Comparison

Little Drum Machine vs OR

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

Head to head
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.

About

OR

This application acts as a generative MIDI Note-FX, controlling external synths, samplers, and drum machines. It offers advanced features like Euclidean and polyrhythmic sequencing, stochastic drift, and scale quantization with chord lock. Designed for musicians to create complex MIDI patterns without generating sound itself.

Highlights
  • Euclidean sequencing
  • Polyrhythm generation
  • Stochastic drift
  • Modulators
  • Scale quantizer with chord lock
  • Tempo and random performance controls
  • MIDI Learn
Features
Read full description

OR-1 makes no sound on its own. It's a generative MIDI Note-FX — the brain, not the sound source — that plays your own synths, samplers, and drum machines for you… - Euclidean - Polyrhythm - Stochastic drift - Modulators - Scale quantizer with chord lock - Temp and random for performance - MIDI Learn - 19 factory presets, including 13 rhythm kits for General MIDI drums - Save your own presets - Light and dark themes — tap the OR—1 logo - Full-screen layout that grows to fill the 13-inch iPad and reflows to fit smaller iPads

Screenshots

Little Drum Machine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Little Drum Machine at weekly against OR's every 6 weeks. Little Drum Machine also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Little Drum Machine against 5.0 for OR. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 8 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Little Drum Machine ships an update weekly, OR every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Little Drum Machine versus OR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLittle Drum MachineOR
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings88
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSnorkel Audio, Inh. Michael KaisserJori Eero Larres

Customer experience

Little Drum Machine

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

OR

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Little Drum Machine

No in-app purchases

None

OR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Little Drum Machine free?
Little Drum Machine is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OR free?
OR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Little Drum Machine or OR?
Little Drum Machine and OR are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 8 ratings respectively.
Do Little Drum Machine or OR have ads?
Neither Little Drum Machine nor OR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Little Drum Machine or OR?
Little Drum Machine ships an update weekly, and OR every 6 weeks. Most recently, Little Drum Machine was updated on October 31, 2026 and OR on October 31, 2026.

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