DrumScore vs Drum Journal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DrumScore
Easily create and edit drum sheet music with an intuitive grid interface. Perfect for beginners and professionals to compose, practice, and share rhythms for any musical scenario. Export your creations as high-definition images or print them.
- Intuitive grid-based notation
- Customizable drum set sounds
- Real-time audio preview
- Export to high-definition image
- Cloud saving for access
- Printable sheet music
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DrumScore - A Professional Drum Sheet Editing Tool Tailored for Drummers! It makes rhythm creation zero-threshold and turns inspiration into reality instantly! Whether it's arranging repertoires for stage performances, designing rhythms for daily practice, or sharing sheet music for band collaborations, this software can accurately meet your needs, simplifying complex drum sheet arrangement into easy click operations. Core Highlights, Addressing Drummers' Pain Points: 1. Ultra-Simple Operation, Easy for Beginners to Get Started Abandon the tedious professional music notation process; the main interface adopts an intuitive grid block design. Simply click on the blocks corresponding to the drum set (snare drum, bass drum, hi-hat, etc.) to quickly add notes, drag to adjust the rhythm position, and easily complete the arrangement of drum scores for different songs. No professional music theory knowledge is required—you can finish a complete drum score in just a few minutes, allowing you to focus on the rhythm itself. 2. Custom-Made for Drummers, Adapting to All Scenarios From basic pop songs to complex rock rhythms, from practice snippets to complete repertoires, the software has built-in standard drum set sounds and notation rules, covering common rhythm patterns and subdivided notes (eighth notes, sixteenth notes, etc.), accurately restoring real performance scenarios. It is perfectly suitable for beginners to practice notation, professional drummers to create original rhythms, and band rehearsals to share sheet music. 3. Efficient Assistance, Making Practice and Creation Easier Supports real-time audio preview—you can listen to the rhythm effect at any time during editing and adjust the tempo to match your practice speed; the completed drum sheet can be exported as a high-definition image format and also supports printing function, facilitating carrying and sharing with bandmates, and saying goodbye to the messiness and errors of handwritten sheet music. 4. Save Edited Drum Sheets to the Cloud for Anytime Access Whether capturing sudden rhythm inspiration or systematically organizing practice repertoires, DrumScore is a portable rhythm studio for drummers. Let sheet music editing no longer be a burden—focus on enjoying the joy of playing rhythms and start your exclusive rhythm creation journey here! This project utilizes the Verovio library for music engraving Visit Verovio Website https://www.verovio.org.
Drum Journal
This app provides real-time feedback on your drumming practice using your device's microphone. It allows you to slow down or loop sections of YouTube drum videos and automatically tracks your practice sessions to help you monitor progress.
- Microphone-based sticking feedback
- YouTube video playback with speed control
- Section looping for practice
- Automatic practice session tracking
- Community-shared exercises
- Progress monitoring and streaks
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Your exercises, your lessons, your rudiments: one list, ready to go. Drum Journal remembers where you left off, keeps the tempo, and gets out of your way. Press start, practice. YOUR ROUTINE, READY TO GO Open the app. The routine you built is queued, timed, and ready to run. Warm-up, rudiments, the YouTube lesson you're working on, laid out the way you want them. No deciding what to play tonight. REAL FEEDBACK ON YOUR TIMING The built-in sticking coach uses your device's microphone to hear you play on a practice pad. Real feedback on your timing, dynamics, and consistency, built into your routine, not a separate tool. PLAY TO A GROOVE, NOT JUST A CLICK Pick a mood and a backing track plays behind the metronome, automatically matched to your tempo. Rudiment practice stops feeling clinical and starts sounding like a room. LEARN ANY SONG AT YOUR OWN SPEED Drop any YouTube drum lesson into your routine. Slow it down, loop the hard bar, mark the section that's killing you. Drum Journal sits on your music stand and stays out of your way. SEE HOW YOU'RE GETTING BETTER Every session logs automatically. Streaks, time on each rudiment, whether your timing is tightening week over week. Show up daily and watch the data confirm what your hands already feel. EXERCISES FROM OTHER DRUMMERS Browse exercises shared by other drummers. Pick what fits your level, drop it into your routine. FREE TO PRACTICE. PRO TO SEE IF IT'S WORKING. Everything you need to build and run your routine is free: exercises, the sticking coach, YouTube practice, streaks, session logs, and background music in the Drift mood. Drum Journal Pro unlocks advanced analytics — see whether your timing is actually tightening, whether one hand plays inconsistent flams, whether your routine is moving the needle. Pro also unlocks the full background-music mood pack, per-exercise history, community sharing, and data export. The practice is simple. Showing up is hard. Drum Journal makes showing up the easy part. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Drum Journal Pro is available as a monthly, annual, or lifetime subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel subscriptions in your Apple ID account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial, if offered, is forfeited upon purchasing a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://drumjournal.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://drumjournal.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: DrumScore at free against Drum Journal's freemium. DrumScore also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Drum Journal's advantage is ratings volume (9 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. DrumScore sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Drum Journal sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for DrumScore against 5.0 for Drum Journal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drum Journal has 9 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
DrumScore ships an update every 3 days, Drum Journal weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DrumScore | Drum Journal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 78 MB | 105 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | 少仙 张 | Porath Consulting |
Customer experience
DrumScore
Drum Journal
In-app purchases
DrumScore
- Premium Monthly$3.99
- DrumScore Premium Quarterly$9.99
- DrumScore Premium Annual$34.99
Drum Journal
- Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Pro Annual$34.991 Year
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- Pro Yearly7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$69.99









