Comparison

Fender Play vs Open V8

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

Head to head
About

Fender Play

Learn guitar, bass, or ukulele with guided video lessons, song tutorials, and practice tools. This app offers a personalized learning path for beginners and intermediate players, featuring feedback technology and a supportive community.

Highlights
  • Guided learning paths
  • 3000+ bite-sized video lessons
  • Extensive song library
  • Integrated lesson feedback
  • Practice tools (metronome, looping)
  • Community support
Features
Read full description

Fender Play® is your one-stop online guitar teacher for starting your guitar, bass, or ukulele learning journey. Start for free. Play for life. Created by the most trusted name in music; you can expect a robust, guided learning path to jumpstart your playing ability as a beginner or intermediate player. Whether you’re learning to play your favorite songs, building a healthy habit, or finding a new creative outlet — we’ve got you covered! Learn to play guitar with the industry's elite instructors and over 3000+ bite-sized video lessons, with chords, scales, songs and riffs that you can practice at your own pace. Play your way with Fender Play. How Does It Work? EXTENSIVE MUSIC LIBRARY Play songs by your favorite artists with our 1000+ song library! Fender Play helps you to master the chords, techniques and guitar scales to play songs from your favorite artists, including: "Come As You Are" - Nirvana "when the party's over" - Billie Eillish "Red" - Taylor Swift "Good Riddance (Time of Our Lives) - Green Day "Paint it Black" - The Rolling Stones "Master of Puppets" - Metallica QUALITY LEARNING EXPERIENCE Guided Learning Tools - Begin playing in a few short lessons with learning, practice and feedback activities. Bite-Sized, Quality Lesson Videos - Top quality lessons from our experienced instructors help show you a unique hands-on perspective, breaking down each skill, riff or popular song. Personalized Learning Path - Choose your instrument and your favorite genre to customize your learning experience. Integrated Lesson Feedback - Cutting-edge listening technology by MatchMySound helps to assess your playing, give you feedback and help improve your score. No Ads - Enjoy consistent and quality lessons, free of ads or other distractions. INNOVATIVE PRACTICE TOOLS Practice Mode - Built-in metronome and tempo control to help you learn timing. Reminders - Set practice reminders to prioritize practicing in a way that fits your schedule. Tone Integration - Tap into amp presets that work with select Fender amps to get the right tone to sound like your favorite artists. Practice Features for All - Scrolling tablature, chord charts, chord drills, backing & isolated tracks, looping, tuning, metronome and more. COMMUNITY & MOTIVATION Highly Supportive Community - Live instructor office hours, giveaways and more are here to help you feel supported and motivated to stick with your instrument. Streaks - Keep your streak going by practicing every week! Backing Tracks - Feel like you’re jamming with a full band, even if you’re practicing alone. Chord Challenge - Master chord transitions and improve finger dexterity. Beat your own high score by increasing the speed and tempo of chords from your favorite songs. Simply download the Fender Play app and learn to play guitar on your iPhone, iPad, or iOS device and get started learning how to play guitar today! Download the Fender Play learning app and get 14 days free. Get 10% off Fender gear (and other added perks) all year long with an Annual Plan or 10% off your next order with a Monthly Plan. Discount only applies to Fender products in the U.S., UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Australia. -- Terms of Use: https://www.fender.com/play/pages/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.fender.com/pages/privacy-center

About

Open V8

Features
Read full description

Open V8 is a working V8 engine you can take apart in your hands. Press START and the engine fires up. Every part moves exactly as it does in a real engine: the crankshaft turns, the pistons and connecting rods follow it, the camshaft pushes the lifters and pushrods, the rocker arms open the valves and the spark plugs fire in the right order. Step on the gas and watch the revs climb as the shift lights come on. SEE INSIDE • Explode: pull the lever and the engine comes apart into its parts – heads, valve covers, intake, oil pan and crankshaft – while it keeps running. • Cutaway: slice the block open to see the pistons move inside the cylinders. • X-ray: make the outer parts transparent and watch the valvetrain at work. • Slow motion: slow everything down to 1/10, 1/20 or 1/50 speed. At 1/20 the idle is about 37 rpm, so you can follow every single firing. LEARN EVERY PART Tap any part to learn what it does: the cross-plane crankshaft, the camshaft and roller lifters, valves and springs, timing chain, ignition coils, fuel injectors, headers and more. HEAR IT The sound is not a recording. It is generated live by an engine synthesizer from the firing order, the revs and the throttle, so you hear the uneven cross-plane rumble at idle, the intake roar under load and the crackle when you lift off. PUT IT IN YOUR ROOM On iPhone and iPad you can place the running engine on your table or floor in augmented reality, walk around it, turn it and resize it. BUILT FROM REAL NUMBERS The engine is modelled from the published dimensions of a classic 6.2 L pushrod V8: bore, stroke, rod length, deck height, valve sizes and cam timing. NO ACCOUNTS, NO ADS, NO TRACKING Open V8 collects no data at all. Great for students, mechanics, car enthusiasts and anyone who has ever wondered what actually happens under the hood.

Screenshots

Fender Play4 screens
Open V84 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Open V8 at none against Fender Play's 10. Open V8 also leads on ads (none vs shown). Fender Play's advantage is chart position (#108 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 27.0). 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. Fender Play sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Open V8 asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Fender Play versus Open V8: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFender PlayOpen V8
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (61K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews51.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings61K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#108 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better27.0
Further details — not scored
Size113 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFender DigitalPatrick Christensen

Bugs and requests

Fender Play

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Subscription renewal and login problems
  • Inconsistent lesson progress tracking
  • Feedback mode not working reliably
  • App crashes and freezes on certain devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add left-handed support
  • Improve chord chart and tab visibility
  • Synchronize video with chord/tab display
  • Implement real-time feedback and progress tracking
  • Expand song library and include more advanced material

Open V8

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Fender Play

Subscriptions10
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan$9.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Annual Plan14 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • Annual Plan14 Days trial$74.991 Year
  • All Access Annual Plan14 Days trial$74.991 Year
  • Annual Plan14 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Annual Plan$89.991 Year
  • Annual Plan14 Days trial$149.991 Year
None

Open V8

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fender Play free?
Fender Play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Open V8 free?
Open V8 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Fender Play or Open V8 have ads?
Fender Play shows ads; Open V8 does not.

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