Comparison

PatchMap vs Little Drum Machine

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

Head to head
About

PatchMap

Features
Read full description

PatchMap is the fast, structured way for Eurorack players to document, search, and recreate their patches. Stop relying on blurry phone photos and scattered notes — capture every connection in seconds and find any patch later. Fast Patch Recording Pick a module, mark an output and an input, and save the connection. Logging a full patch takes seconds, not minutes, so you can document a great sound before it slips away. Your Module Library Build a library of your rack's modules once and reuse it for every patch. Add modules with their HP, type, and I/O so your records stay accurate and consistent. Powerful Search Search your entire patch history by module name, tag, or date. The good patch you made last month is always one tap away. Signal Flow Visualization See each patch as a clean connection diagram — modules laid out with color-coded cables — so you can understand the routing at a glance and recreate it exactly. Tags & Notes Organize patches with tags like ambient, percussion, or drone, and add text notes to capture settings, knob positions, and ideas. Shareable Patch Cards Generate a clean patch card image and share it to Instagram, Reddit, or with friends in one tap. Privacy First PatchMap works completely offline. No account, no cloud, no data collection. Everything stays on your device. Built for modular synth players with mid-to-large systems who patch often and want to remember every great sound.

About

Little Drum Machine

Create beats quickly with a 16-step grid, velocity control, and genre presets. Load your own samples, shape sounds with envelopes and effects, and arrange patterns into full songs. Supports MIDI out and AUv3 hosting.

Highlights
  • 16-step drum grid with velocity
  • Load custom samples
  • Shape samples with envelopes
  • Delay, reverb, and drive effects
  • Polyrhythms and polymeters
  • MIDI out and AUv3 support
  • Genre presets and randomization
Features
Read full description

Little Drum Machine is what the name says: a drum machine for your iPad. Easy to use, with all the necessary bits to give you fast results. We wanted something fast and simple to work with in our own studio, without the complexity other tools often bring, so we built it. Now we want to share it with you, for free. Tap a beat into the 16-step grid, drag up or down for velocity, add a little swing, and you have a groove. Start from one of 31 genre presets, or hit Randomize when you'd rather not face a blank grid. Make sound your way: use the built-in kits, load your own samples, or send MIDI and let your favourite synths and drum apps do the talking. Features: • 16-step drum grid with 8 lanes and per-step velocity for accents and ghost notes • 32 samples across 8 drums included: four variants each, swappable per lane or even per step • Load your own samples and build your own kits • Shape every sample: pitch, fine tune, volume, and a start/attack/length/decay envelope • Delay, reverb and drive effects with per-drum sends: 4 delay modes, 7 reverb modes, 5 drive characters • Give any lane its own step count and loop length for polyrhythms and polymeters • Musical Randomize for instant grooves; Mutate to create variations of your patterns • 16 scenes per preset, chained into full arrangements in the Arranger • Built-in mixer with per-lane EQ, panning, mute and solo • Master EQ and a glue compressor with attack, release, ratio and parallel mix • Swing to get groovy • MIDI out to trigger external synths and drum apps • 31 genre presets: Techno, House, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, Jazz, and more • Save and manage your own presets • Light and dark themes • Little Drum Machine runs on its own or as an AUv3 instrument in any suitable host. Free, no strings attached.

Screenshots

PatchMap4 screens
Little Drum Machine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Little Drum Machine at 3 against PatchMap's 1. Little Drum Machine also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
PatchMap versus Little Drum Machine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatchMapLittle Drum Machine
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—8 — better
Update frequency—Weekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer晓 郭Snorkel Audio, Inh. Michael Kaisser

In-app purchases

None

PatchMap

No in-app purchases

None

Little Drum Machine

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PatchMap free?
PatchMap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Little Drum Machine free?
Little Drum Machine is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PatchMap or Little Drum Machine have ads?
Neither PatchMap nor Little Drum Machine shows ads.

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