Comparison

Aural Wiz vs OpenString

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Aural Wiz

Enhance your musical ear by learning to identify intervals, scales, modes, chords, and cadences. This app offers two modes: Learn to hear and understand musical elements, and Practice to test your recognition skills. It's designed for music students and musicians aiming to improve their aural abilities.

Highlights
  • Interval recognition
  • Scale identification
  • Mode training
  • Chord and cadence learning
  • Learn mode
  • Practice mode
Features
Read full description

Learn to recognize intervals, scales, modes chords and​ cadences with Aural Wiz. Whether you are a music student preparing for aural tests as part of your formal musical training or a musician just working towards improving your aural skills, Aural Wiz would be an indispensable companion for you. You can use Aural Wiz in two modes - Learn and Practice. In Learn mode, you can play back an interval, scale, mode, chord or a cadence to understand how it sounds. In Practice mode, a melodic or harmonic pattern will be played and you'll be asked to identify the interval, scale, mode, chord or cadence. Practicing this way has been a proven way to improve your aural skills. Make Aural Wiz part of your daily aural improvisation routine.

About

OpenString

This app provides essential tools for guitarists, including a tuner, metronome, chord handbook, and a personal songbook. It offers all features upfront with no subscriptions or in-app purchases, allowing users to manage their own song charts and practice effectively offline.

Highlights
  • Guitar tuner
  • Metronome with tempo and meter settings
  • Chord handbook with fingerings and voicings
  • Personal songbook for lyrics and chords
  • Key transposition and capo preference
  • Scale and shape finder
Features
Read full description

Every guitar practice tool is included: tuner, metronome, chord handbook, and a personal songbook. No subscription, no account, and no catalog paywall. OpenString is built for guitarists who want the tools on their phone, not a rented song library. Install it from the App Store. You get the tuner, metronome, chords, and songbook. There is nothing left to unlock later. WHAT YOU GET Guitar tuner Tune a standard six-string guitar with the microphone. Choose a preset, let the app pick the string or choose it yourself, and play a reference note when you want a target pitch. Audio is processed on your iPhone. It is never recorded or uploaded. Metronome Keep time from 40 to 240 BPM. Tap a tempo, set the meter, choose subdivisions and accents, run a practice timer, or mute the click and follow the beat visually. Chord handbook Look up common major, minor, and seventh fingerings in standard guitar tuning. Search the handbook, save favorites, hear a reference voicing, and jump to alternate positions on the neck. Personal songbook Keep your own lyrics and chords. Transpose the displayed key and save a capo preference without rewriting the source chart. Add song metadata, build named setlists, practice with autoscroll, jump to chords used in a song, and import ChordPro. Create and edit on your phone, then export a backup to a destination you choose and restore it later. Song to chords Pick a song and get its chords and words together in one tap, ready to play and sing. Scale and shape finder Type a scale like A minor pentatonic and see its box shapes on the neck, with the fret positions you actually play them in. HOW THIS IS DIFFERENT There are no in-app purchases and no subscription. Every current tool is included with the app. The tuner, metronome, chord handbook, and songbook are not split across plans. No commercial song catalog is included. Your songbook is filled by you, whether you type it or import ChordPro. That is the point: your charts, your lyrics, your practice. The app works offline and needs no account. No feed. No ads in the app. WHO IT IS FOR Players who want a tuner, metronome, chord diagrams, and their own charts in one place. People who write songs, type lyrics and chords they already play, or import ChordPro. WHO IT IS NOT FOR OpenString does not rent you a library of popular songs or official tabs. If you want a commercial catalog behind a monthly plan, this is not that app. OpenString is built for guitar practice on iPhone.

Screenshots

Aural Wiz4 screens
OpenString4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Aural Wiz at none against OpenString's 1. Aural Wiz also leads on ratings volume (636 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). OpenString's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 5 weeks). On price and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. OpenString sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Aural Wiz asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OpenString holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aural Wiz has 636 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Aural Wiz's written reviews are positive against 100% of OpenString's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Aural Wiz ships an update every 5 weeks, OpenString daily. Both last shipped on October 8, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Aural Wiz versus OpenString: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAural WizOpenString
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (636 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings636 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBijoy ThangarajTechguyver Labs, LLC

Customer experience

Aural Wiz

All ratings636 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral3.5%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive75.6%
Neutral13.3%
Negative11.1%

OpenString

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Aural Wiz

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Cannot return to main menu after closing ads
  • App crashes or requires restart after ad closure
  • Minor 7th chord labeled incorrectly (minor-major instead of minor-minor)
  • Same intervals/chords/scales play multiple times in succession

Requested features

9 requests
  • Descending intervals and scales option
  • Speed adjustment for scales
  • Chromatic scale option
  • Intervals played from top to bottom
  • Modes of melodic/harmonic minor
Show 4 more
  • Extended chords practice
  • More cadence recording variety
  • Statistics/progress tracking section
  • Better explanations for beginners

OpenString

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Aural Wiz

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

OpenString

One-time1
  • OpenString Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Aural Wiz free?
Aural Wiz is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OpenString free?
OpenString is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Aural Wiz or OpenString?
OpenString is rated higher. Aural Wiz averages 4.8 out of 5 from 636 ratings, while OpenString averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Aural Wiz or OpenString have ads?
Aural Wiz shows ads; OpenString does not.
Which is updated more often, Aural Wiz or OpenString?
Aural Wiz ships an update every 5 weeks, and OpenString daily. Most recently, Aural Wiz was updated on October 8, 2026 and OpenString on October 8, 2026.

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