Comparison

PolyRhythmic Metronome vs Accelerating Metronome

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

Head to head
About

PolyRhythmic Metronome

Features
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Polyrhythmic Metronome is an advanced rhythm trainer designed for musicians who want to master polyrhythms, cross-rhythms, and complex time signatures. Practice with up to 3 simultaneous rhythm layers, choose from 20+ professional sounds, and take your timing to the next level. POLYRHYTHM ENGINE • Play 2 or 3 rhythm layers simultaneously (2:3, 3:4, 5:4, 7:4, 2:3:4, 3:4:5, and more) • Custom ratios up to 16 per layer • BPM range from 20 to 300 • Tap tempo for quick tempo matching • Per-beat accent cycling (accent, normal, ghost) • Visual playback grid with real-time position tracking 20+ PROFESSIONAL SOUNDS • Drums: Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Crash, Cowbell, Clap, Rim Shot, Toms • Pitched tones and bleeps for melodic practice • Piano sounds for harmonic context • Per-layer sound selection with session persistence GROOVE GENERATOR • Auto-generated drum grooves based on your polyrhythm pattern • 6-instrument drum machine: Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Crash, Bass, Piano • Step sequencer grid with tap-to-edit cells • Per-instrument mixer with volume and mute controls • Regenerate for endless groove variations • Independent BPM control SPEED TRAINER (Pro) • Automatic tempo increment during practice • Set start BPM, target BPM, bars per step, and BPM increment • Build speed gradually without interrupting your flow GHOST MODE (Pro) • Random beat muting to strengthen your internal pulse • Adjustable mute probability (10%–80%) • Re-randomizes each loop for unpredictable training PITCH EDITOR (Pro) • Piano-roll editor for per-beat pitch control on melodic sounds • Chromatic note selection across octaves 2–6 • Real-time preview and live rescheduling PDF EXPORT (Pro) • Export polyrhythm notation as print-ready PDF • Export groove patterns with velocity indicators • Share or print directly from the app • Includes practice tips for each pattern MIXER • Per-track volume sliders • Mute and solo controls • Real-time volume adjustment during playback Perfect for drummers, percussionists, guitarists, pianists, and any musician looking to improve their rhythmic independence and timing accuracy. From RiffRoutine — apps and resources for musicians. Terms of Use: https://www.riffroutine.com/terms

About

Accelerating Metronome

This metronome gradually accelerates tempo during practice sessions, logging every minute played. It features customizable practice ramps, peak speed tracking, and visual progress reports to help musicians build consistency.

Highlights
  • Gradual tempo acceleration
  • Practice logging
  • Customizable practice ramps
  • Peak speed tracking
  • Visualized practice progress
  • Tap tempo functionality
  • Tuning reference
Features
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Most metronomes only keep a tempo. This one accelerates gradually while you play, and remembers every minute you practice. Accelerating Metronome is a practice instrument, made by a working musician in Seattle over forty years of daily practice. This is not what a product committee would have asked for. It is a cross between a Stairmaster and Duolingo. Designed to motivate you to keep going and growing in your practice. ACCELERATOR Choose a beginning tempo, a target, and how long you want to practice. It climbs the Ramp in steps, so you invest your time playing rather than reaching for the Dial. When it reaches the target it keeps going at that tempo, and extra time is counted separately as Play Time. Practice and playing are not the same thing. And are not counted as if they were. Save and name your own Custom Ramps. PEAK SPEED Mark the tempo where you hit a wall so you have a visual record of your limits. We graph your Peak Speed(s) so you can see your progress. SPIN THE METRONOME Press this and let the Universe choose a tempo for you. Practicing only at the tempos you like is how blind spots appear. And this is the cure. Spin the Metronome before a Group Rehearsal to bring everyone into listening and warming up together beginning with a cue from the Muse. PRACTICE HISTORY: YOUR PRACTICE, VISUALIZED OVER TIME Every session is documented: when, how long, which tempos, and what you were working on. Name your own Categories and each one has its own color. The Calendar shows a month at a glance, with Celebrations and Gold after you have completed a full hour of practice. STREAKS + CELEBRATIONS A Streak counts the days in a row you practiced. Momentum may motivate you to pick up the instrument on an evening you had decided not to. And practice more than an hour every day from Sunday to Saturday and the whole week is celebrated in Gold. A ROCK SOLID METRONOME Tempo is set from a rotary dial you drag with your thumb, the way a hardware tempo wheel works. Three default voices with ten alt Sound Banks deliver a wide variety of sounds. Select a Time Signature, and the downbeat gets its own sound. An integrated Tuner and Tuning references from 432 to 445. TAP TEMPO + TYPE TEMPO Tap the BPM Window, and the tempo changes to what you tap. Press and hold to type in a tempo. MIXING The click plays over (or under) your other app's sound, music, podcasts, or a backing track without interruption. The Metronome keeps going when you switch apps or the screen locks. Beats align with the audio hardware's clock rather than a timer, so nothing drifts while you are not looking. Optional Haptics let you feel the Beat, the screen stays awake while it plays, and a Loudness Booster doubles the click volume. UNIQUE PRACTICE TOOLS Beat Map is a grid where you choose 1, 2 or 3 sounds per beat, and save your Maps by name. Group Loops captures and layers what you play, cut at the bar lines, as WAVs. Beat Oscilloscope lets you see where you play relative to the click. Beat Speedometer tells you the tempo you are actually keeping, worked out from the gaps between your sounds. Or press SPIN, let the Universe name a tempo, and find it from memory with nothing to hear. FLEXIBLE SETTINGS Display Size with three choices, for easier reading. High and Low Pass filters shape the click. YOURS, PRIVATE No account, no login, no shared analytics, no advertising, no tracking, no subscription. You buy it once. Your Practice History is only on your phone. Only two features send data, and both are OFF unless you turn them on: 1. Leaderboard, where you choose the name that appears, and 2. Find Quotes online, which sends a musician or artist name you type to Wikiquote. You can back up your practice history to your own Files or iCloud Drive whenever you like, in a plain file you can read, and import it onto a new device. It works offline. Portrait or landscape. In English, Spanish, Italian. An accelerating practice tool, to grow and visualize your work over time.

Screenshots

PolyRhythmic Metronome4 screens
Accelerating Metronome4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PolyRhythmic Metronome at Free against Accelerating Metronome's $4.99. PolyRhythmic Metronome also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Accelerating Metronome's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On 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

PolyRhythmic Metronome is free to download; Accelerating Metronome costs $4.99 up front. PolyRhythmic Metronome sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Accelerating Metronome asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PolyRhythmic Metronome ships an update every 2 months, Accelerating Metronome weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PolyRhythmic Metronome versus Accelerating Metronome: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPolyRhythmic MetronomeAccelerating Metronome
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRomeu BeatoSteve Ball

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PolyRhythmic Metronome

Subscriptions1
  • Polyrhythmic Metronome Pro7 Days trial$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Polyrhythmic Metronome - Lifetime$8.99
None

Accelerating Metronome

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PolyRhythmic Metronome free?
PolyRhythmic Metronome is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Accelerating Metronome free?
Accelerating Metronome costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do PolyRhythmic Metronome or Accelerating Metronome have ads?
Neither PolyRhythmic Metronome nor Accelerating Metronome shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PolyRhythmic Metronome or Accelerating Metronome?
PolyRhythmic Metronome ships an update every 2 months, and Accelerating Metronome weekly. Most recently, PolyRhythmic Metronome was updated on October 3, 2026 and Accelerating Metronome on October 14, 2026.

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