Ripple Drum Synth vs Orbeat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ripple Drum Synth
Shape unique drum sounds with a versatile synthesizer. Control sonic character via an XY pad, LFOs, and randomization. Enhance your creations with a selection of built-in effects.
- Shapeable drum sound engines
- XY pad for sonic control
- LFO modulation
- Randomization options
- Built-in effects
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Ripple is a shape-able drum synth. Use the XY pad to dial in the sonic character of 4 custom drum sound engines. Use the LFOs and randomization options to keep things interesting. Add finishing touches with a choice set of effects
Orbeat
This music app offers a unique circular sequencer for beat creation, featuring four distinct drum kits and generative tools. It allows for advanced rhythmic manipulation and can be used as a standalone instrument or an AUv3 plugin. Unlock full features with a one-time purchase.
- Circular sequencer interface
- Four unique drum kits
- Generative rhythm patterns
- Swing and velocity controls
- Probability and polymeter
- AUv3 plugin support
- WAV export
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Orbeat is a drum machine in the round. Instead of a grid, your rhythm lives on a glowing mandala — concentric lanes of light that orbit a single play button. Tap the rings, watch the playhead sweep, and feel the groove move. Built to be played, not programmed. Open it and you're already making beats. A CIRCULAR SEQUENCER — UP TO TWELVE LANES Six lanes wrap the screen as rings, and the circle can grow to twelve: the mandala opens a second page of rings in its own electric color set, so every lane keeps its full size. Tap to place hits, lock a lane you love, mute and solo as you build the groove layer by layer. The whole pattern turns as it plays. FOUR DRUM KITS Classic, Acoustic, Glitch, and 8-bit — one tap reskins every voice while your pattern stays put. From clean and punchy to broken and chiptune. BRING YOUR OWN SOUNDS Build a custom kit and drop your own audio into any lane — WAV, AIFF or mp3, up to ten seconds, played at its original pitch and in stereo. Imported samples run clean to the output, while the lanes you leave alone keep their synth voice, so a hi-hat you recorded yourself sits right next to Orbeat's own drums. Your first custom kit is free. GENERATORS THAT SURPRISE YOU Roll the dice for an instant pattern, or use Euclidean rhythms to spread hits evenly around a ring. Like what you hear? Tap the ring to write it in and edit by hand. MAKE IT BREATHE, MAKE IT DRIFT Add swing to push the feel off the grid, draw velocity per step for accents that live, and pan each lane across the stereo field. With Probability, hits fire by chance; with polymeter, each lane gets its own length so the phases drift in and out of sync. TAKE IT ANYWHERE Bounce any loop to a stereo WAV — named with the beat, its length and its tempo, so it still makes sense in your DAW next month — or run Orbeat as an AUv3 instrument with MIDI in & out — sequence other instruments, or play Orbeat's lanes from your host's piano roll inside GarageBand, AUM, Logic, and other AUv3 hosts. Standalone, play the pads live from any MIDI controller and sync the whole groove to external MIDI clock. PLAY IN SYNC WITH THE ROOM Ableton Link keeps Orbeat in time with every Link-enabled app and device on your network — Ableton Live, AUM, Loopy, a friend's iPad across the table. Tempo follows the session, start and stop are shared, and everyone stays in phase. No cables, no setup. PLAY FREE. UNLOCK ONCE. The full instrument is free forever — every kit, the six-lane circle, Euclidean generators, swing, velocity, pan, your first custom kit with your own samples, MIDI in & out, and Ableton Link. Orbeat Pro is a single one-time purchase (no subscription, ever) that unlocks room to grow the circle to twelve lanes, plus Probability, polymeter, WAV export, unlimited saved beats, and extra custom kits. Made for iPhone and iPad. No account, no ads, no tracking — your beats never leave your device unless you share them. Tap the rings. Make it move.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Orbeat at Free against Ripple Drum Synth's $4.99. Orbeat also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Ripple Drum Synth's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#193 vs unranked). On rating, 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
Orbeat is free to download; Ripple Drum Synth costs $4.99 up front. Orbeat sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ripple Drum Synth asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Ripple Drum Synth against 5.0 for Orbeat. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Ripple Drum Synth ships an update monthly, Orbeat every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on August 22, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ripple Drum Synth | Orbeat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #193 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Brian Hurlow | Chih Han Lin |
Customer experience
Ripple Drum Synth
Orbeat
In-app purchases
Ripple Drum Synth
No in-app purchases
Orbeat
- Orbeat Pro$5.99





