Comparison

Rhythm Pad vs Song Beats

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

Head to head
About

Rhythm Pad

Create and record drum beats with high-quality sampled sounds. Utilize a sequencer to build patterns, play along with your music library, and export your creations as audio files. Customize drum kits and apply effects for professional-sounding results.

Highlights
  • High-quality stereo sampled drum sounds
  • Sequencer for creating drum patterns
  • Live performance recording
  • Export recordings as audio files (AAC/WAVE)
  • Built-in reverb and compression effects
  • Customizable drum kits
  • Play along with music library
Features
Read full description

Note: This free version is supported by ads. To remove advertisements, either use the in-app purchase or buy Rhythm Pad Pro from the App Store. Play drums and compose beats using high-quality, professionally sampled drum kits with Rhythm Pad. Create drum recordings by tapping on the pads or using the sequencer and export them as audio files. Play drums along with the songs from your Media Library and Apple Music. Rhythm Pad is the smartest way to play drums on your mobile device. Introducing the Sequencer Quickly put together drum patterns of up to 8 bars using the sequencer. You can also record your live performance directly on to the sequencer and edit your sequence to your liking. Save your sequences and export them as audio files. Top features of Rhythm Pad • High-quality stereo sampled sounds with maximum polyphony. • Realistic Open and Closed Hi-Hats function. • Recording feature - Record by playing on the pads or create new patterns using the sequencer. • Quantization - Fix imprecisions during recording by enabling the quantization feature. • Export your recordings as audio files (AAC or WAVE) and use it in other audio applications. • Apply built-in reverb and compression effects to process the drum sounds. • Custom drum kits - Create new drum kits with sounds from other factory drum kits. • Smart Levels - Pads sound louder at the center and softer at the edges. • Optimized layout for maximum playability on iOS devices. • Precise metronome powered by the Metronome M1 engine. • Configure the volume level of individual pads. • Rearrange pad positions to your preference. Follow Rhythm Pad on Twitter for updates: @JSplashApps (https://twitter.com/jsplashapps) Like Rhythm Pad page on Facebook: https://facebook.com/rhythmpad

About

Song Beats

This app helps you learn and play drums along with your favorite songs. It visualizes drum hits, allows custom accompaniment creation, and offers practice tools like tempo adjustment and looping. Connect to Yamaha electronic drums for enhanced features.

Highlights
  • Visual drum hit guidance
  • Custom drum accompaniment creation
  • Tempo adjustment
  • A-B looping for practice
  • Skill testing
  • Connect to Yamaha electronic drums
Features
Read full description

Song Beats is a new application from Yamaha that makes it easy to play the drums along with your favorite songs! A fabulous drum performance support tool for iPhone or iPod touch! Song Beats supports your drum performance by visualizing which drums to hit and when to hit them while playing along with your favorite songs. The app also allows you to easily create custom accompaniments for drums, putting your drumming at the center of the band. In addition, you can also use any Yamaha MIDI song that you already own by using iTunes File Sharing. [Functions] * Player Screen - Glowing rings make it easy to see which drums to hit and when to hit them, so you can learn to play along with your favorite songs. Hit the corresponding drum when the glowing ring reaches the edge of the drum. - [NEW]Scrolling display (The timeline shows which drum you need to hit, with a cursor moving from right to left to indicate the timing.) - [NEW]Skill test: Evaluate your drumming skills, with a three-level result for each drum. - [NEW]You can connect to the Yamaha electronic drum DTX series (to use the skill test and for playback of song data from the drum kit) * Connecting to a drum kit requires i-UX1. In case of iPhone5, iPod touch(5th generation) and iPad mini, please use them with Apple Lightning to 30-pin Adapter. See the Yamaha website for details of supported devices. - mixing drums : Mix the drum sounds you want to hear by using the mute feature, and create simplified drum beats for practice or performance. - changing the tempo: Change the tempo of any song to match your skill level. - A-B looping: Set loop points to repeat and practice difficult beats in a song. - Customize full band accompaniment with high-quality voices * Library Screen - Enjoy 10 built-in songs and 10 drum patterns as soon as you download Song Beats! Each built-in song has a reference video of the drum performance! - Load any Yamaha MIDI songs you already own into the app by using iTunes File Sharing. Learn more about the Song Beats app on our website: http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/apps/song_beats/

Screenshots

Rhythm Pad4 screens
Song Beats4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Rhythm Pad at 4.5 against Song Beats's 3.4. Rhythm Pad also leads on ratings volume (321 vs 19) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). Song Beats's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, 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. Rhythm Pad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Song Beats 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

Rhythm Pad holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rhythm Pad has 321 ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Rhythm Pad's written reviews are positive against 66% of Song Beats's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rhythm Pad ships an update every 2 months, Song Beats every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Rhythm Pad versus Song Beats: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRhythm PadSong Beats
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (321 ratings) — better3.4 (19 ratings)
Positive reviews75.3% of reviews — better66.3% of reviews
Number of ratings321 — better19
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBijoy ThangarajYamaha Corporation

Customer experience

Rhythm Pad

All ratings316 ratings
Positive87.3%
Neutral5.1%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews356 reviews
Positive75.3%
Neutral11.2%
Negative13.5%

Song Beats

All ratings19 ratings
Positive57.9%
Neutral5.3%
Negative36.8%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive66.3%
Neutral8.4%
Negative25.3%

Bugs and requests

Rhythm Pad

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on startup after purchasing the pro version
  • Ads still show up even after purchasing the pro version
  • Music playback issues when using the app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to import custom drum samples
  • More drum kits and sound options
  • Support for additional time signatures
  • Improved recording and overdubbing features
  • Option to adjust individual pad volumes

Song Beats

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Rhythm Pad

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Pro Version$9.99
1 purchases

Song Beats

One-time1
  • Song Beats song$0.99

Questions

Is Rhythm Pad free?
Rhythm Pad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Song Beats free?
Song Beats is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Rhythm Pad or Song Beats?
Rhythm Pad is rated higher. Rhythm Pad averages 4.5 out of 5 from 321 ratings, while Song Beats averages 3.4 from 19 ratings.
Do Rhythm Pad or Song Beats have ads?
Rhythm Pad shows ads; Song Beats does not.
Which is updated more often, Rhythm Pad or Song Beats?
Rhythm Pad ships an update every 2 months, and Song Beats every 6 months. Most recently, Rhythm Pad was updated on November 6, 2026 and Song Beats on November 1, 2026.

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