Comparison

Djembe! vs Harp Real

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

Harp Real

This app simulates a 27-string lever harp, offering a realistic playing experience with a wide frequency range. Practice songs with adjustable speed and transposition, or play in real-time. Record and share your music.

Highlights
  • 27-string lever harp simulation
  • Frequency range C3 to A6#
  • Offline and online song practice
  • Adjustable song speed and transposition
  • Reverb effect
  • Normal and RealTime play modes
  • Autoplay option
  • Record, playback, and share functionality
Features
Read full description

The Harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3500 BC. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, where it evolved into a wide range of variants with new technologies, and was disseminated to Europe's colonies, finding particular popularity in Latin America. Although some ancient members of the harp family died out in the Near East and South Asia, descendants of early harps are still played in Myanmar and parts of Africa, and other defunct variants in Europe and Asia have been utilized by musicians in the modern era. Harps vary globally in many ways. In terms of size, many smaller harps can be played on the lap, whereas larger harps are quite heavy and rest on the floor. Different harps may use strings of catgut, nylon, metal, or some combination. While all harps have a neck, resonator, and strings, frame harps have a pillar at their long end to support the strings, while open harps, such as arch harps and bow harps, do not. Modern harps also vary in techniques used to extend the range and chromaticism (e.g., adding sharps and flats) of the strings, such as adjusting a string's note mid-performance with levers or pedals which modify the pitch. The pedal harp is a standard instrument in the orchestra of the Romantic music era (ca. 1800–1910) and the contemporary music era. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harp) The Harp Real is Lever Harp (Celtic Harp) 27 strings simulation app with lever feature. Frequency range: C3 -> A6#. More offline and online songs for practice (With the ability to change speed, transpose, reverb). Play with 2 modes: - Normal - RealTime You can choose autoplay for listening songs. Record feature: record, play back and share to your friends. ** Songs is updated regularly

Screenshots

Djembe!4 screens
Harp Real4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Harp Real at none against Djembe!'s 2. Harp Real also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 52%) and ratings volume (645 vs 46). Djembe!'s advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 15 months). On price, rating, ads and monetization model 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. Harp Real asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Djembe! against 4.7 for Harp Real. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Harp Real has 645 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 68% of Harp Real's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Djembe! ships an update every 3 months, Harp Real every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Djembe! versus Harp Real: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDjembe!Harp Real
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (46 ratings) — better4.7 (645 ratings)
Positive reviews52.2% of reviews67.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings46645 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 15 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB97 MB
Age rating+94+
DeveloperDrum StarzSon Truong Ngoc

Customer experience

Djembe!

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

Harp Real

All ratings635 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive67.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative25.0%

Bugs and requests

Djembe!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Harp Real

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • No sound output for some users
  • Volume control not easily accessible
  • Incorrect pitches in some instances
  • App not functioning properly on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Background play functionality
  • Transpose button
  • Second hand notes for all songs
  • Better documentation/tutorial

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Djembe!

One-time2
  • Djembe! Upgrade$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99
None

Harp Real

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Djembe! free?
Djembe! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Harp Real free?
Harp Real is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Djembe! or Harp Real?
Djembe! is rated higher. Djembe! averages 4.7 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while Harp Real averages 4.7 from 645 ratings.
Do Djembe! or Harp Real have ads?
Both Djembe! and Harp Real show ads.
Which is updated more often, Djembe! or Harp Real?
Djembe! ships an update every 3 months, and Harp Real every 15 months. Most recently, Djembe! was updated on October 23, 2026 and Harp Real on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons