Comparison

PercussionTutor vs DrumLab

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

Head to head
About

PercussionTutor

Explore a vast library of world percussion rhythms and instruments. Learn through standard notation, videos, and practice tools like time-stretching and a metronome. Ideal for musicians, dancers, and rhythm enthusiasts seeking authentic global drumming traditions.

Highlights
  • Extensive library of world rhythms
  • Individual drum track control
  • Audio time-stretching
  • Integrated metronome
  • Standard notation and descriptions
  • Instructional videos
  • Authentic instrument sounds
Currently charting
Read full description

MODERN DRUMMER MAGAZINE (October 2015 issue): “This is a must-have for anyone wanting an encyclopedia of world percussion rhythms at their fingertips.” PercussionTutor is an educational app for dedicated world percussion enthusiasts. The app and its free companion book feature a unique library of world rhythms and instruments played by leading percussionists and drummers. A time stretching feature and a metronome give the users the option to practice at their own pace. NO IN-APP PURCHASES! Make sure to buy the app now and get all the future content for free. We will release updates on a regular basis adding new rhythms and videos. Damian Erskine (bassist, educator, writer for NoTreble.com): “PercussionTutor is truly fantastic and a blast to play along with”. (full review on NoTreble.com) Lincoln Goines (electric and acoustic bassist) writes: “This app is an engaging and informative way to check out the original funk. A great tool for musicians, dancers, and all lovers of rhythm”. Percussive Arts Society: “The interactive application is very thorough [...]. Navigation is simple and the layout is logical and easy to grasp.” PercussionTutor will allow you to approach South American, Caribbean and West African music in a different way. This app offers you more than a simple play-along. It includes standard notation, videos and specific claves. We also took the outmost care to capture the natural feeling of all those drumming traditions. For the batá rhythms we even developed a random playback engine that will simulate an actual batá performance. This app puts you in a live playing situation - just like you learned your mother language. You will sound more natural and more alive and you will awaken to new rhythmic possibilities. It's also a great tool for other musicians, dancers and performers who want to immerse themselves into centuries-old traditional languages. FEATURES: - Over 80 rhythms (some rhythms include a basic and a more advanced version) - Rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Peru, West Africa, ... - ALL drums can be turned on and off individually - audio time-stretching feature - 59 videos - over 50 percussion instruments - Sheets of all the rhythms included in the app and in the free book - A description of all the rhythms - MORE RHYTMS COMING: we are working on a lot more content to be released on a regular basis! FEATURED MUSICIANS: * Louis Bauzo, performed with Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, Paul Simon * Greg Askew, performed with Tito Puente * Luiz Ebert * Jérôme Goldschmidt, performed with Tito Puente, M. Santamaria & Chico O’Farrill * Marcos Napa, performed with Perú N. * M. Monaco, performed with Al Di Meola * Oswald Simmonds * Reynaldo Alcantara * Richard Byrd, performed with Babatunde Olatunji * Rudy Walker, performed with Pharaoh Saunders, Randy Weston * Victor Rendón, performed with M. Santamaria, Xavier Cugat Orchestra FEATURED RHYTHMS: **Cuba - Popular Music** - Afro - Bolero - Cha Cha Cha - Mozambique - Pachanga - Pilon - Salsa 1, 2, 3, 4 - Songo 1, 2 & 3 - Timba **Cuba - Folk Music** - Abakua Havana - Afra - Agüeito - Azogano Part 1, 2 - Columbia Part 1 - Conga - Guaguanco - Guiro - Iyesa - Makuta - Mozambique - Palo - Yambu - Yuca **Cuba - Batá Drums** - Lalubanche - Latopa - Ogun - Auguere (part 1) - Auguere (part 2) - Imbaloke - Babaluaye (part 1) - Babaluaye (part 2) - Kuru Kurubete - Ewe Masiboroñu - Borotitilawa - Dada - Oggue - Agayu Part 1,2,3 & 4 - Oferere - Ibejis - Akete Obba - Odudua - Iya Mase - Yacota - Ñongo - Chachalokafun - Iyesa - Echu - Olokun **Spain - Flamenco** - Bulerías - Soleá por Bulerías - Tangos **Brazil** - Baião - Bossa Nova - Samba Batucada - Samba Enredo - Samba Pagode - Samba Reggae - Xaxado **Dominican Republic** - Jaleo - Merengue - Pambiche **Puerto Rico** - Xica - Holandes & Holandes fast version - Plena **Peru** - Festejo - Zamacueca - Vals Peruano - Lando - Afro **West Africa** - Fanga - Saa - Lamban - Sounou

About

DrumLab

Features
Read full description

¿Quieres dominar la batería, componer tus propios ritmos o simplemente tener un kit de práctica que puedas llevar a cualquier lugar? ¡Descubre DrumLab, el estudio de batería todo en uno diseñado para músicos de todos los niveles! DrumLab no es solo un simulador, es una completa herramienta de aprendizaje y creación que te acompañará desde tus primeros golpes hasta tus composiciones más complejas. CARACTERÍSTICAS PRINCIPALES: - TOCA EN CUALQUIER LUGAR (Pestaña "Tocar") Experimenta una batería virtual increíblemente responsiva y con sonidos de alta calidad. Diseño 100% programático que se adapta perfectamente a cualquier tamaño de iPhone o iPad. Polifonía real: ¡toca varias piezas a la vez como en una batería de verdad! Visualiza cada golpe en un pentagrama en tiempo real para conectar el sonido con la notación musical. Hi-hat dinámico: toca en el lado izquierdo para un sonido abierto (open) y en el derecho para uno cerrado (closed). - APRENDE RITMOS ICÓNICOS (Pestaña "Ritmos") Una biblioteca en constante crecimiento con ritmos y fills esenciales, organizados por categorías: Fundamentos, Rock/Pop y Redobles. Cada ritmo incluye su notación completa y un reproductor con metrónomo ajustable. ¡Aprende de los mejores! Cada ritmo incluye enlaces a canciones icónicas de YouTube donde se utiliza ese groove, para que puedas escuchar y practicar con los maestros. - CONSTRUYE CANCIONES COMPLETAS (Constructor de Canciones) Combina los ritmos de la biblioteca o los que tú mismo has creado para montar canciones enteras. Define cuántas veces se repite cada bloque de ritmo para estructurar tus composiciones (estrofa, estribillo, etc.). Edita tus canciones en cualquier momento: añade, elimina, reordena y ajusta las repeticiones de cada parte. - CREA TUS PROPIOS RITMOS (Pestaña "Crear") Da rienda suelta a tu creatividad con un potente e intuitivo secuenciador por pasos (Step Sequencer). "Pinta" tus ritmos en una matriz visual, activando y desactivando cada golpe para cada instrumento. Ajusta la resolución entre corcheas (8 notas) y semicorcheas (16 notas) para ritmos simples o complejos. Guarda tus creaciones en tu biblioteca personal y úsalas en el Constructor de Canciones. HERRAMIENTAS PROFESIONALES: Metrónomo Avanzado: Control de BPM preciso con slider y botones de ajuste fino (+/- 1) y grueso (+/- 5). Gestión de Datos: Todos tus ritmos y canciones se guardan de forma segura en tu dispositivo con SwiftData. Renombra, carga y borra tus creaciones con facilidad. Interfaz Limpia y Moderna: Diseñada desde cero con SwiftUI para una experiencia fluida y nativa en el ecosistema de Apple. Tanto si eres un principiante que quiere aprender su primer ritmo como si eres un baterista experimentado que busca una herramienta para componer sobre la marcha, DrumLab es tu compañero rítmico perfecto. ¡Descarga DrumLab hoy y empieza a construir tu ritmo!

Screenshots

PercussionTutor4 screens
DrumLab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DrumLab at $0.99 against PercussionTutor's $14.99. DrumLab also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). PercussionTutor's advantage is chart position (#198 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.6). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

PercussionTutor costs $14.99 and DrumLab $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PercussionTutor ships an update every 5 months, DrumLab fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
PercussionTutor versus DrumLab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPercussionTutorDrumLab
Price$14.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.9 (266 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews90.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings266 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#198 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size440 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFunkyDrumTutorLuis Manuel Marti Jimenez

Bugs and requests

PercussionTutor

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Metronome timing is 2 clicks ahead of actual rhythm
  • Audio distortion when moderately increasing tempo
  • Crashes with external USB audio interfaces (RME Babyface, RME Babyface Pro, Motu 828es)
  • No audio output with some USB interfaces despite no crash
  • App crashes when opening other apps
Show 4 more
  • Audio loss when switching between audio apps
  • Incorrect sheet music for Clave Tiñosa
  • Transient smearing and rhythm attack blurring at very slow tempos
  • Occasional app crashes during normal use

Requested features

18 requests
  • More Colombian rhythms (Cumbia, Bullerengue, Vallenato, Porro, Currulao, Mapale)
  • Brazilian genres expansion (Choro, Forró, and variations)
  • Individual volume controls for each instrument
  • Visual playhead/bar indicator moving through sheet music in real-time
  • Count-in before rhythm starts
Show 13 more
  • Metronome function for all rhythms
  • Tempo adjustment without pitch change (time-stretching)
  • Higher tempo limits for certain rhythms
  • Dominican Bachata rhythm
  • West African dance rhythms
  • 6/8 bell patterns and rhythms
  • Puerto Rican rhythm corrections and additions (Cuembé, Yubá, Seis Corrido)
  • Salsa 2-3 and 3-2 pattern variations
  • Practice timer to track time per rhythm
  • Better graphics and authentic instrument photos
  • Integration with DAW apps like GarageBand
  • Free trial version before purchase
  • Middle Eastern percussion sounds

DrumLab

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PercussionTutor

No in-app purchases

None

DrumLab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PercussionTutor free?
PercussionTutor costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DrumLab free?
DrumLab costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do PercussionTutor or DrumLab have ads?
Neither PercussionTutor nor DrumLab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PercussionTutor or DrumLab?
PercussionTutor ships an update every 5 months, and DrumLab fortnightly. Most recently, PercussionTutor was updated on October 14, 2026 and DrumLab on October 2, 2026.

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