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DrumFlex vs EZdrummer 3

EZdrummer 3 and DrumFlex both play a drum kit from MIDI on Windows, but they come at it differently. EZdrummer 3 is Toontrack's drum program: 7 kits recorded in 3 rooms, with more than 2,500 individually played grooves and fills, on Windows and Mac. DrumFlex is a drum kit that's modeled rather than recorded: kits for each style, every piece open to tuning, and a download of 14.2 MB for $79.

What they have in common

Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit, as a standalone program and as a VST3 plugin.
Drum parts from MIDI. EZdrummer 3 plays its own grooves and fills. 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.
A full kit. Kick, snare, toms, hi-hat, ride, crashes, china and splash, in each.
A trial before you buy. Toontrack offers a 10-day trial. DrumFlex has a demo you can download and try before you buy.

Where EZdrummer 3 stands out

Mac as well as Windows, with AU and AAX plugins as well as VST3.
A library of grooves. More than 2,500 individually played grooves and fills.
Bandmate. Drag audio or MIDI in and it suggests a drum part.
Tap2Find. Tap a rhythm and it lists the grooves that match.
A Grid Editor on board.
More drums, and percussion. 14 kicks, 24 snares, 30 toms and 16 crashes, plus tambourines, shakers and maracas.
A fully functional trial for 10 days, according to Toontrack's page, and an upgrade price of $99 for owners of an earlier EZdrummer.

Where DrumFlex stands out

Small. A 14.2 MB download. EZdrummer 3 asks for 18 GB of free disk space, plus 18 GB for the download.
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.
Four slots (A to D) to switch between kits or layer them, with Compare, Vary and Randomize.
Your song to a file. It renders a MIDI file to FLAC, or to WAV with the included command-line renderer.
No account. A license key and your email address, entered once for each Windows user on each computer, no online activation, and one license for one person, to use on all of their own computers. Toontrack uses a user account, and its FAQ allows two active authorizations at a time, four in total.
Built to play ComposerFlex's songs, our songwriting program, on the same PC with no setup.
$79, where EZdrummer 3 is $179.

Which to pick

On a Mac: EZdrummer 3.
For a big library of grooves, or to find a part from a rhythm you tap: EZdrummer 3.
For percussion such as tambourine and shakers: EZdrummer 3.
On Windows, for kits you can tune piece by piece, with a small download: DrumFlex.
If you'd rather have no account and one license for one person, to use on all of their own computers, at $79: DrumFlex.

Owning both

EZdrummer 3 brings the grooves and DrumFlex brings kits you can shape, and they run side by side. Both have a trial, so try them with your own MIDI: Toontrack's is on toontrack.com, and DrumFlex's demo is here. This page doesn't compare how they sound. That's for your ears.

The facts side by side

Every fact about EZdrummer 3 is from Toontrack's own pages, checked on 7 November 2026. Prices are list prices in US dollars; sales come and go.

	DrumFlex	EZdrummer 3
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.	Recorded kits: 7 kits recorded in 3 rooms (the maker's words).
Price	$79, one-time	$179 regular; $99 upgrade from a previous EZdrummer
Download and disk space	14.2 MB download, 31.4 MB installed	About 15 GB of drums, cymbals and percussion; 18 GB free disk space, plus 18 GB for the download
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)	4 GB of RAM (8 GB or more recommended)
Runs on	Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit	Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit; macOS 10.13 or higher (Intel or Apple silicon)
Forms	Standalone and VST3	Standalone, and VST 3, AU or AAX in a 64-bit host
Needs another program	Nothing else	Nothing else (standalone included)
Copy protection	A license key and your email address, entered once for each Windows user on each computer. No account and no online activation.	A Toontrack account and its Product Manager
Computers per license	One license for one person, to use on all of their own computers	Two active authorizations at a time, four in total (Toontrack can reset the total)
Demo	A demo to download and try before you buy	Free 10-day trial, fully functional
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	7 kits, 14 kicks, 24 snares, 30 toms, percussion, and more than 2,500 grooves and fills

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.

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