Comparison

Cajon! vs Real Cajon

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

Head to head
About

Cajon!

Experience authentic drumming with a variety of percussion instruments. This app offers realistic touch sensitivity, pitch changes, and multi-track recording. Customize your cajon's color and sound with adjustable effects, and play along to built-in beats and metronome.

Highlights
  • 6 high-fidelity cajons
  • 5 additional percussion instruments
  • Realistic touch sensitivity and pitch response
  • Multi-track recording and export
  • Customizable cajon colors
  • Play-along beats and metronome
Features
Read full description

The cajon is thought to have originated in Peru, where African slaves used old packing crates to replace their native drums. Cajon! Free features 6 different professionally recorded high fidelity cajons to play. You can also add 5 different percussion instruments that can be played along with the cajon including congas, bongos, timbales and more. Realistic features of Cajon! Free combine to give you an authentic drumming experience. The pitch changes slightly depending on where you hit the cajon. Also, the volume responds to your touch; the harder you tap, the louder it sounds. Playing rolls is as easy as swirling your finger, simply adjusting the roll speed by how fast or slow you swirl.   A unique addition to Cajon! Free is the ability to choose any color you desire for the cajon. Other great features include adjustments for pitch, reverb, delay, and touch sensitivity, multi-track recording, ability to share and export your recordings (optional in-app purchase), and so much more! There are also 16 PlayAlong Beats, 15 unique Drum Beats and 11 Music Beats to play along to, as well as 11 different metronome sounds. Utilizing decades of real drum experience and the latest technology, Cajon! Free is the perfect app for cajon players of all ages and experience! FEATURES:
 - 5 professionally recorded 44.1 khz high fidelity cajons, with more to come - 5 different percussion instruments to choose from including congas, bongos, timbales, cowbell/woodblock, and snare/cymbal - Slider control for different cajon color choices - The harder you hit the drums, the louder they sound! - Drum Pitch Sensitivity - the pitch changes depending on where you strike the cajon, just like a real cajon - Reverb and Delay Controls - slider adjustments allows limitless drum sounds - Pitch Control - lower or raise the pitch of the drums - Realistic visual effects - Retina Display for both iPad and iPhone for incredibly crisp graphics - 15 Drum Beats and 11 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 Beat drum feature with slider adjustment - 11 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 - Adjust volume for metronome and beat sounds PRIVACY POLICY: http://codyrotwein.com/privacy.html

About

Real Cajon

This app simulates playing a cajon, a Peruvian percussion instrument. It allows users to strike different sections of the cajon, record and share audio, and customize its appearance. Enjoy realistic sounds and visual feedback.

Highlights
  • Record and share audio
  • Trim and playback recordings
  • Adjustable volume for each sound
  • Customizable skins and colors
  • Realistic HD graphics
  • Professional studio sound recordings
Features
Read full description

A simple and easy to play cajon simulator. Strike the surface made out of a thin layer of plywood called tapa. Slap the wooden face of the cajon and play multiple sections at the same time. Enjoy the visual vibration of the cajon! The cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, or sticks. Cajones are primarily played in Afro-Peruvian music. A Cajon falls under the drum instrument family due to its bass, mids and high frequency sound being similar to that of a kick drum and snares. Users can now record sound while playing, share the sound, trim recorded audio and playback the recorded sound. Adjust the volume for each cajon sound. Customize your cajon with different skins, wood types and background colors. Features • Record Sound while playing • Share Recorded Sound • Trim Recorded Audio • Playback Recorded Sound 
• Fast and Responsive • Beautiful Realistic HD Graphics • Customizable Cajon Wood Skins and background colors • Settings Menu With volume and haptic settings • Adjustable Volume for Each Cajon Sound • Portrait Mode • Tapa Marking Guide • Real sound recorded in professional studios More features and skins coming soon!

Screenshots

Cajon!4 screens
Real Cajon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cajon! at 4.3 against Real Cajon's 3.4. Cajon! also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 13 months). Real Cajon's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Cajon! sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Real Cajon 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

Cajon! holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Cajon!'s written reviews are positive against 21% of Real Cajon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cajon! ships an update monthly, Real Cajon every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Cajon! versus Real Cajon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCajon!Real Cajon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (18 ratings) — better3.4 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews — better21.4% of reviews
Number of ratings18 — better10
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 13 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB90 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDrum StarzBudali Kingsley

Customer experience

Cajon!

All ratings18 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative62.5%

Real Cajon

All ratings10 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive21.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative78.6%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Cajon!

One-time2
  • Exporting$0.99
  • Remove Ads$0.99
1 purchases

Real Cajon

One-time1
  • VIP Unlock All$2.99

Questions

Is Cajon! free?
Cajon! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Real Cajon free?
Real Cajon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cajon! or Real Cajon?
Cajon! is rated higher. Cajon! averages 4.3 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Real Cajon averages 3.4 from 10 ratings.
Do Cajon! or Real Cajon have ads?
Both Cajon! and Real Cajon show ads.
Which is updated more often, Cajon! or Real Cajon?
Cajon! ships an update monthly, and Real Cajon every 13 months. Most recently, Cajon! was updated on October 29, 2026 and Real Cajon on October 28, 2026.

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