The 9 Best Guitar Tuner Apps
If you're looking for the best guitar tuner app, you're likely to go search the App Store for "guitar tuner" ...and you'll get 452 results. That's a lot of guitar tuners. But which one is best? After downloading some apps, reading up, and asking around in some forums, here's our list of the 9 best guitar tuner apps (ranked by order).
About this particular list of guitar tuner apps:
- App store reviews are shown for both the most recent version of the app and the overall history of the app.
- This list is decidedly slanted towards the iOS world, but Android versions have been noted where applicable.
- As noted in the HarmonyCentral forum, even the best guitar tuner apps are not the most reliable in gigging situations due to background noise. Still, they're darned handy.
1. VITALtuner
by Otreus Inc. | WebsiteiOS Overall Review: N/A Platform: iOS Price: Free
The Verdict: I've never been inspired by a tuner before. It's always just a functional piece of equipment. But browsing the alternate tuning, and using the 'sweeter temperament' to optimize my acoustic guitar has changed that. There is also a paid version for $14.99.
2. Cleartune - Chromatic Tuner
by Bitcount ltd. iOS Current Review: 44 (3.5 stars) iOS Overall Review: 3,242 (4 stars) Android Review: 2,306 (4.5 stars) Platform: iOS and Android Price: $3.99
The Verdict: A clean, accurate interface for tuning any instrument. Highly reviewed, recommended in the forums, with testimonials like Roseanne Cash, Ezra Oklan, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, etc. The overall best guitar tuner app out there. The downside: a little pricey.
3. Tabs & Chords - learn and play
by Ultimate Guitar | WebsiteiOS Current Review: 337 (4.5 stars) iOS Overall Review: 35,116 (4.5 stars) Android Review: 167,098 (4.5 stars) Platform: iOS and Android Price: $2.99 (iOS) /3.50 (Android)
The Verdict: Ultimateguitar.com is the definitive site for tabs online. Their app is equally awesome. It includes access to tabs, lessons, chord diagrams, and, yes, a tuner. The are a ton of reviews (100k+!) and the feedback is mostly very good. A great choice for just having one all-inclusive guitar app handy.
4. iStrobosoftby Peterson Tuners | WebsiteiOS Overall Review: 625 (4.5 stars) Android Review: 175 (4.1 stars) Platforms: iOS and Android Price: $9.99
The Verdict: Aimed at multi-instruments (guitar, bass, brass, woodwind). Has the usual chromatic and guitar modes, auto and manual.
5. Fender Tuner - Guitar Tuner for Acoustic and Bassby Yonac Inc. | Website iOS Current Review: 9 (5 stars) iOS Overall Review: 442 (4.5 stars) Android Review: 1,723 (4.6 stars) Platform: iOS and Android Price: Free
The Verdict: The Fender tuner is a welcome tool for beginner guitarists. It's easy to use, includes clear images showing you how to tune, it's accurate, and it's free. Hard to beat that.
6. Yousician
by Yousician Ltd | WebsiteiOS Overall Review: 18,413 (4.5 stars) Android Review: 144,724 (4.5 stars) Platform: iOS and Android Price: Free
The Verdict: Yousician is to guitar what Rosetta Stone software is to Spanish. It's a popular, easy-to-use software for learning. The software presents lessons, listens to you play, and gives a feedback. It's very popular and very well done. There's a lot of bells and whistles packaged in the app, including a tuner. So if you're going to do some app lessons, you can kill two birds with one stone by going with Yousician.
7. Cadenza: Tuner + Metronome
by Codewise Systems
iOS Overall Review: 1,384 (4.5 stars) Platform: iOS Price: $2.99
The Verdict: A solid tuner with great reviews. The second music tool you would want on your phone is a metronome, so getting these together is a perfect deal. Combine that with the lower price, and this is a close competitor for the best.
8. Tuner Lite
by plusadd, Inc | Website
iOS Current Review: 329 (4 stars) iOS Overall Review: 1,340 (4.5 stars) Platforms: iOS Price: Free
The Verdict: Tuner Lite provides a chromatic tuner with a traditional UI. The bouncing needle harkens back to the days of analog tuners, but the fact that it's free is a welcome gift of the 21st century.
9. GuitarTuna - Tuner for Guitar, Bass and Ukeleleby Yousician Ltd | WebsiteiOS Current Review: 339 (5 stars) iOS Overall Review: 3,788 (5 stars) Android Reviews: 878,379 (4.8 stars) Platform: iOS and Android Price: Free
The Verdict: GuitarTuna is a companion app to Yousician (mentioned above). It is a standalone tuner billing itself as the "#1 tuner in the world". The instructions are clear, including diagrams of a guitar headstock to guide beginners. A great free tuner to keep on hand.