Comparison

orphinio vs Handpan

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

Head to head
About

orphinio

This app offers a unique virtual musical instrument with an interface that allows for expressive melodies and soundscapes. It's designed for both beginners and experienced musicians to create music through intuitive finger movements on virtual pads.

Highlights
  • Unique glockenspiel/jaw harp sound
  • Expressive polyphonic music
  • Intuitive virtual pad interface
  • Various articulations and shaker mode
  • MIDI output for other synths
  • Record and share performances
  • Audiobus support
Features
Read full description

orphinio for iPhone is a musical instrument with a unique sound between glockenspiel and jaw harp. Like on its bigger brother Orphion for iPad you can play expressive, wonderful sounds and easy or virtuosic melodies on it just by moving fingers on virtual pads. This video shows you how: https://vimeo.com/82138127 What can I do with it? ◦ Express the sounds you feel ◦ Play polyphonic music very expressively ◦ Crazy drumming and shaking ◦ Dream and relax ◦ Create soundscapes and melodies without 
musical knowledge ◦ Visually explore music and music theory ◦ Use orphinio’s innovative interface to play other synth apps via MIDI Features ◦ Different articulations from soft to plucked to hardly slapped ◦ Natural interaction ◦ Shaker mode ◦ Individual voices for each finger ◦ Extend your ways of expression as a percussionist, guitarist, pianist or other musician ◦ 9 transposable pad layouts with different tonalities from easy to complex ◦ Record and share what you play via EMail, SoundCloud or AudioCopy ◦ Audiobus support: Now you can stream live audio directly to other Audiobus-compatible apps! See http://audiob.us for more information. Follow orphinio & Orphion on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/orphion
 or Twitter:
 https://twitter.com/OrphionApp

About

Handpan

This music application transforms your smartphone into a realistic Hang instrument simulator. It offers high-quality sounds, intuitive design, and is suitable for musicians of all levels. Record, save, and play your own tunes with ease.

Highlights
  • Hang instrument simulation
  • High-quality audio
  • Low latency playback
  • Sound customization
  • Record and save tunes
  • Intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

At the moment, Handpan is a best and closest sounding Hang instrument simulator. Handpan is a simple and easy-to-use music application which will turn your smartphone into a real musical instrument! Handpan contains only high-quality sounds, has good graphics and neat design. The app is suitable for both a beginner musician and an experienced percussionist. Features: - 2 different types of the Handpan instrument - High-quality sounds - Playback without delays (low latency audio) - Sound settings - Possibility to record, save, and play saved tunes - Animations - Easy-to-use

Screenshots

orphinio4 screens
Handpan3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: orphinio at 83% against Handpan's 35%. orphinio also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.8) and price ($0.99 vs $2.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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

orphinio costs $0.99 and Handpan $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

orphinio holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 21 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of orphinio's written reviews are positive against 35% of Handpan's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
orphinio versus Handpan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterorphinioHandpan
Price$0.99 — better$2.99
Rating4.7 (15 ratings) — better3.8 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better35.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1521 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS7.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBastus TrumpAliaksei Vatutsin

Customer experience

orphinio

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral13.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative10.0%

Handpan

All ratings21 ratings
Positive61.9%
Neutral4.8%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive35.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative40.0%

In-app purchases

None

orphinio

No in-app purchases

None

Handpan

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is orphinio free?
orphinio costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Handpan free?
Handpan costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, orphinio or Handpan?
orphinio is rated higher. orphinio averages 4.7 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Handpan averages 3.8 from 21 ratings.
Do orphinio or Handpan have ads?
Neither orphinio nor Handpan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, orphinio or Handpan?
orphinio ships an update every 8 months, and Handpan every 8 months. Most recently, orphinio was updated on September 29, 2026 and Handpan on September 30, 2026.

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