Chordal Text vs PentaMonochord
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chordal Text
This app acts as a harmony assistant, combining a chord dictionary and calculator. It interprets various text inputs describing chords, such as names, scale degrees, or note names, and then provides a detailed description of the chord's notes.
- Chord dictionary
- Chord calculator
- Text-based chord input
- Chord note description
- Harmony assistant
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Chordal Text is a harmony assistant. A wonderful combination of dictionary and calculator for chords. You enter text naming or describing your chord however you can (chord name, scale degrees, note names, or scale names) and it will describe your chord to the note.
PentaMonochord
Explore the relationship between pitch and string length with a digital monochord. Build scales, hear intervals, and learn about Pythagorean music theory through interactive blocks and historical context.
- Build two-octave G pentatonic scales
- Hear and see interval relationships
- View Hertz frequencies and string lengths
- Play pentatonic tunes
- Scale-building game mode
- Background information on monochord system
- Historical timeline
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The Pythagoreans’ foremost innovation was to correlate pitch relationships to calibrated speaking lengths of a string on a monochord. Now, for the first time, there’s an app for that! Use IntervalBlocks to build a two-octave G pentatonic scale on the PentaMonochord using only octaves and fifths. Touch any block to see and hear its interval again, and watch the Hertz box to see how the frequencies of the two notes relate inversely to the string lengths represented by the IntervalBlock. Touch the note labels any time to play a pentatonic tune. Press “Switch to Game” to join the Pythagorean pantheon by building the whole scale with the minimum number of steps. The Intro and the Background Information explain the monochord system in detail, and the Timeline puts it all in perspective.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PentaMonochord at $1.99 against Chordal Text's $9.99. PentaMonochord also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17). Chordal Text's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 24 months). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Chordal Text costs $9.99 and PentaMonochord $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Chordal Text against 5.0 for PentaMonochord. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Chordal Text ships an update every 2 months, PentaMonochord every 24 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chordal Text | PentaMonochord |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 24 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thompson Usiyan | Lucy Hudson |
Customer experience
Chordal Text
PentaMonochord
In-app purchases
Chordal Text
No in-app purchases
PentaMonochord
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chordal Text free?
Is PentaMonochord free?
Which has better reviews, Chordal Text or PentaMonochord?
Do Chordal Text or PentaMonochord have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chordal Text or PentaMonochord?
Other comparisons
