Comparison

Different Drummer vs HeyDrummer

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

Head to head
About

Different Drummer

This app generates unique and complex rhythmic music patterns for any instrument, including drums. It offers extensive control over rhythm, harmony, and expression through wave-based synthesis. Explore endless possibilities for creating innovative beats and sequences.

Highlights
  • Rhythmic music generation for any instrument
  • Complex pattern and rhythm creation
  • MIDI controller and file creator
  • Wave-based control for expression
  • Multi-track music output
  • Audiobus 3 and Ableton Link 3 support
  • Progression Composer for arpeggios
Features
Read full description

"Different Drummer blows my mind and that's pretty hard to do."—Dave Taub, drummer for Billy Idol, John Lennon, Yes and many more. Don't let the name fool you. Different Drummer is a powerful rhythmic MUSIC generator for ANY instruments or samples (with harmonies) that happens to work Very Well for drums too. It's also an amazing Midi Controller and MIDI file creator. Create everything from simple or complex patterns, non-repeating music, straight or poly rhythms, human or robot feel, arpeggios, chord progressions, fills, sequences and much at your fingertips using this one-of-a-kind app. This may be the best music idea finder anywhere in the galaxy! This is an essential tool for those seeking new beats and sequences but our customers say it best: Most used app in the toolbox ***** "I have plenty of music apps...synths, DAWs, sequencers, beat boxes, effects, drum machines...you name it, but Different Drummer has been the MOST used of all of them." by Sattech27 This is your secret weapon in the quest for innovative beats and music that make sense yet defy the status quo. Different Drummer taps into the primal source of all rhythm—waves. DD puts out multi-track music which is lifelike and primal at times and out of this world at others. It's a rhythmic music synthesizer that uses waves to play any sound in astonishing ways that vary from electro to dubstep to tribal to classical. This software was created with music in mind—but in the spirit of discovering what is next in music, not just finding a new way to do the same thing like so many music apps do so well. If you are a pioneer or care about where music is going, this app is for you. Easy to start learning, always discovering more. Adjust note, rest, tie, panning, beat and dynamics waves for the ultimate range of expression. You will never exhaust the endless possibilities of Different Drummer and you are guaranteed to discover legit beats that no one has ever heard before. No matter how many apps you have...not having Different Drummer is a loss. To not possess this musical wonder is committing a Groove Crime in your studio or live setup! Features: • 8 Sampler Tracks + Jam-along track with 6-wave Cyclophone Controls plus 2 harmonies on each main track. • AudioBus 3 with State Saving, Remote Triggers and Inter-App audio out & background play • Stereo audio recording. Export via Audioshare, Dropbox or iTunes or AudioCopy or General Pasteboard (to GarageBand for example) • Ableton Link 3 enabled • Zenterface™ let's you work in a more simplified radial view and is just fun! • Progression Composer makes it easy to create guide tracks or multi-track arpeggios • Jammer panel to play along with the music • Jamlets panel lets you create endless action buttons for live jamming, saved with your presets • Control drum pitches, rests, ties, dynamics, panning and beat value using additive waves • Instant Capture in case you hear a killer beat you want saved on auto random • Save Wave Presets to Wave Library and share with other users in Community • 37 Preset Drum styles you can fully mess with (these are for fun, not the main purpose) • String Wave Sets together in saved Sequences and share in Community • Export Wave Sets or Sequences as MIDI Files (via iTunes, AudioShare, Email or Dropbox) • Over 190 drum and sound FX samples with more added every update • Add your own 24-bit samples via iTunes (WAV or CAF), AudioPaste or DropBox • Over 75 musical scales to assign drums or instruments to as well as key • Channel Volume, Filter, Distortion and Reverb Mixer • Set Key, Tempo, Swing and Time Signature • Automation for randomizing and morphing playback with snap-back option • MIDI Sync Out and In • Up to 8 Channels of MIDI Out • Dedicated Wave for any Midi CC with Learn • Core MIDI lets you play other synthesizers and drum machines on your iPad such as Animoog and NLog Pro or external hardware To hear Different Drummer in action and learn more please go to www.technemedia.com

About

HeyDrummer

Practice and jam with adjustable tempo drum tracks to improve your musical timing. Offers a wide variety of genres and studio-quality sound, with features like a visual metronome and song structure visualization.

Highlights
  • Tempo adjustable drum tracks
  • Visual metronome
  • Filter by genre, feel, tempo, time signature
  • Studio quality drum sound
  • Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) support
  • Wide variety of genres
Features
Read full description

All great musicians have one thing in common: perfect timing. Improve your timing by practicing and jamming with tempo adjustable drum tracks instead of a boring metronome. HeyDrummer is super easy to use. You don't need to buy expensive drum software or learn how to program drum tracks. Just open the app, choose a drum track and start your practice session or simply jam along. Key features - Speed up or slow down all drum tracks as you like without sound degradation - Adjust the length of the drum tracks to what you want to play - Keep an overview with a visual metronome and a visualization of the song structure including the currently active bar - Get counted in before the drum track starts - Filter drum tracks by genre, feel, tempo, and time signature - Mark your favorite drum tracks to easily find them again - Small app size (including all drum tracks) - Wide variety of genres: Blues, Rock, Pop, Funk, Country, Jazz, Soul, Reggae, Disco, Hip Hop, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Cuban - Studio quality drum sound - Includes an audio unit extension (AUv3) for use in apps like GarageBand, AUM, Audiobus, and other audio unit host apps - Dark mode support Please note HeyDrummer gives you 50 free plays to try the app - no purchase required. Enjoy it? Unlock the Pro version anytime.

Screenshots

Different Drummer4 screens
HeyDrummer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: HeyDrummer at Free against Different Drummer's $9.99. HeyDrummer also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (100% vs 81%). Different Drummer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.1). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads 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

HeyDrummer is free to download; Different Drummer costs $9.99 up front. HeyDrummer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Different Drummer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HeyDrummer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 32 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Different Drummer's written reviews are positive against 100% of HeyDrummer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Different Drummer versus HeyDrummer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDifferent DrummerHeyDrummer
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (32 ratings)5.0 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings32 — better11
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.1
Further details — not scored
Size93 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTechné MediaChristian Voigt

Customer experience

Different Drummer

All ratings31 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral9.7%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral9.3%
Negative9.3%

HeyDrummer

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Different Drummer

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Crashes with IAA/Audiobus
  • Doesn't sync MIDI clock / Ableton Link properly
  • Hanging MIDI notes with automation
  • Crashes when sending to Dropbox
  • Emailing MIDI file issues
Show 3 more
  • Audio doesn't start playing until wave is tweaked
  • Inaccurate sliders
  • Buggy with iOS 7 (older review)

Requested features

8 requests
  • AUv3 support
  • MIDI clock / Ableton Link sync improvements
  • Revamp sample import (e.g., zip support)
  • Add presets
  • MIDI-in support
Show 3 more
  • Landscape view
  • Grid mode
  • Dark mode option

HeyDrummer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Different Drummer

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

HeyDrummer

One-time1
  • Unlock HeyDrummer$12.99

Questions

Is Different Drummer free?
Different Drummer costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is HeyDrummer free?
HeyDrummer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Different Drummer or HeyDrummer?
HeyDrummer is rated higher. Different Drummer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while HeyDrummer averages 5.0 from 11 ratings.
Do Different Drummer or HeyDrummer have ads?
Neither Different Drummer nor HeyDrummer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Different Drummer or HeyDrummer?
Different Drummer ships an update monthly, and HeyDrummer monthly. Most recently, Different Drummer was updated on November 1, 2026 and HeyDrummer on November 3, 2026.

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