Comparison

liveBPM vs BeatMirror

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

Head to head
About

liveBPM

This app monitors tempo by detecting music and beats through your device's microphone. It continuously displays the current beats per minute (BPM) and helps musicians maintain a steady rhythm. It offers advanced features like tempo curve visualization and audio spectrum analysis for professional use.

Highlights
  • Real-time BPM detection
  • Tempo curve visualization
  • Audio spectrum analysis
  • Multiple zoom modes
  • Low battery consumption
  • Accurate beat detection engine
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Sharpen your sense of time! liveBPM is the tempo monitoring tool for drummers, bands and DJs. It detects music and beats via the microphone and continuously displays the current tempo in beats per minute (BPM). It is easy to use and delivers high-quality results while being energy efficient. === What users said about liveBPM === John Walden, freelance musician and music technology journalist at musicappblog.com: "There are three obvious applications for the app. First, it would make a brilliant practice tool for a drummer, allowing them to monitor just how good they are at keeping a steady tempo without the aid of a click track to guide them. Second, sat beside your kit during a performance, it would allow you to judge just how well you are hitting the ideal tempo for each song in your set. It’s not just drummers that can benefit for liveBPM as the third use is in mapping the tempo – and any tempo changes – in commercial recordings. While this is useful for drummers, it is instructional for almost any musician." JonLong: "I used this at my last band practice and wasn't expecting it to work. I couldn't believe how quickly and accurately it started tracking the bpm, even despite the very loud volume of our music." PocketDrummer82: "I am a professional drummer and I have been looking for something like this for years! Unless your playing with backing tracks or recording, Playing with a Click is too Mechanical. This app allows the tempo to breathe, and its like a little angel on your shoulder telling you the band is speeding up or slowing down. It is totally worth the money." Chris Walther: "I have used this about five gigs now and have quit using my previous tempo meter. I used both for a few gigs to test the accuracy. Dead on. Thanks! Every drummer should use this." magrec: "This has been very helpful for recording. thanks!" === Detailed Description === This is a tool designed for professional use: - Well-tested beat detection engine guarantees trustworthiness - Can handle most genres - Produces results accurate to within 0.1 BPM under the following conditions: -- The tempo is constant or almost constant -- Strong impulses are defining the beat (drums, accentuated rhythm instruments like bass/guitar, etc.) Further features: - Tempo curve shows the development of tempo over time - Multiple zoom modes to show last 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes - Advanced audio spectrum analysis via FFT - More accessible and usually more accurate than BPM counters that function through tapping - Low battery drain thanks to high performance code and efficient algorithms Using it as a musician: - Use it as an objective tempo reference like a metronome - It actually has several advantages over a metronome: -- You are not tied to a click, giving you more flexibility -- Helps you use tempo changes to enhance your musical expression -- With blind tests, it can massively improve your timing confidence, which is especially important if you are in a tempo leading role (e.g. drummer) - Discover how/whether your favorite artists use tempo changes - Measure and improve your time-keeping skills - Identify slowdowns and speedups while practicing your instrument - Always be in control of the tempo during your live gigs and rehearsals Controls: - Power Button: For freezing the tempo curve and minimizing battery drain - Clear Button: Clears the tempo curve - Slider: Adjusts the target tempo range (i.e. 80-160 BPM) - Zoom Buttons: Switch between zoom modes for the tempo curve. (2-30 minutes) Note: - You can check and improve the detection by clapping loud to the beat. Also, results can be improved by plugging in a suitable external microphone. - You can support my work by rating it on the App Store. If you have questions and/or suggestions, feel free to contact me via e-mail or facebook.

About

BeatMirror

This app uses your device's microphone to detect and display musical tempo in real-time. It provides a scrollable graph of your tempo history, helping musicians improve their rhythm and internal clock. Features include a wide tempo range, flexible accuracy across time signatures, and visual feedback for tempo drift.

Highlights
  • Real-time tempo detection
  • Scrollable tempo history graph
  • Wide tempo range (35-220 bpm)
  • Flexible accuracy across time signatures and rhythms
  • Visual feedback for tempo drift
  • Customizable zoom features
  • Tempo keyboard with tap pad
Read full description

BeatMirror uses your device's built-in microphone to detect musical tempo in real-time. Just tap start and a graph of your tempo will appear right away, allowing you to scroll through your tempo history and see trends. Perfect for musicians looking to build their internal rhythm, or to see the tempo of their favorite songs in real-time! TESTIMONIALS: "BeatMirror truly is simplicity at its finest. That quality is missing from most apps who try to cram too many features into one app thus making it difficult to use and many times buggy. We feel like your app is VERY good. We're reviewing BeatMirror and it will be a part of the next show. It's got nothing but thumbs up!" - Phil Smith of "Drummer's Weekly Groovecast" (podcast) "When I first heard about BeatMirror, I was kind of skeptical but after trying it out for weeks now and playing with it everyday, I'm mindblown. Alex really wanted to put a focus on helping drummers improve their internal clock and I really think he's done so." - Richard Ducat of "Drummers I Like" (podcast) "Overall, this app is so quick and simple to use, there's not really an excuse as to why you wouldn't use it during practice sessions, just to see how you’re improving. If you're a drummer, having an app on your phone or tablet like BeatMirror just makes sense." - Laura Barnes of MI-PRO (mi-pro.co.uk) FEATURES: Good music needs good rhythm. But learning to stay on beat—learning to groove—isn't always easy. Build your inner metronome with BeatMirror and catch yourself when you're speeding up or slowing down. Here’s what BeatMirror has to offer: - Wide tempo range. Tempo detection between 35 bpm and 220 bpm. - Fast. Detects tempo quickly and accurately. - Flexible. Accurate across time signatures (e.g., 4/4, 6/8) and rhythm styles (e.g., swing). - Real-time, scrollable graph. Displays current tempo and tempo history in real-time. - Zoom features. Choose tight, loose, or full zoom—or double-tap the graph for easy toggling. - Easy sharing. Share your tempo graph with a tap. - Easy-to-read interface. Optimized for various light environments, such as stages and practice spaces. - Tempo keyboard. A special tempo keyboard (with tap pad) lets you set a target tempo easily and intuitively. - Visual feedback. If you drift from your target tempo, BeatMirror shows a red (slow down!), blue (speed up!), or green (perfect!) indicator. - Custom count-in. BeatMirror gives you an optional count-in before you start playing. - Versatile. Perfect for solo practice, band rehearsals, recorded music, and you can even use it at concerts! - Triplet mode. Boost accuracy in triplet-time with the new triplet mode. - Tutorial. An in-app tutorial gets you up and running in a flash. TIPS FOR BEST PERFORMANCE: - Avoid handling your device during tempo measurement. - Be mindful of competing noise near the device's microphone (e.g., conversation, typing). NOTES ON USAGE: - Recorded music. To detect the tempo of recorded music using BeatMirror, follow these steps: 1) Play a song from your favorite music player app using the device speaker (i.e., unplug your headphones). Or, play the song from a different device altogether. 2) Open BeatMirror and start tempo detection, adjusting the tempo range if needed. 3) The song's precise tempo will then be displayed in real-time. Questions or feedback about BeatMirror? Please don't hesitate to get in touch anytime. Just tap the envelope icon in BeatMirror or reach out at tenkettles.com/contact. Happy practicing! -Alex

Screenshots

liveBPM3 screens
BeatMirror4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BeatMirror at 4.7 against liveBPM's 4.1. BeatMirror also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 11 months). liveBPM's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $6.99) and chart position (#49 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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

liveBPM costs $3.99 and BeatMirror $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BeatMirror holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 121 and 256 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of liveBPM's written reviews are positive against 65% of BeatMirror's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

liveBPM ships an update every 11 months, BeatMirror every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
liveBPM versus BeatMirror: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterliveBPMBeatMirror
Price$3.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.1 (121 ratings)4.7 (256 ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.0% of reviews — better65.2% of reviews
Number of ratings121256 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#49 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS7.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel BachTen Kettles Inc.

Customer experience

liveBPM

All ratings115 ratings
Positive74.8%
Neutral8.7%
Negative16.5%
Written reviews116 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral10.3%
Negative20.7%

BeatMirror

All ratings253 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral1.6%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive65.2%
Neutral6.5%
Negative28.3%

Bugs and requests

liveBPM

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

BeatMirror

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Beat detection inaccurate for guitar picking speed
  • App rounds BPM to nearest whole number, losing decimals
  • Phone overheats after prolonged use
  • App doesn't work unless a target tempo is set
  • App is not precise enough to measure rapid beats
Show 10 more
  • Beat mirror goes gray and stops tracking during certain song sections (e.g., bridges)
  • App does not work with headphones
  • App does not work with acoustic guitar
  • App is not auto-detecting beats, requires tapping
  • App performance appears inconsistent with tempo recording
  • App doesn't pick up correct BPM by playing music
  • Mic on phone sometimes fails to pick up beat
  • App doesn't work on iPhone
  • App doesn't work without headphones
  • App doesn't track BPM without first entering a target BPM

Requested features

4 requests
  • Toggle for BPM decimals display
  • Option to switch between integer and double numbers for DJs
  • Mode to just detect playing without setting target tempo
  • More customization for tempo range zoom

In-app purchases

None

liveBPM

No in-app purchases

None

BeatMirror

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is liveBPM free?
liveBPM costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is BeatMirror free?
BeatMirror costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, liveBPM or BeatMirror?
BeatMirror is rated higher. liveBPM averages 4.1 out of 5 from 121 ratings, while BeatMirror averages 4.7 from 256 ratings.
Do liveBPM or BeatMirror have ads?
Neither liveBPM nor BeatMirror shows ads.
Which is updated more often, liveBPM or BeatMirror?
liveBPM ships an update every 11 months, and BeatMirror every 3 months. Most recently, liveBPM was updated on November 10, 2026 and BeatMirror on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons