Two drum kits you play in a web browser, side by side, with the facts we checked on October 28, 2026.
Disclosure: Zen Virtual Piano makes this page and Zen Drum, a free drum kit on zenpiano.art and one of the two kits compared here. We have tried to show where each one, ours included, offers more and where it offers less. Every competitor fact was checked on October 28, 2026; Zen's facts follow the shipped kit. The Sources list at the end links to where we read them.
By Toan Nguyen, founder of Zen Virtual Piano · Facts checked October 28, 2026
On October 28, 2026 we opened both kits in Chrome on a computer and in Chrome's phone emulation, held upright and sideways, opened their menus and played them with keys, a mouse and taps. We did not use a physical phone, Safari or a MIDI drum kit, and we did not judge how either kit sounds. Zen's facts come from its source code and its page.
| Fact (checked October 28, 2026) | Zen Drum (ours) | VirtualDrumming |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free | Free |
| Account | None needed | None needed |
| Pads or pieces | 20 pads | The kit page's Keys menu lists 20 keys |
| Kits and sound sets | One sound set of 17 sounds | 27 choices in its Drumsets menu; VirtualDrumming says Custom Drums lets you build your own kit |
| Key map shown | On each pad, on computers and tablets | In the Keys menu; no letters found on the kit on October 28, 2026 |
| Keys can be changed | Not offered: the keys are fixed | Yes; the kit page lists 20 keys you can change and save |
| Mouse and touch | Computer keyboard, mouse and touch | Computer keyboard, mouse and touch |
| Phone held upright | Plays; the kit is drawn sideways on the same page | The kit page offers VirtualDrumming's web app, which draws the kit sideways and plays |
| Phone held sideways | Plays by touch | The kit page plays by touch |
| Install and offline | Not offered: there is nothing to install, and no offline install | A web app labelled Beta; VirtualDrumming says it plays offline once added to the home screen |
| Volume controls | One volume control | A main volume, plus volumes for snare, bass drum, toms, hi-hat and cymbals |
| Dynamics and effects | Not offered | A Dynamics setting and reverb |
| Layouts and backgrounds | 4 layouts (Cluster, Arc, Stepped depth and Mirror) and 8 stages, or your own photo | VirtualDrumming says Custom Drums has scenes to play in, such as a stadium, a club and a garage |
| Songs to play along to | Not offered | Not found on October 28, 2026 |
| Recording | Not offered | Not found on October 28, 2026 |
| MIDI drum kit | Not offered | Not found on October 28, 2026 |
| Metronome | A separate page | Not found on October 28, 2026 |
| Lessons | Not offered | VirtualDrumming says it offers beginner and advanced lessons |
| Languages | 22 | 3: its home page links to Spanish and Italian versions |
| Saved settings | Stage, layout, volume and whether the keyboard map shows, in this browser | The kit page's Keys and Sounds menus each have Save; VirtualDrumming says Custom Drums keeps your progress in this browser |
VirtualDrumming: 27 choices in its Drumsets menu. VirtualDrumming says its Custom Drums lets you build your own kit. The Sounds menu sets a main volume, a Dynamics setting, reverb, and separate volumes for snare, bass drum, toms, hi-hat and cymbals.
Zen Drum: One sound set of 17 sounds on 20 pads, with one volume control. The kit's look changes instead: 4 layouts (Cluster, Arc, Stepped depth and Mirror) and 8 stages, or a photo of your own.
VirtualDrumming: The kit page's Keys menu lists 20 keys, each of which you can change and save. The letters are shown in that menu; we found none on the kit on October 28, 2026.
Zen Drum: The keys are fixed: each drum keeps its key in every layout. On computers and tablets the key is printed on each pad, and the keyboard map beside the kit can be hidden.
VirtualDrumming: Held sideways, the kit page plays by touch. Held upright, the kit page offers VirtualDrumming's web app, which draws the kit sideways and plays. VirtualDrumming says the app plays offline once added to the home screen; we did not test that.
Zen Drum: The same page plays held either way. Held upright, the kit is drawn sideways to fit the screen. There is nothing to install, and the key map is not shown on phones.
VirtualDrumming: VirtualDrumming says it offers beginner and advanced lessons, and a separate drum machine. No recorder, MIDI input or metronome was found on the kit page on October 28, 2026.
Zen Drum: Zen Drum is a kit to play, with no songs, lessons, recorder, MIDI input or metronome. Zen's free metronome is a separate page.
Credit where it is due, from what we saw and what its pages say on October 28, 2026
Next to VirtualDrumming's kit page, Zen Drum has one sound set, fewer sound controls and keys that cannot be changed. VirtualDrumming says it also offers a kit builder, lessons and offline play.
VirtualDrumming is a drumming site with many kits; it says it also offers a kit builder, a drum machine and lessons.
Looking for something else? Our roundup compares 6 drum kits by need, Zen Drum included.
Common questions
Yes. Both play free in a web browser, and neither asks you to sign in.
Yes, on both. Zen Drum prints the key on each pad on computers and tablets and keeps the same keys in every layout. VirtualDrumming's kit page lists its keys in the Keys menu, where you can change and save them.
In our phone emulation, Zen Drum played on the same page held upright or sideways. VirtualDrumming's kit page played held sideways; held upright, it offered VirtualDrumming's web app, which also played. We did not test on a physical phone.
On VirtualDrumming's kit page, yes: its Keys menu lets you change and save them. On Zen Drum, no: the keys are fixed, and you can choose a different layout instead.
Zen Drum does not offer either. On VirtualDrumming's kit page, we found neither on October 28, 2026. Our roundup lists a kit that records as you play and kits with a Record control.
VirtualDrumming says it offers beginner and advanced lessons. Zen Drum has no lessons or songs; it is a kit to play.
Zen Drum is free and needs no account.
Play Zen DrumWhere we read the facts above on October 28, 2026.
Trademarks belong to their owners; no affiliation.
Changelog: October 28, 2026: first version; every competitor fact checked on this date.