Comparison

Guitar Tab Maker vs TabStudio

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

Head to head
About

Guitar Tab Maker

Create and edit guitar tablature with ease on your iOS or macOS devices. Sync across platforms, export to various formats, and even listen to your compositions with audio playback. Supports multiple string instruments and offers advanced features through an optional purchase.

Highlights
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Export to PDF and GTAB
  • Audio playback of tabs
  • Support for multiple string instruments
  • Designed for guitar tabs
Features
Read full description

Create, edit, and share guitar tabs with ease. Here’s the Riffs & Licks: Guitar Tab Maker is a powerful yet straightforward tablature editor designed for guitarists, bassists, and other stringed-instrument players. Whether you're capturing a new riff, transcribing a song, or organizing your ideas, Guitar Tab Maker makes writing tabs fast and intuitive. Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with seamless syncing across your devices. FREE FEATURES • Create and edit guitar tabs in an intuitive editor • Sync your tabs automatically with iCloud • Listen back with built-in audio playback • Export tabs for sharing and backup • Support for guitar, bass, ukulele, and 7- and 8-string instruments • Available across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS PREMIUM FEATURES • Upgrade to Premium to unlock: • Unlimited tab creation • Advanced editing tools • Watermark-free exports • Backup all tabs ability • Additional organization & customization options • Future Premium enhancements as they're released ~ New User Special ~ Start with a free 7-day Premium trial. No strings attached. Whether you're sketching ideas, practicing songs, or building a personal tab library, Guitar Tab Maker helps keep your music organized and accessible wherever inspiration strikes. User Guide: https://kylegorlick.com/guitartabber/guide/ Questions, feedback, or feature requests? Email: kyle@kylegorlick.com Your support is much appreciated. Thank you! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

TabStudio

Features
Read full description

TabStudio is a tablature composition app for guitar and bass. Create scores with a native fretboard, chord input, technique palette, song structure tools, and a track mixer. View standard notation and tablature together, edit notes, chords, repeats, tempo, and guitar techniques, then play your score back as you work. Key Features - Create guitar and bass tablature - View staff notation with tab, tab only, or staff only - Enter notes with a fretboard-based input panel - Add chord names and chord positions - Apply guitar techniques such as bends, vibrato, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, palm mute, harmonics, and more - Edit bars, time signatures, repeats, section markers, and song structure - Manage guitar and bass tracks - Adjust tuning, capo, playback tone, volume, mute, and solo - Save native .tabs documents - Store projects on iCloud Drive or on your device - Import GP-family files and AlphaTex - Export to GP 7-8, AlphaTex, and PDF Use TabStudio to capture riffs, write practice scores, prepare band parts, or organize musical ideas from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Note: Import and export results may vary depending on the structure of the original score file and the supported compatibility range.

Screenshots

Guitar Tab Maker4 screens
TabStudio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TabStudio at none against Guitar Tab Maker's 7. TabStudio also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). Guitar Tab Maker's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.5). On price and ads 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. Guitar Tab Maker sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. TabStudio asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Guitar Tab Maker ships an update monthly, TabStudio every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Guitar Tab Maker versus TabStudio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGuitar Tab MakerTabStudio
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (514 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings514 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB149 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKyle GorlickJOOYOUNG MAENG

Bugs and requests

Guitar Tab Maker

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Tabs randomly deleted or lost
  • Infinite loading screen when accessing tabs
  • Inability to change tunings in some cases

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for advanced tab notation (slides, bends, etc.)
  • Implement playback and audio features to hear the tabs
  • Improve tab organization and management tools
  • Add print and export options (PDF, MIDI, etc.)
  • Expand to desktop/web version for better workflow

TabStudio

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Guitar Tab Maker

Subscriptions5
  • Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Premium (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Premium (Annual)7 Days trial$12.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Premium (Annual)$12.991 Year
  • Premium (Annual Family)3 Days trial$17.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium One-Time Buy$29.99
  • Premium Lifetime$34.99
None

TabStudio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Guitar Tab Maker free?
Guitar Tab Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TabStudio free?
TabStudio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Guitar Tab Maker or TabStudio have ads?
Neither Guitar Tab Maker nor TabStudio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Guitar Tab Maker or TabStudio?
Guitar Tab Maker ships an update monthly, and TabStudio every 8 days. Most recently, Guitar Tab Maker was updated on October 24, 2026 and TabStudio on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons