Comparison

Instrument Scales vs StringPilot

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

Head to head
About

Instrument Scales

Master your instrument with interactive courses, AI-powered guidance, and a comprehensive music toolkit. Learn chords, scales, and theory for guitar, bass, and piano with a precision tuner and custom tuning options.

Highlights
  • Interactive Courses
  • AI-powered guidance
  • Precision Tuner
  • 100+ Scale Library
  • Custom Tunings
  • iCloud Sync
Features
Read full description

Turn music theory into something you can see, hear, and practice. Instrument Scales is a visual music-theory toolkit for guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, and mandolin. Explore scales and chords across the full instrument, hear each note, and understand how tones connect in every key. Pro unlocks all lessons and advanced tools with one permanent purchase — no subscription required. The Max subscription includes those capabilities plus a fresh Max Daily session every day, full ear-training sessions, and the Mastery Map. Eligible subscribers can try yearly Max free for 7 days. Premium access is provided by Pro or Max. EXPLORE SCALES AND CHORDS • Browse a complete catalog of scales. • View notes across guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, or mandolin. • Switch between note names, scale degrees, and intervals. • See key-aware note spelling and the chords that belong to each key. • Explore practical chord voicings and fingerboard patterns. • Tap notes to hear how they sound. LEARN AND PRACTICE • Choose a learning path for guitar, bass, piano, high-G ukulele, or mandolin. • Listen, experiment, practice a short phrase, and apply it in a new context through guided stages. • Keep your study instrument, tuning, and register separate from Explore, and return to your last step. • Follow your core progress, with optional extras and older course history in the library. • Study one compatible core lesson free each day; Premium gives unlimited lesson access. • Answer a free daily ear-training question and use practice reminders. • With Max, get a fresh Max Daily session, full ear-training sessions, and the Mastery Map. MUSIC TOOLS • Tune any note with the chromatic tuner. • Build steady time with the metronome. • Create, reorder, play, and loop chord progressions in any key. MAKE IT YOURS • Work with multiple scale setups at once. • Save favorites and reusable practice plans. • Create custom scales and tunings. • Personalize instrument necks and note colors. • Use left-handed layouts where supported. ON APPLE VISION PRO • Place the Practice Station beside your instrument once, and visionOS puts it back where you left it. • The Station shows the scale, chord, pattern or lesson exercise you picked, on the same fretboard or keyboard the app already draws, at a readable size or at a typical instrument's nominal size. • Reference keeps the shapes in your sightline. Play Along runs a timed example. Follow waits for each note and moves on when it hears or receives it. Harmony shows the next chord before it arrives. • Switch on Listen and the Station lights up the notes you play through the microphone; a MIDI keyboard works too. It never listens until you ask it to. • Keep the tuner in a panel beside the board, and reach Play, Pause, Repeat, Slower, Faster and Stop with Voice Control, without putting the instrument down. • Place the Scale of the Day and Practice Streak widgets in your surroundings. • Explore, Learn, Tools, your practice history and everything you have already bought are the same app, in its own window beside the Station. Instrument Scales is available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, with a localized interface in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, German, and Simplified Chinese. Start with the free essentials. Optional Pro and Max purchases unlock additional tools, lessons, and practice features. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

StringPilot

Features
Read full description

StringPilot is a focused tuner and metronome designed for guitarists, bassists and other string players. No social feed, no distractions – just accurate tuning and solid time. The large, clean tuning display shows your note, octave and cents deviation in real time, so you always know whether to tighten or loosen. Preloaded tunings like Standard, Drop D, Open G, Ukulele (GCEA) and Bass (Standard) let you switch setups in a tap. When it’s time to work on your timing, switch to the built‑in metronome. Adjust BPM with fine controls, tap in a tempo you hear, and choose subdivisions to match your exercise or song. StringPilot uses a dark, minimal interface that’s easy on the eyes in practice rooms, studios and stages. Open the app, pluck a string, and get back to playing.

Screenshots

Instrument Scales4 screens
StringPilot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: StringPilot at none against Instrument Scales's 3. StringPilot also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). Instrument Scales's advantage is device support (5 vs 2). 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. Instrument Scales sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. StringPilot asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Instrument Scales ships an update monthly, StringPilot every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Instrument Scales versus StringPilot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInstrument ScalesStringPilot
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (29 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews91.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings29 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThiago Anderson Martins浩铭 顾

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Instrument Scales

Subscriptions2
  • Instrument Scales Max$0.991 Month
  • Instrument Scales Max$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Instrument Scales Pro$0.99
None

StringPilot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Instrument Scales free?
Instrument Scales is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StringPilot free?
StringPilot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Instrument Scales or StringPilot have ads?
Neither Instrument Scales nor StringPilot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Instrument Scales or StringPilot?
Instrument Scales ships an update monthly, and StringPilot every 4 days. Most recently, Instrument Scales was updated on October 10, 2026 and StringPilot on October 17, 2026.

Other comparisons