Comparison

Bongos! vs Real Cajon

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

Head to head
About

Bongos!

Experience the thrill of playing bongos and congas on your mobile device. This app offers high-quality sounds, realistic drumming experiences, and the ability to play along with your own music. Share and export your creations to sound like a pro.

Highlights
  • High-quality 16-bit stereo sounds
  • Realistic 3D visual effects
  • Play along to your music
  • Metronome with 43 sounds
  • 67 Pocket Beats and Loops
  • Share and export recordings
Features
Read full description

Now anyone can play the bongos anytime, anywhere with Bongos! Featuring high quality sounds and graphics, Bongos! Free is the ultimate drumming app for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. You can play the Bongos, a Bongo Jam, and Bongos and Conga together. Play alone, to the metronome with 43 different sounds, or to our unique Pocket Beats and Loops. You can even play along to your favorite music on your iPod! With features including 3D visual effects, low latency, slide-and-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. Bongos! is the grooviest drum app ever! FEATURES: • 3 different screens to choose from, all professionally recorded in high quality 16-bit stereo: Bongos, Bongo Jam, and Bongos and Conga. • 3 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) • 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 Bongos! 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 Bongos! Free PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html

About

Real Cajon

This app simulates playing a cajon, a Peruvian percussion instrument. It allows users to strike different sections of the cajon, record and share audio, and customize its appearance. Enjoy realistic sounds and visual feedback.

Highlights
  • Record and share audio
  • Trim and playback recordings
  • Adjustable volume for each sound
  • Customizable skins and colors
  • Realistic HD graphics
  • Professional studio sound recordings
Features
Read full description

A simple and easy to play cajon simulator. Strike the surface made out of a thin layer of plywood called tapa. Slap the wooden face of the cajon and play multiple sections at the same time. Enjoy the visual vibration of the cajon! The cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, or sticks. Cajones are primarily played in Afro-Peruvian music. A Cajon falls under the drum instrument family due to its bass, mids and high frequency sound being similar to that of a kick drum and snares. Users can now record sound while playing, share the sound, trim recorded audio and playback the recorded sound. Adjust the volume for each cajon sound. Customize your cajon with different skins, wood types and background colors. Features • Record Sound while playing • Share Recorded Sound • Trim Recorded Audio • Playback Recorded Sound 
• Fast and Responsive • Beautiful Realistic HD Graphics • Customizable Cajon Wood Skins and background colors • Settings Menu With volume and haptic settings • Adjustable Volume for Each Cajon Sound • Portrait Mode • Tapa Marking Guide • Real sound recorded in professional studios More features and skins coming soon!

Screenshots

Bongos!4 screens
Real Cajon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bongos! at 72% against Real Cajon's 21%. Bongos! also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.4) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 13 months). Real Cajon's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Bongos! sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Real Cajon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bongos! holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bongos! has 60 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Bongos!'s written reviews are positive against 21% of Real Cajon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bongos! ships an update every 3 months, Real Cajon every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Bongos! versus Real Cajon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBongos!Real Cajon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (60 ratings) — better3.4 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews — better21.4% of reviews
Number of ratings60 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 13 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB90 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzBudali Kingsley

Customer experience

Bongos!

All ratings60 ratings
Positive85.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative27.8%

Real Cajon

All ratings10 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive21.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative78.6%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bongos!

One-time2
  • Bongos! Upgrade$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99
1 purchases

Real Cajon

One-time1
  • VIP Unlock All$2.99

Questions

Is Bongos! free?
Bongos! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Real Cajon free?
Real Cajon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bongos! or Real Cajon?
Bongos! is rated higher. Bongos! averages 4.4 out of 5 from 60 ratings, while Real Cajon averages 3.4 from 10 ratings.
Do Bongos! or Real Cajon have ads?
Both Bongos! and Real Cajon show ads.
Which is updated more often, Bongos! or Real Cajon?
Bongos! ships an update every 3 months, and Real Cajon every 13 months. Most recently, Bongos! was updated on October 30, 2026 and Real Cajon on October 28, 2026.

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