Comparison

Strum Machine vs Sessioneer

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

Head to head
About

Strum Machine

Generate realistic backing tracks for practice with real instrument audio. Customize chord progressions, keys, and tempo. Features a large song library, song editor, and band customization options. Works offline and syncs across devices.

Highlights
  • Realistic instrument audio backing tracks
  • Customizable chord progressions, keys, and tempo
  • Extensive song library
  • Simple song editor
  • Band and instrument customization
  • Cross-platform syncing and offline mode
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Elevate your music practice with customizable backing tracks generated with audio from real instruments (guitar, mandolin, and standup bass). Strum Machine can play any chord progression, in any key, at any speed. It's the only backing-track app built specifically for players of bluegrass, old-time, fiddle tunes, and other such genres. (Although it works pretty good for some jazz/swing now, too!) Why musicians of all levels love Strum Machine: • Realistic Sound: Backing tracks are assembled in real time from studio-quality instrument recordings. • Quick Adjustments: Instantly adjust the speed/tempo, change the key, loop part of a song, etc. • Auto-Speedup: Gradually increase the BPM at the end of every repetition for training purposes. • Chord Reference: Clean, beautiful chord charts, which can be displayed in letters or numbers (i.e. "1-4-5"). • Extensive Library: Over 1,300 songs (mostly from bluegrass and old-time) ready to go, with thousands more posted on the community forum. • Simple Song Editor: Add your own songs (or edit existing ones) in minutes. Almost every chord you can play on a guitar is available for use. • Customize the Band: Choose from a variety of built-in band styles, then optionally customize each instrument individually – adjust the strumming pattern, add automatic bass runs, and more. • Organize & Share: Create song lists for practicing or even performing, and share them with your friends or on the community forum. • Cross-Platform: Sync your custom songs, lists, and preferences with any device you use Strum Machine on: phone, tablet, or computer. (It works offline, too!) • Responsive Support: If you run into any problems or have questions, write us an email or post a message on the forum and someone will get back to you within a few days! Strum Machine is under active development and we're always working on ways to make the app even more useful to our users... while keeping it uncluttered and intuitive first and foremost. Discover how Strum Machine can improve your music practice today! Download Strum Machine and play a handful of demo songs instantly, without signing up. For the full experience, including access to all built-in songs and the ability to create your own, start a free trial. Terms of Use: https://strummachine.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://strummachine.com/privacy

About

Sessioneer

Features
Read full description

Sessioneer is a tune book for Irish traditional musicians, on iPad and iPhone. The full thesession.org database is built in and works offline: - Tens of thousands of tunes: jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, slides, and more - Search by title, alias, composer, and submitter/transcriber - Multiple settings per tune - Build your own sets or browse thousands from the thesession.org community - Create Books of tunes, sets, PDFs and Images - Import Tunebooks and Bookmarks from thesession.org - Write notes with Apple Pencil directly on the music - Mark favorites, track your history - Import your own sheet music as PDFs or Images: read, search, and annotate with Apple Pencil - Add PDFs and Images to Books alongside tunes and sets - Tablature for fiddle, mandolin, and guitar with tuning and capo options - Favorite and share PDFs and Images Syncs through iCloud across your devices. No account, no email, no analytics, no data sold. Subscriptions are optional. The whole app is free. Subscribers remove a small support banner; nothing is gated. Tune database by thesession.org, used under Creative Commons. Built by an indie developer. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Strum Machine4 screens
Sessioneer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Strum Machine at #144 against Sessioneer's unranked. Strum Machine also leads on iOS requirement (15.4 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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

Both are free to download. Strum Machine sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month and Sessioneer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Strum Machine ships an update fortnightly, Sessioneer every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Strum Machine versus Sessioneer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrum MachineSessioneer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (120 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews88.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings120 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#144 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuke Abbott LLCRUSSELL JAMES SCHICK

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Strum Machine

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month
4 purchases

Sessioneer

Subscriptions4
  • Supporter (Monthly)$0.991 Month
  • Patron (Monthly)$3.991 Month
  • Supporter (Annual)$6.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Patron (Annual)$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Strum Machine free?
Strum Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sessioneer free?
Sessioneer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Strum Machine or Sessioneer have ads?
Neither Strum Machine nor Sessioneer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Strum Machine or Sessioneer?
Strum Machine ships an update fortnightly, and Sessioneer every 3 weeks. Most recently, Strum Machine was updated on November 3, 2026 and Sessioneer on November 5, 2026.

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