Comparison

PadDrums vs MACHINE DRUM

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

Head to head
About

PadDrums

Features
Read full description

PadDrums turns your iPhone into a full electronic drum kit — no hardware required. ■ 4 Sound Kits Switch instantly between Acoustic, 808, Techno, and LoFi kits. Play Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Open Hat, Toms, Crash, and Ride across 9 responsive pads. ■ Fully Customizable Pads Reassign any sound to any pad and build your own custom kit from scratch. ■ Preset Beat Patterns Trigger 2-beat, 4-beat, 8-beat, or 16-beat rhythm patterns with one tap. Fine-tune the groove with BPM and swing controls. ■ Built-in FX Shape your sound with reverb and other effects, right on the pad. ■ True Multi-Touch Hit multiple pads at once without dropouts, for a real, expressive playing feel. Whether you're sketching a beat, practicing rhythm, or just jamming — PadDrums puts a full drum kit in your pocket.

About

MACHINE DRUM

This app offers a minimalist drum machine and sound design lab for creating beats and audio. It features a tactile step sequencer, custom kick sound designer, and the ability to record and manipulate custom samples. Professional DSP effects and genre-inspired templates are also included to enhance creativity.

Highlights
  • Tactile 16-pad step sequencer
  • Custom kick sound designer with dual-oscillator engine
  • Record and manipulate custom samples
  • DSP effects including Delay, Reverb, and Bitcrusher
  • Frequency filters (LP, BP, HP)
  • Hardware and genre-inspired presets
Features
Read full description

MACHINE DRUM: Minimalist Drum Machine & Sound Design Lab Experience beatmaking stripped of clutter. MACHINE DRUM combines retro hardware aesthetics with clean, modern minimalism, giving you a distraction-free canvas built purely to support your creativity and professional grade audio expression. Every knob, slider, instrument and effect has been crafted for visual simplicity and self expression, letting you stay locked in the flow whether sketching rhythms on the go or sculpting intricate synthesis in the studio. TACTILE 16-PAD STEP SEQUENCER Build loops instantly with an intuitive, hardware-style pad grid. Tap steps to program rhythms, control tempo (BPM), and fine-tune levels. Solo or mute individual tracks to build dynamic build-ups and drops live. CUSTOM KICK SOUND DESIGNER Stop relying on generic samples. Synthesize your own signature kicks with a dedicated, dual-oscillator sound engine: • Envelope (ADSR): Fine-tune Attack, Decay, Sustain, & Release using a live visual envelope graph. • FM Synthesis: Dial in punchy transients using FM Depth, FM Speed, and Base Pitch controls. • LFO Modulation: Add rich movement and texture. Route the LFO to Pitch, Filter, Level, or Pan RECORD CUSTOM SAMPLES Record real-world sounds instantly using your iPhone's microphone. Pitch, trim, and swap custom samples into any track pad in real time. Perfect for integrating vocal chops, ambient hits, or custom percussion. DSP EFFECTS & FREQUENCY FILTERS Sculpt your final output mix with professional audio processing: • Delay, Reverb and Bitcrusher: Add analog-style warmth, drive, and grit to glue your beats together. • Frequency Filter: Switch between Low Pass (LP), Band Pass (BP), and High Pass (HP) modes with dedicated Cutoff and Resonance sliders. PRESETS & LEGENDARY GENRE TEMPLATES Load instantly playable song templates and legendary drum machine styles to jumpstart your inspiration: • Explore hardware profiles like the TR-808, TR-909, Linn LM-1, and MPC60. • Load curated song setups inspired by Classic Hip Hop, EDM and Synthwave

Screenshots

PadDrums1 screens
MACHINE DRUM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PadDrums at none against MACHINE DRUM's 1. MACHINE DRUM's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. MACHINE DRUM sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PadDrums asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
PadDrums versus MACHINE DRUM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPadDrumsMACHINE DRUM
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.526.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKouki YoshimotoNathan Burazer

In-app purchases

None

PadDrums

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

MACHINE DRUM

One-time1
  • MACHINE DRUM PRO$9.99

Questions

Is PadDrums free?
PadDrums is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MACHINE DRUM free?
MACHINE DRUM is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PadDrums or MACHINE DRUM have ads?
PadDrums shows ads; MACHINE DRUM does not.

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