums and Chinese Instruments show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hand Drums or Chinese Instruments?

Hand Drums ships an update every 3 months, and Chinese Instruments every 32 months. Most recently, Hand Drums was updated on October 8, 2026 and Chinese Instruments on October 5, 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.*