Comparison

Rockin' Drums vs DrumSet Live

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

Head to head
About

Rockin' Drums

This app offers a realistic drumming experience with high-fidelity sound and responsive touch controls. Explore a variety of drum kits, create custom sounds, and practice with built-in beats and metronomes. Record and share your musical creations.

Highlights
  • High fidelity professionally recorded drum kits
  • Responsive touch controls for volume and pitch
  • Multi-track recording and sharing
  • 16 PlayAlong Beats and 10 unique Drum/Music Beats
  • Adjustable sensitivity, reverb, and delay
  • Metronome with adjustable BPM and time signatures
  • Lefty Mode for reversed layout
Features
Read full description

Rockin' Drums Free will have you rockin' from the moment you start playing! Utilizing the latest technology and decades of real drum experience, Rockin' Drums Free is perfect for drummers of all ages and experience. There are 14 different professionally recorded high fidelity drum sets to choose from. In addition, there are also 11 more snares that you can mix and match to create your ideal sound.  The drums respond to your touch, as the  volume changes depending on how hard you tap the drums, just like a real drum kit. The pitch also changes slightly depending on where you hit the toms. Playing realistic rolls is as easy as swirling your finger around, simply adjusting the roll speed by how fast or slow you swirl your finger. Rockin' Drums Free also features 16 PlayAlong Beats, 10 unique Drum Beats and 10 Music Beats to rock out with, as well as 10 different metronome sounds. Other great features include the ability to adjust the pitch, sensitivity, reverb and delay, multi-track recording, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), and so much more!
.

 FEATURES:

 - 14 professionally recorded 44.1 khz high fidelity kits, with more to come - 11 additional snares to choose from - Slider control for infinite bass drum color choices - The harder you hit the drums, the louder they sound! - Drum Pitch Sensitivity - the pitch changes depending on where you strike the toms, just like a real kit - Reverb and Delay Controls - slider adjustments allows limitless drum sounds - Pitch Control - lower or raise the pitch of the drums - Realistic visual effects - drums and cymbals look and respond like a real drum set, visually corresponding to your every touch - Retina Display for both iPad and iPhone for incredibly crisp graphics - 10 Drum Beats and 10 Music Beats to play along to, with more to come! - PlayAlong Beats: 16 new loops with basic bass drum, hi-hat or snare beats, to play along for added rhythmic expression! - Realistic Rolls - simply swirl your finger around to create slower or faster rolls - Double Bass drum feature with slider adjustment - 10 Metronome Sounds and 4 Time Signatures to choose from, with BPM adjustment - Multi-track recording - easily add or delete tracks, save and loop recordings - Share your recordings through email, Facebook, and Twitter - Export your recordings to your computer (optional in-app purchase) - Lefty Mode - reverse the entire drum layout - Play along to the music on your iPod - Option to add bass drum when hitting crash cymbal PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html

About

DrumSet Live

Learn to play the drums with realistic sound kits. Create custom drum kits and sample sounds for music production. Offers real-time feedback and high-quality audio.

Highlights
  • Learn to play drums
  • Real drum sound kits
  • Custom drum kits
  • Sample sounds
  • Text feedback on tap
  • High-quality audio
Features
Read full description

Learn to play the Drums using real Drum sound kits. Custom Drum kits are rare and producers love to sample from using Drum Set Live App. we have more to come. - Text feedback when drums is tapped - Mastered recorded, high quality drum Kit Sounds - Play multiple drum Kits simultaneously FOLLOW US: Twitter: http://twitter.com/CreateLex

Screenshots

Rockin' Drums4 screens
DrumSet Live1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DrumSet Live at none against Rockin' Drums's 3. DrumSet Live also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, review sentiment 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

Both are free to download. Rockin' Drums sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. DrumSet Live asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DrumSet Live holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DrumSet Live has 262 ratings behind it against 30, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 82% and 81% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rockin' Drums ships an update every 4 months, DrumSet Live every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Rockin' Drums versus DrumSet Live: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRockin' DrumsDrumSet Live
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (30 ratings)4.4 (262 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews — better81.2% of reviews
Number of ratings30262 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.09.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB55 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzCREATELEX LLC

Customer experience

Rockin' Drums

All ratings30 ratings
Positive73.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative9.1%

DrumSet Live

All ratings262 ratings
Positive86.6%
Neutral2.3%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews85 reviews
Positive81.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative12.9%

Bugs and requests

Rockin' Drums

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DrumSet Live

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App crashes on startup
  • Black screen and forced exit
  • No sound playback
  • Full-screen ads interrupt gameplay
  • Audio delay between tap and sound output
Show 4 more
  • App screen shrinks with ads taking over
  • Misses rapid taps when drumming fast
  • Screen display issues on iPhone 6s Plus and larger devices
  • Text messages visible under fingers during play

Requested features

10 requests
  • Recording functionality
  • Multitouch support for complex rhythms
  • Ad removal or reduced ad frequency
  • Different drum sound variations
  • Landscape orientation support
Show 5 more
  • Smaller ad banner instead of full-screen ads
  • Better visual drum set graphics
  • Larger drum pads for bigger fingers
  • More drum samples and variety
  • Ability to share recorded beats

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Rockin' Drums

One-time3
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Exporting$0.99
  • Kit Pack$0.99
None

DrumSet Live

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rockin' Drums free?
Rockin' Drums is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DrumSet Live free?
DrumSet Live is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Rockin' Drums or DrumSet Live?
DrumSet Live is rated higher. Rockin' Drums averages 4.2 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while DrumSet Live averages 4.4 from 262 ratings.
Do Rockin' Drums or DrumSet Live have ads?
Rockin' Drums shows ads; DrumSet Live does not.
Which is updated more often, Rockin' Drums or DrumSet Live?
Rockin' Drums ships an update every 4 months, and DrumSet Live every 3 weeks. Most recently, Rockin' Drums was updated on November 1, 2026 and DrumSet Live on November 1, 2026.

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