Comparison

TaalMala vs Dhol Drum

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

Head to head
About

TaalMala

This app provides realistic accompaniment for Indian classical musicians, featuring high-quality sampled instruments like Tabla and Tanpura. It offers extensive pre-composed compositions and allows users to create their own Taals, Lehras, and SwarMandal patterns. Ideal for daily practice or live performances.

Highlights
  • High-quality sampled instruments
  • 360+ pre-composed Taals
  • 246+ pre-composed Lehras
  • 620+ pre-composed SwarMandal patterns
  • Compose custom Taals and Lehras
  • Sequencer for arranging patterns
  • Adjustable tempo and pitch
Features
Read full description

TaalMala provides personalized accompaniment of Tabla, Pakhawaj, Manjeera, Tanpura, SwarMandal and Lehra/Nagma on Santoor and Harmonium. Use TaalMala for your daily riyaaz or live concerts. With high-quality Tabla, Pakhawaj, Manjeera, Tanpura, SwarMandal, Santoor and Harmonium sounds sampled from real instruments, more than 360+ pre-composed Taals and Sequences, and more than 246+ pre-composed Lehra/Nagma compositions, and 650+ SwarMandal patterns in 65+ Ragas, TaalMala provides a complete practising solution for any Indian musician. With TaalMala Composer, you can compose your own Taals, Lehras/Nagmas, SwarMandal patterns by simply typing the notation of the Taal/Lehra on special built-in Taal/Lehra keyboard. With TaalMala Sequencer, you can arrange sequences of fixed or randomized or tempo-based Taal and Lehra/Nagma patterns. TaalMala features: - High-quality studio-recorded Tabla, Pakhawaj, Tanpura, SwarMandal, Santoor, Harmonium and Manjeera (Zanj) sounds - Two sets of Tabla/Dagga sounds and ability to choose and mix-match between the two sound sets - 360+ pre-composed Taals and Taal sequences, including most popular Taals and their variations - 246+ pre-composed Lehra/Nagma compositions and sequences in multitude of ragas and Taals - 620+ pre-composed SwarMandal patterns in 62+ Ragas - New Taals, Lehras/Nagmas and compositions added frequently as updates - Compose your own Taals and Lehras/Nagmas by simply entering the notation - Powerful sequencer to compose fixed, tempo-based and randomized sequences from the Taals and Lehras library - Taal/Lehra/SwarMandal pad; play any Taal/Lehra/SwarMandal pattern on-demand in live accompaniment - Automatic Manjeera/Zanj accompaniment, synchronized with the Tabla/Pakhawaj Taals - Adjustable tempo from 10 bpm to 1000 bpm - Pitch control (+/- 0.5 octave), with independent fine-tuning of all instruments for precise matching with your scale - Pitch detector for detecting your pitch and precise matching, built within the app - Independent volume control for Tabla/Pitch, Dagga/Bass, Manjeera and Lehra/Nagma - Choice of chromatic or just/harmonic tuning for all instruments, with fine-tuning capability. - Up to 2 simultaneous Tanpuras - High-quality Tanpura sounds (male and female tones) with all popular Tanpura patterns included - Adjustable Tanpura tempo and strumming speed of 4 Tanpura strings independently - Option to slightly vary the Tanpura plucking delays randomly for better realism - Tap on the screen twice to set exact Taal tempo, as required This version of the application has following limitations: Playback restricted to 5 minutes every hour. To unlock full functionality and remove the limitation above, click "Buy" option on the main screen. Once you purchase a subscription to the app, the 5-minute per hour limitation will be removed. Please contact us at service@taalmala.com if you have any questions. Licensing terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Our privacy policy: https://www.taalmala.com/privacy.shtml

About

Dhol Drum

This app simulates a traditional double-headed drum, offering authentic sounds for musical exploration. Users can record their playing, manage audio files, and enjoy multi-touch functionality. Future updates promise more sound types and features.

Highlights
  • 3 dhol sound types
  • Audio recording
  • Record file playback
  • Multi-touch support
  • Monthly updates
Features
Read full description

Dhol is a double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. It has become popular in other parts of the world and has been a popular musical instrument in formal and informal dance performances for decades. Features: - Support 3 sound types of dhol and will be updated more - Record audio while playing - Show list of record files and play them - Multi touch supported Many features will be update soon We will update app monthly by fixing bug (if have any) and apply new features for it. So let us know about your experience and keep in touch with us.

Screenshots

TaalMala4 screens
Dhol Drum2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TaalMala at 4.3 against Dhol Drum's 3.2. TaalMala also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 0%) and ratings volume (177 vs 12). Dhol Drum's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). On price, update cadence, 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. TaalMala sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Dhol Drum asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TaalMala holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TaalMala has 177 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of TaalMala's written reviews are positive against 0% of Dhol Drum's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TaalMala ships an update every 2 months, Dhol Drum every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
TaalMala versus Dhol Drum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTaalMalaDhol Drum
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (177 ratings) — better3.2 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings177 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAbhijit PataitDuan Nguyen

Customer experience

TaalMala

All ratings177 ratings
Positive82.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative14.1%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative52.4%

Dhol Drum

All ratings12 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative41.7%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

TaalMala

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Edition - Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Premium Edition - Yearly$29.991 Year
None

Dhol Drum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TaalMala free?
TaalMala is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dhol Drum free?
Dhol Drum is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TaalMala or Dhol Drum?
TaalMala is rated higher. TaalMala averages 4.3 out of 5 from 177 ratings, while Dhol Drum averages 3.2 from 12 ratings.
Do TaalMala or Dhol Drum have ads?
Neither TaalMala nor Dhol Drum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TaalMala or Dhol Drum?
TaalMala ships an update every 2 months, and Dhol Drum every 3 weeks. Most recently, TaalMala was updated on October 26, 2026 and Dhol Drum on October 21, 2026.

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