Comparison

Djembe! vs DrumKnee 3D Drums

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Djembe!

Experience the authentic sound of African drums on your mobile device. Explore various drum types, play along to beats, or jam with your own music. Features include realistic graphics, high-quality audio, and recording capabilities.

Highlights
  • Multiple African drum types
  • Professionally recorded sounds
  • Play along to beats and loops
  • Integrates with iPod music
  • Recording and sharing options
  • Realistic 3D visual effects
  • Metronome with adjustable tempo
Features
Read full description

Have you always wanted to play an African drum? Now you can, anytime, anywhere, with Djembe! Featuring professionally recorded sounds and high quality graphics, Djembe! is the ultimate African drumming app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. You can play a large Djembe, small Djembe, or even play intricate beats like a pro with 2 different Djembe jams. Play alone, to the metronome with 43 different sounds, or to over 80 unique Pocket Beats and Loops. You can even play along to your favorite music on your iPod right from within Djembe!. With features including amazing 3D effect when hitting the drums, low latency 16-bit stereo sounds, slide 'n play, pitch control, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), drum rolls, and more, you'll sound like a pro from the moment you start playing! FEATURES: • 7 different layouts: Large Djembe, Small Djembe, Djembe Jam 1, Djembe Jam 2, African Drum, Bata Drum, and Talking Drum • 4 Unique Playing Zones on each drum create a realistic sounding drum • 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) • 63 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 Djembe! • 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 Djembe! Free PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html

About

DrumKnee 3D Drums

Experience realistic 3D drumming with foot-controlled bass. Record, share, and play along with drumless tracks. Customize your kit with professional sounds and stylish skins for an immersive music experience.

Highlights
  • Realistic 3D drum set
  • Foot-controlled bass drum
  • Record and share songs
  • Play along with drumless tracks
  • Customizable drum kits
  • Low latency response
  • Chokable cymbals
Features
Read full description

DrumKnee is the most realistic drums app. Now you can play the bass with your foot. Perfect for on-the-go drumming! It is like having a real drum set in the palm of your hands. Play drums, record, and share your songs with the DrumKnee 3D community. The new Splitteroo integration lets you remove drums from your favorite songs, create custom drum kits with the separated snare and kick sounds, and play along with the track for an immersive drumming experience! DrumKnee is very different from any other app out there: First of all, it is a well-polished real drum app in 3D (how cool is that?). In addition, you get to trigger the bass sound with your foot. That's right, just rest your phone/tablet on your knee and kick it!! Mix and match the sounds so you can build your own custom drum set!! Features: Professionally recorded sounds. Very low latency response. The best one out there. The delay between your tap on the screen and the sound is incredibly low. Most realistic drums app. You will feel just like playing a real drum. Cymbals are also chokable by holding your finger on them when played. Play along with select drumless songs. You can record your masterpiece and share it with friends. Many stylish skins for you to choose from. Jazz/Funk drum set DK Music is another feature available. This service is a separate monthly fee that allows you to download drumless tracks directly to the app to play along with. SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS - Subscribe for unlimited access to the full drumless (songs without drums) songs library for the duration of your subscription - Subscriptions are monthly, quarterly and yearly - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription - You can read our privacy policy at https://drumknee.wordpress.com/policy/ *Price is equal to the value that "Apple's App Store Matrix" determines is the equivalent of the subscription price in USD. https://drumknee.wordpress.com/termsofservice

Screenshots

Djembe!4 screens
DrumKnee 3D Drums4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: DrumKnee 3D Drums at weekly against Djembe!'s every 3 months. DrumKnee 3D Drums also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 52%) and ratings volume (16K vs 46). On price, rating, 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. Djembe! sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and DrumKnee 3D Drums sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Djembe! against 4.8 for DrumKnee 3D Drums. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DrumKnee 3D Drums has 16K ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 52% of Djembe!'s written reviews are positive against 81% of DrumKnee 3D Drums's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Djembe! ships an update every 3 months, DrumKnee 3D Drums weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Djembe! versus DrumKnee 3D Drums: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDjembe!DrumKnee 3D Drums
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (46 ratings)4.8 (16K ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.2% of reviews81.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4616K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB89 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzMusic4Fun LLC

Customer experience

Djembe!

All ratings46 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive52.2%
Neutral8.7%
Negative39.1%

DrumKnee 3D Drums

All ratings16,497 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews848 reviews
Positive81.1%
Neutral6.6%
Negative12.3%

Bugs and requests

Djembe!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DrumKnee 3D Drums

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Drum kit customization not working as expected
  • Subscription issues and inability to restore purchases
  • Crashes and freezes when playing for extended periods

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize drum kit layout
  • More advanced drum techniques (e.g. double bass, ghost notes)
  • Integration with music production software like GarageBand
  • Additional drum kit and song library updates
  • Rechargeable and wireless DK Sense pedal

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Djembe!

One-time2
  • Djembe! Upgrade$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99
11 purchases

DrumKnee 3D Drums

Subscriptions3
  • 1 Month DrumKnee Premium3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • 3 Months DK Music$9.993 Months
  • 1 Year DrumKnee Premium$29.991 Year
One-time8
  • Pack 12 variants$2.99
  • Pack 42 variants$2.99
  • Jazz/Funk Pack$2.99
Show 5 more
  • Electro Pack$2.99
  • Pack 2$2.99
  • Rock Pack$3.99
  • Metal Pack$3.99
  • DrumKnee PRO$5.99

Questions

Is Djembe! free?
Djembe! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DrumKnee 3D Drums free?
DrumKnee 3D Drums is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Djembe! or DrumKnee 3D Drums?
DrumKnee 3D Drums is rated higher. Djembe! averages 4.7 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while DrumKnee 3D Drums averages 4.8 from 16K ratings.
Do Djembe! or DrumKnee 3D Drums have ads?
Both Djembe! and DrumKnee 3D Drums show ads.
Which is updated more often, Djembe! or DrumKnee 3D Drums?
Djembe! ships an update every 3 months, and DrumKnee 3D Drums weekly. Most recently, Djembe! was updated on September 22, 2026 and DrumKnee 3D Drums on September 24, 2026.

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