Comparison

ChordPainter vs JAX ESSENTIALS

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

Head to head
About

ChordPainter

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Chordpainter creates songbooks of piano songs as chord diagrams without any knowledge of music notes. What has always been standard for guitarists, Chordpainter now also creates this for piano players. Simply input chords via midi or enter them manually. The chords are automatically recognized and can be edited or renamed as desired. Then simply print or export as pictures, by email or into Dropbox. All features in an overview: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Creation of chord images with up to 10 notes per chord - Automatic recognition of chords separated for the left and right hand - Input chords manually or via MIDI keyboard - Automatic detection of Midi inputs and display of the Midi source - Bluetooth Midi adapters from Yamaha or QuiccoSound are also supported - Transfer a chord to the current song via button or MIDI trigger - Piano is fully playable with sound, either manually or via MIDI input - Clear button to remove all entered notes - Free definable Midi trigger (setting is stored) - Complete online manual available in the App - Notes, program changes or controller (pedal) are accepted as Midi trigger - Midi Analyzer in the main display for all incoming MIDI events - Intelligent mode to assign chords to the right and left hand - Display of the intervals, separated for chords of the right and left hand - All chords in the song can be sorted using Drag & Drop - Language in the APP can be switched between English and German - Chords can be edited, renamed or deleted also after creation - Optimized user interface for all iPad sizes - When naming the chords, there are buttons for common chord suffixes - Chord images optimized for high-resolution printing on laser printers in grayscale - Songbook view to display all the chords of a song large on one page with Midi scrolling - PDF Export for all songs and demo songs to printout or for use in other APPs - Sound output with real sampled piano sounds including velocity - Sound can be enabled or disabled (setting is saved) - Export der Akkordbilder in die Bilder Gallery oder Dropbox - Constantly expanded list of demo songs, partial with songbook PDFs - Song library with an unlimited number of songs - List view with all songs plus number of chords in the song - Songs can be created, copied, renamed or loaded for editing - Export of chord images to the Gallery or Dropbox - You can also export by email (default email address stored) - Automatic backup of the song library when export by mail or dropbox - Restore the song library with "Open in" function in iOS

About

JAX ESSENTIALS

This audio effect plugin offers a multi-stage phaser modulation with allpass filters for dynamic soundscapes. It's compatible across Apple devices and integrates with popular music production software.

Highlights
  • Multi-stage phaser modulation
  • Allpass filter design
  • LFO for depth and speed modulation
  • Cross-device preset sharing
  • Includes ~200 factory presets
  • Resizable and adaptive interface
Features
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( THIS IS AN AUDIOUNIT. AudioUnits are app extensions, requiring any audio host application to perform. ) Use the same AudioUnits across all modern Apple devices, including the iPhone and the Mac (Apple Silicon). Native MacOS apps like GarageBand, MainStage 3 and Logic Pro X are fully supported. Any 3rd-party AUv3 supporting host should be able to host the plugin too. The JAX ESSENTIAL SERIES Phaser is a multi stage phaser modulation effect that uses multiple allpass filters, to produce all kinds of the famous phaser effect. A low frequency oscillator modulates depth and speed of the filter modulation on both stereo channels for various living and moving sound nuances. Make static sounding voices more interesting or create sweaping special effects. You may share the presets for this effect across all your supported devices. Around 200 factory presets are included, you can make and export/import your own. The complete manual is included and can be previewed on our support website: https://audio.digitster.com For advanced usage (i.e. mastering and exciting), we recommend to select the phaser from our SELECTIVE RANGE SERIES, which allows to limit the frequency range for processing. This build is truly 'universal', meaning, the audio unit is available for: - iOS (all actual iPhones) - iPadOS (all actual iPads) - macOS (Apple Silicon) - visionOS (Apple Vision Pro) Requirements: MacOS 11.0++ iOS 14.0++ Behaviour on all devices is identical. The parametric interface is resizeble and adopts to any screen size and orientation. This especially applies to Logic Pro X and all hosts with adjustable window sizes on all platforms. Display contrast can be adjusted freely and is now saved with each preset.

Screenshots

JAX ESSENTIALS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: JAX ESSENTIALS at every 2 weeks against ChordPainter's every 22 months. JAX ESSENTIALS also leads on device support (3 vs 1). ChordPainter's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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

ChordPainter costs $2.99 and JAX ESSENTIALS $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChordPainter ships an update every 22 months, JAX ESSENTIALS every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
ChordPainter versus JAX ESSENTIALS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChordPainterJAX ESSENTIALS
Price$2.99 — better$4.99
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size195 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStefan ArnholdJens Guell

In-app purchases

None

ChordPainter

No in-app purchases

None

JAX ESSENTIALS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ChordPainter free?
ChordPainter costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is JAX ESSENTIALS free?
JAX ESSENTIALS costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ChordPainter or JAX ESSENTIALS have ads?
Neither ChordPainter nor JAX ESSENTIALS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChordPainter or JAX ESSENTIALS?
ChordPainter ships an update every 22 months, and JAX ESSENTIALS every 2 weeks. Most recently, ChordPainter was updated on October 7, 2026 and JAX ESSENTIALS on October 12, 2026.

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