Comparison

Bongos! vs Darbuka

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

Darbuka

Transform your device into a darbuka, a traditional Middle Eastern hand drum. Play rhythms with your fingers, record your music, and share your creations with others. This universal app is compatible with iPhone and iPad.

Highlights
  • Virtual darbuka drum
  • Finger drumming interface
  • Music recording
  • Share recordings
  • Universal app support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The darbuka is a goblet shaped hand drum used mostly in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. Turn your device into a darbuka drum that you can play with your fingers. Features: • record the music you're playing • share your records • universal app, support iPhone, iPad

Screenshots

Bongos!4 screens
Darbuka1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Bongos! at 4.4 against Darbuka's 3.1. Bongos! also leads on review sentiment (72% vs 42%) and ratings volume (60 vs 11). Darbuka's advantage is chart position (#199 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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. Bongos! sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Darbuka 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 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bongos! has 60 ratings behind it against 11, 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 42% of Darbuka's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bongos! ships an update every 3 months, Darbuka every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Bongos! versus Darbuka: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBongos!Darbuka
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (60 ratings) — better3.1 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews — better41.7% of reviews
Number of ratings60 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#199 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB14 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzDmytro Denys

Customer experience

Bongos!

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

Darbuka

All ratings11 ratings
Positive54.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative45.5%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral13.9%
Negative44.4%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bongos!

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

Darbuka

One-time1
  • Remove Advertisement$0.99

Questions

Is Bongos! free?
Bongos! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Darbuka free?
Darbuka is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bongos! or Darbuka?
Bongos! is rated higher. Bongos! averages 4.4 out of 5 from 60 ratings, while Darbuka averages 3.1 from 11 ratings.
Do Bongos! or Darbuka have ads?
Both Bongos! and Darbuka show ads.
Which is updated more often, Bongos! or Darbuka?
Bongos! ships an update every 3 months, and Darbuka every 4 months. Most recently, Bongos! was updated on November 1, 2026 and Darbuka on November 1, 2026.

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