Comparison

ChordPainter vs AU Studio

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

AU Studio

This app acts as a dedicated host for Audio Unit extensions, allowing musicians and developers to inspect, audition, and test installed audio plugins. It provides detailed information about each unit's capabilities and behavior without requiring a full digital audio workstation.

Highlights
  • Scan and catalog installed Audio Units
  • Filter plugins by developer, type, and status
  • Load AUv3 interfaces or use detailed inspector
  • Inspect registry identity, MIDI support, and parameters
  • Route CoreMIDI sources and audition audio effects
  • Monitor runtime CPU and memory usage
  • Built-in manual for guidance
Read full description

AU Studio is a focused Audio Unit host, not a DAW. Open the plug-ins you already own, hear them in seconds, and see exactly what they expose. Made for musicians, sound designers, and Audio Unit developers who need a fast, honest test bench. No session to build, no tracks to arm. Pick a unit from your catalog and its interface opens in a panel of its own, named and sized to the plug-in, with your host controls in a bar above it. Key features: - Scan the instruments, effects, music effects, generators, and MIDI processors already installed on your device: AUv3 on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, plus AUv2 on Mac. - Filter by developer, type, or search text, and hide Apple built-ins to focus on third-party gear. - Open a plug-in's own interface when it ships one, and fall back to a metadata view when it doesn't, with the full inspector always one tap away. - Inspect identity, four-character codes, version, sandbox and cached validation status, MIDI support, busses, parameters, presets, latency, and tail time. - Step through factory presets, then save your own working state without leaving the interface. - Play instruments from the floating MIDI keyboard: notes, pitch bend, mod wheel, auto, mono or poly voicing, a shiftable range, and one-tap panic for stuck notes. Your hardware controller lights up the on-screen keys as you play. - Run a guitar, a microphone, or any channel of your interface through a loaded effect. Pick the device, pick mono or stereo, pick the channels. - Load a track into the floating media player, scrub the waveform, loop a section, and play along with your live input at the same time. - Check a signal path in seconds with the built-in test tone. - Route external CoreMIDI sources in, and send generated MIDI back out to a CoreMIDI destination. - Test MIDI 2 units with automatic, MIDI 1, or MIDI 2 protocol selection: high-resolution notes, registered and per-note controllers, per-note pitch bend, discovered MIDI-CI Profiles, and a monitor showing raw or decoded MIDI going in and coming out. - Choose your output device on Mac, and set sample rate, buffer size, and which MIDI sources are enabled. - Keep host-process CPU and memory in view while you work. - Open unfamiliar plug-ins with less risk. AU Studio asks first when the system does not mark a unit sandbox-safe, and a peak limiter sits across the host output. - Read the built-in manual, fully searchable: discovery, routing, presets, hardware input, floating tools, troubleshooting, and developer notes. What AU Studio is: A focused host for discovering, opening, auditioning, and inspecting the Audio Units already on your device. It answers the practical questions: Is the unit visible? Does it load? Does it have an interface? What busses, parameters, presets, and MIDI capabilities does it expose? Does MIDI reach it? Does audio pass through it? What AU Studio is not: It is not a DAW. No multitrack recording, clip launching, timeline arrangement, piano-roll sequencing, MIDI learn, automation lanes, song export, or mastering tools. AU Studio ships no Audio Unit of its own — no instrument, no effect, no DSP engine. It hosts the units other apps provide and wraps them in host-owned routing, auditioning, and inspection. Discovery uses the system Audio Unit registry. If a provider app is not installed, not enabled, or not visible to the platform, AU Studio cannot invent it. Interface behavior, presets, parameter meaning, MIDI mapping, and DSP results belong to each Audio Unit.

Screenshots

AU Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ChordPainter at $2.99 against AU Studio's $9.99. ChordPainter also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). AU Studio's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 22 months) and device support (4 vs 1). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ChordPainter costs $2.99 and AU Studio $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChordPainter ships an update every 22 months, AU Studio monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ChordPainter versus AU Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChordPainterAU Studio
Price$2.99 — better$9.99
Rating—4.5 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size195 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStefan ArnholdChristian Thompson

In-app purchases

None

ChordPainter

No in-app purchases

None

AU Studio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ChordPainter free?
ChordPainter costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AU Studio free?
AU Studio costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ChordPainter or AU Studio have ads?
Neither ChordPainter nor AU Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChordPainter or AU Studio?
ChordPainter ships an update every 22 months, and AU Studio monthly. Most recently, ChordPainter was updated on October 7, 2026 and AU Studio on October 1, 2026.

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