Comparison

MACHINE DRUM vs Tonkro

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

Head to head
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

About

Tonkro

Features
Read full description

MAKE MUSIC BY TOUCHING THE MACHINE Tonkro is a playful music workstation for iPad: part synthesizer, sampler, drum machine, sequencer, recorder, editor, mixer, and DJ performance space. SHAPE ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTS Explore distinctive synth and drum engines through four expressive controls. Each workshop is built to feel immediate: touch the illustrated machinery, hear the result, and let the characters react to your performance. SAMPLE THE WORLD Record through the microphone or import audio. Play one sound chromatically, divide it into untransposed slices, or map multiple samples across keys and pads. Trim, crop, loop, reverse, fade, change speed, transpose, and preserve the original recording with non-destructive editing. FIND RHYTHMS YOUR WAY Seven sequencer personalities turn taps, held notes, patterns, gestures, and playful systems into musical motion. Tempo, transport, MIDI, and recording stay connected, so a sketch can become an arrangement without breaking the flow. RECORD AND ARRANGE Build with eight stereo tracks. Record audio or notes, edit clips and piano-roll performances, overdub, punch, loop, lift, drop, mix, export stems, and save portable project bundles. PERFORM WITH MONSTER DECKS Load two tracks, set beat grids, sync, use key lock, cue points, hot cues, quantized loops, EQ, filters, pitch bend, and the crossfader. Record the performance or print it directly into the tape arrangement. MADE FOR PLAY Tonkro keeps its creative tools visible, touchable, and full of character. It works without an account, advertising, or third-party analytics. Your projects, recordings, and imported samples remain on your iPad unless you choose to export or share them.

Screenshots

MACHINE DRUM4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tonkro at none against MACHINE DRUM's 1. MACHINE DRUM's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, ads and device support 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. Tonkro asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
MACHINE DRUM versus Tonkro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMACHINE DRUMTonkro
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNathan BurazerBipasha Nayak

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MACHINE DRUM

One-time1
  • MACHINE DRUM PRO$9.99
None

Tonkro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MACHINE DRUM free?
MACHINE DRUM is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tonkro free?
Tonkro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MACHINE DRUM or Tonkro have ads?
Neither MACHINE DRUM nor Tonkro shows ads.

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