Comparison

Melodics vs Sapling Beats

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

Head to head
About

Melodics

Learn drums with interactive lessons and instant feedback on any drum kit or practice pad. Improve your rhythm and technique with structured exercises and a vast song library. Practice anytime, anywhere, and track your progress with this comprehensive drumming companion.

Highlights
  • Interactive drum lessons
  • Instant feedback on playing
  • Works with acoustic/electronic drums & practice pads
  • 500+ lessons and songs
  • Progress tracking tools
  • Structured learning system
Read full description

Learn drums with the only drum app that syncs with any drum kit and gives you instant feedback on your playing. Whether you use acoustic drums, electronic drums, or just a practice pad, Melodics offers interactive drum lessons that help you improve every time you play. Our fun, step-by-step drum learning system, designed by pro players, caters to all skill levels. Plus, access a wide range of drum songs across rock, pop, metal, jazz, and more. Real drumming, real feedback, real results - all from your phone. HOW IT WORKS Melodics uses your iPhone’s built-in mic and smart audio tech to recognize your drum kit or practice pad - no extra gear required. Just calibrate your drum set-up and the app will give immediate insights on every beat. For electronic drum kits, connect easily via Bluetooth or wired options. Follow the setup instructions in the app to get going. Whether you're working on your first drum beat on a pad or tightening up your fills across the whole drum kit, you’ll be building better habits from day one. STICK WITH IT, GET RESULTS With Melodics, drum practice becomes something you look forward to - not a chore. Just 10 minutes a day can lead to serious improvement. Choose from 500+ drum lessons, featuring a huge range of drum content: drum rudiments, drum grooves, drum fills, drum drills, and drum songs for all levels. Use practice tools to slow things down, loop tricky parts, and track your progress. It’s like having a drum tutor or drum trainer in your pocket. WHY CHOOSE MELODICS - With Melodics, you're 6x more likely to improve than with traditional drum learning methods. - It is the only drum app that provides feedback on your playing, on all drum setups (acoustic, electronic or practice pad) - Our catalog covers everything from fundamental drum techniques to advanced rhythmic patterns. - You’ll start learning drums through structured lessons, and get playing your favourite songs in no time. - Build speed, strength, and control with focused warm-ups, drum rudiments, and exercises. - You can practice anytime, anywhere, on any surface with just a pair of drum sticks! - Join a global community of passionate drummers, all growing together. WHAT PRO DRUMMERS SAY ABOUT MELODICS "I wish I’d had Melodics when I was learning drums!" - Butch Vig - Award-winning producer of Nevermind, drummer for Garbage. "Melodics is a great tool for learning songs. It allows people to see what they might have been missing when listening to improve accuracy" - Ilan Rubin - Drummer for Nine Inch Nails, Angels & Airwaves, and solo artist. "Melodics is one of the best innovative tools to keep you in the practice room and having fun doing so." - KJ Sawka - Grammy-nominated drummer & producer, Pendulum DRUM TEACHERS OR STUDENTS Melodics works great alongside a drum tutor to help you maintain consistent practice and more easily showcase areas for improvement. It also compliments video learning platforms such as Drumeo, Drum Coach, Mikeslessons or ArtOfDrumming, by giving the addition of real-time feedback so you truly know how well you’re playing. How the subscription works: - Melodics offers 20 drum lessons free to all users. - To keep going, subscribe to unlock the full catalog of 500+ drum lessons & songs. - Choose a monthly or annual plan. - Manage your subscription in the Account section of the app. Support: We’re dedicated to giving you the best drumming experience possible. If you have any questions or suggestions, visit: https://melodics.com/support Join the Melodics drumming community: https://www.instagram.com/melodicshq/ https://www.youtube.com/@MelodicsDrumVault https://www.facebook.com/melodicshq/ https://www.tiktok.com/@melodicsdrumvault https://discord.gg/melodics https://www.reddit.com/r/Melodics/ For more info, check out our privacy policy & terms of use at: https://melodics.com/legal Happy drumming!

About

Sapling Beats

Features
Read full description

Sapling Beats is a calm, ad-free drum machine and beat maker for curious kids. Two ways to play: - Play Drums: tap big, colorful pads and explore sound kits inspired by drums, forests, music, robots, and more. - Make Beats: a simple step sequencer where kids tap squares to build a groove and press Play. Beat Idea offers a ready-made rhythm to start from, and speed animals (snail, turtle, rabbit) set the tempo. Add more beats, Half Beats, and more drums as their ideas grow. The parent-gated Recordings kit lets families make six short sounds of their own. Hold a pad to record, release to save, then use that sound in Play Drums or Make Beats. Recordings stay in private app storage and never leave the device. Made for little hands and big imaginations: - Picture-labeled controls for pre-readers - Grow the grid from 4 to 8 to 16 steps, and 4 to 6 drum rows, as kids are ready - A quiet, warm look that's easy on the eyes and ears - Uses the device's familiar volume buttons, plus a parent-gated Half Volume for little ears Made by two professors and parents who were tired of "educational" apps that are really ad machines. So we built the opposite: - No ads, ever - No accounts and no sign-in - No data collected from children - No social features and no links kids can wander out of - Works completely offline Start with a generous collection of core sound kits free. A parent-gated, optional one-time Sound Pack purchase adds more playful sounds, including Silly Notes, Weather, Farmyard, Spooky, and Jingle. There is no subscription, and the free kits stay free. From Sapling Hollow Studios — calm educational apps for curious kids.

Screenshots

Melodics4 screens
Sapling Beats4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Sapling Beats at 3 against Melodics's 1. On price, update cadence, 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

Both are free to download. Melodics sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $34.99 per month and Sapling Beats sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Melodics ships an update weekly, Sapling Beats every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Melodics versus Sapling Beats: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMelodicsSapling Beats
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (629 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews57.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings629 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMelodics LimitedJonathan Hood

Bugs and requests

Melodics

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Explore section always resets to Grade 1
  • MIDI device connection feedback needed
  • Snare drum not working
  • App restarts when in the middle of a lesson
  • App stops playing to headphones or won't pick up microphone
Show 6 more
  • App reacts to ambient noise
  • Timing is off, missing notes even when calibrated
  • Inaccurate note recognition (e.g., kick vs. snare)
  • Half of the songs and lessons do not work
  • UI doesn't work near the edges of the screen
  • Menus are confusing and navigation is difficult

Requested features

19 requests
  • Full iPad support
  • Add Donner Ded-80 support
  • Left-handed option
  • More well-known artists/songs
  • Chinese version of the app
Show 14 more
  • Sheet music notations/tabs option
  • Setting for more demanding note precision
  • Auto BPM to go above lesson BPM
  • Tagging feature for skills
  • Easier way to heart songs
  • Path to learning regular drum notation
  • Consider dynamics in lessons
  • Allow users to enter and save own phrases
  • More instrument options (snare, bells)
  • Improve UI and menu navigation
  • Add more songs and lessons
  • Improve MIDI device connection feedback
  • Make scoring system more straightforward
  • Fix issues with Explore section resetting to Grade 1

Sapling Beats

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Melodics

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$34.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription$179.991 Year
1 purchases

Sapling Beats

One-time1
  • Sound Pack$1.99

Questions

Is Melodics free?
Melodics is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sapling Beats free?
Sapling Beats is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Melodics or Sapling Beats have ads?
Neither Melodics nor Sapling Beats shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Melodics or Sapling Beats?
Melodics ships an update weekly, and Sapling Beats every 5 days. Most recently, Melodics was updated on October 17, 2026 and Sapling Beats on October 7, 2026.

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