Comparison

ChordPainter vs AxeChords

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” 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

AxeChords

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Learn all the basic Major and Minor Chords on Guitar using the CAGED System. (A system based on the open C, A, G, E, and D chords). Learn the foundation of all Jazz Chords with Shell Chords. (Root, 3rd, 7th). Master advanced Chords and their Inversions with Drop 2 and Drop 3 Chords. (2nd or 3rd highest note of a closed position Chord dropped an octave to spread out the voicing). Select any of 12 different Root Notes for each chord form, providing thousands of different combinations! Shows the scale degree of each chord note, as well as the suggested fingerings for each chord. Play each chord to hear how it sounds, choose from several different guitar types with strummed or picked chords. Context sensitive help available on each screen. Plus, you can also add your own custom User Chords!

Screenshots

AxeChords4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: AxeChords at every 3 days against ChordPainter's every 22 months. AxeChords also leads on price ($1.99 vs $2.99). ChordPainter's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.2). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

ChordPainter costs $2.99 and AxeChords $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChordPainter ships an update every 22 months, AxeChords every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
ChordPainter versus AxeChords: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChordPainterAxeChords
Price$2.99$1.99 โ€” better
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsEvery 3 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS13.0 โ€” better16.2
Further details โ€” not scored
Size195 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStefan ArnholdJoseph Svantner

In-app purchases

None

ChordPainter

No in-app purchases

None

AxeChords

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ChordPainter free?
ChordPainter costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AxeChords free?
AxeChords costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ChordPainter or AxeChords have ads?
Neither ChordPainter nor AxeChords shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChordPainter or AxeChords?
ChordPainter ships an update every 22 months, and AxeChords every 3 days. Most recently, ChordPainter was updated on October 7, 2026 and AxeChords on October 4, 2026.

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