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DrumFlex vs BFD3
BFD3 and DrumFlex both play drum parts from MIDI, but they're built at very different scales. BFD 3.5 is BFD Drums' drum instrument: a core library of 51 kits, a Groove section with 82 Groove Palettes, a mixer with 48 effects and discrete outputs, on Windows and Mac. DrumFlex is a drum kit that's modeled rather than sampled: kits for each style, a 14.2 MB download, $79.
What they have in common
- Windows, as a VST3 plugin. DrumFlex runs on Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit; BFD 3.5 on Windows 10 (version 1909 and above).
- Drum parts from MIDI. BFD 3.5 has a built-in Groove section with session drummer performances and pattern editing. DrumFlex opens and plays a MIDI file, and plays from an electronic drum kit that sends General MIDI drum notes (it doesn't read the hi-hat pedal's controller or cymbal chokes by aftertouch) or from General MIDI drum keys on any channel.
- Shaping the kit. BFD 3.5 offers retuning, damping and multi-mic processing. DrumFlex offers tuning, ring and muffle for the kick, snare and toms.
- Some modeling. BFD 3.5 adds modeled tom resonance and bleed, and swell modeling for cymbal washes, to its sampled drums.
Where BFD3 stands out
- Mac as well as Windows, with VST2 and AAX plugins as well as VST3, and AU on Mac.
- A large library. A core library of 51 kits and 60 mix-ready preset kits.
- Grooves. 82 Groove Palettes, with pattern editing built in. DrumFlex has no library of grooves.
- A full mixer. 48 effects, sidechain, easy routing of multiple channels to discrete outputs, and multi-channel export to disk. DrumFlex has one stereo output.
Where DrumFlex stands out
- Small. It downloads at 14.2 MB and installs at 31.4 MB. BFD 3.5 asks for 55 GB of free disk space.
- Every piece, tuned. Stick hardness, tuning, ring, pitch glide and snare wires, then tuning, ring and muffle for the kick, snare and toms, the kick's beater, the sizes of the kick and toms, a level for each part of the kit, a room and an EQ.
- No two hits alike. Hit variation changes each hit a little; set it to 0 and every hit is struck the same. The same song renders the same every time.
- No online authorization. A license key and your email address, entered once for each Windows user on each computer, no account, and one license for one person, to use on all of their own computers. DrumFlex never connects to the internet. BFD 3.5 requires an internet connection to authorize.
- $79, where BFD 3.5 is $199.
Which to pick
- On a Mac: BFD3.
- For a large library of kits, or a library of grooves to build from: BFD3.
- To send drums to separate channels in a mixer or DAW: BFD3.
- On Windows, for kits you can tune piece by piece, with a small download: DrumFlex.
- If you'd rather have no online authorization and a price of $79: DrumFlex.
Owning both
BFD 3.5 is a deep kit-and-mix library and DrumFlex is a small instrument you can open and play at once, so some players could keep one for each job. DrumFlex's demo, which you can download and try before you buy, is here; BFD's product page doesn't list a trial of BFD 3.5, so check its site for what it offers. This page doesn't compare how they sound. That's for your ears.
The facts side by side
Every fact about BFD3 is from BFD Drums' own pages, checked on 7 November 2026. Prices are list prices in US dollars; sales come and go.
| DrumFlex | BFD3 | |
|---|---|---|
| How it makes its sound | Modeled. It computes every hit as it is played, from the drumheads, the stick, the snare wires and the cymbals. It plays no recordings. | Sampled acoustic drums with some modeling: the maker says BFD 3.5 introduces modeled tom resonance and bleed, and a swell-modeling algorithm for cymbal washes. |
| Price | $79, one-time | $199 |
| Download and disk space | 14.2 MB download, 31.4 MB installed | 55 GB of free disk space |
| Memory the maker asks for | 4 GB, with 4 cores or more and 100 MB of disk (the minimum we state for every Flex program) | 8 GB of RAM and above |
| Runs on | Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit | Windows 10 (version 1909 and above); macOS 12 Monterey and above |
| Forms | Standalone and VST3 | VST3, VST2, AAX; AU on Mac |
| Needs another program | Nothing else | Nothing else |
| Copy protection | A license key and your email address, entered once for each Windows user on each computer. No account and no online activation. | An internet connection to authorize |
| Computers per license | One license for one person, to use on all of their own computers | Not stated on the maker's pages |
| Demo | A demo to download and try before you buy | No trial published (BFD Player is a free product; its limits are on the maker's pages) |
| Kits and sounds included | Kits for metal, rock, pop, funk, jazz, smooth jazz, ballad and Latin, and a starting Session Kit; four slots to layer kits | A core library of 51 kits, 60 mix-ready preset kits, 82 Groove Palettes and 48 effects |
More: virtual drums compared: modeled, sampled and drum machines, a table of 27 products, and all about DrumFlex.
If something here is out of date, write to [email protected] and we'll correct it.