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Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to io808

The classic drum machine synthesizer brought to the web.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier. io808 launched in 2016; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1IB

    Originally started as a project to restore patterns from now defunct website 808.pixll.de just for myself, but eventually i decided to share it with others. I've seen this website mentioned a couple of times on HN:) Currently it only supports Roland TR-808, but there will be more.

    2025 · drumpatterns.onether.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Online drum machine and sequencer with Roland 808 style samples

    2023 · peel.fm · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Hello all! I've been an avid fan of Pocket Operators by Teenage Engineering since I found out about them. I even own an EP-133 K.O. II today, which I love. A couple of months ago, Reddit user andiam03 shared a Google Sheet with some drum patterns [1]. I thought it was a very cool way to share and understand beats. During the weekend I coded a basic version of this app I am sharing today. I iterated over it in my free time, and yesterday I felt like I had a pretty good version to share with y'all. It's not meant to be a sequencer but rather a way to experiment with beats and basic sounds,…

    Jan 2026 · beats.lasagna.pizza · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    After two years of development, I'm super excited to release Beat Maker! This is my take on what I hope is the best free, web-based drum machine. My goal was to build something that was not only fun and easy to use for beginners but also powerful enough for serious producers. I did extensive research on existing drum machines, analyzed their UX, and tried to build something that adds something new. It's a nearly 100% client-side app, written in ClojureScript, and is a PWA so you can install it to your home screen for an app-like experience. Besides the standard grid editor, Beat Maker has…

    2025 · dopeloop.ai · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    TR-808 drum machine and TB-303 bass synthesizer emulator

    2020 · roland50.studio · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Drum by typing

    2015 · typedrummer.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    Create acid techno, in your browser with Acid Machine 2.

    2016 · errozero.co.uk · its alternatives →

  8. 8AW

    NoiseCraft is an open source, visual programming language and platform for sound synthesis and music making, with the goal of creating a community for the open exchange of musical ideas. The design is loosely inspired by PureData, Max/MSP as well as other visual programming languages. NoiseCraft is

    2022 · noisecraft.app · its alternatives →

  9. 9T1
  10. 10IB

    2020 · timdaub.github.io · its alternatives →

  11. 11AS
  12. 12

    Inspired by the recent Boards Of Canada announcement, I've been in a low-fi electronica mood lately and was going back and forth with Claude on how to design similar instruments in the browser that fit the genre. One thing led to another and pretty soon I had a fully browser based polyphonic synthesizer / drum machine / sequencer. The interface and workflow was heavily inspired by the Rebirth338 application released back in the 90's, but with lo-fi synth voices rather than the original 303 & 808 emulation. I know there's a significant overlap of developers and musicians and I…

    May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13AT
  14. 14
    Animoog▲71

    Moog Music's polyphonic synthesizer

    2014 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15AJ

    SYNTHI-JS is a JavaScript emulation of the legendary EMS Synthi A analog synthesizer.

    2016 · alexnisnevich.github.io · its alternatives →

  16. 16IU

    Hi Hacker News, This is definitely out of my comfort zone. I just wanted to show you guys because I'm super proud of it. It's a 100% faithful recreation based off of the schematics, patents, and ROMs that were found online. So please watch the video and tell me what you think https://youtu.be/auOlZXI1VxA The reason why I think this is relevant is because I've been a programmer for 25 years and AI scares the shit out of me. I'm not a programmer anymore. I'm something else now. I don't know what it is but it's multi-disciplinary, and it doesn't involve writing code myself--for…

    Jan 2026 · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    The latest synth from Teenage Engineering

    2023 · teenage.engineering · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Studio2600 for the Atari VCS / Atari 2600 – Online demo powered by Javatari

    2018 · masswerk.at · its alternatives →

  19. 19
    MMODM▲68

    Massively multiplayer online drum machine

    2014 · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    If you already know what bytebeat is, you don't need an explanation. If not, check my project :) Here is how it looks: SELECT mono(output( arraySum(x -> 1 / 6 * running_envelope(30 * (1 + x / 6), time, 0.05 * x, 0.005, lfo(0, 0.25, sine_wave, time / 8), 0.1) * sine_wave(time * 80 * exp2(x / 3)), range(12)))) FROM table; To check how it sounds, find the examples in the repository https://github.com/ClickHouse/NoiSQL

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21
    Muki▲75

    MIDI music streaming in your browser #nostalgia

    2015 · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    An HTML version of a Roland TR-909

    2015 · its alternatives →

  23. 23IB

    Hey HN, I’m an ex-Google engineer trying to get back into music production. I needed a way to sequence my hardware synths using AI contexts without constantly switching windows, so I built this. It runs entirely in the browser using WebMIDI. No login required. It connects to your local MIDI devices (if you're on Chrome/Edge) and lets you generate patterns. Tech stack: [React / WebMIDI API / etc]. Link: www.simplychris.ai/droplets Code is a bit messy, but it works. Feedback welcome.

    Dec 2025 · simplychris.ai · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    GuitarHero/RockSmith for pad drumming

    2015 · melodics.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →