Comparison

iReal Pro vs RealPlay

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

Head to head
About

iReal Pro

This app provides a virtual band accompaniment for musicians to practice with, offering realistic sounding instruments and a variety of styles. It also functions as a digital chord chart book, allowing users to create, edit, and share their own song charts.

Highlights
  • Virtual band accompaniment
  • Create, edit, and share chord charts
  • Thousands of downloadable songs
  • Chord diagrams and scale recommendations
  • Practice exercises and transposition
  • Export charts and audio
  • Cloud synchronization
Features
Read full description

iReal Pro is two things musicians love in one app: a realistic backing band that plays along with you, and a huge free library of chord charts you can pull up anytime — at practice, at a jam session, or on a gig. Need to transpose a song for a singer? Done. Want to practice with a full rhythm section behind you? Hit play. Named one of TIME Magazine's 50 Best Inventions and trusted by thousands of students, teachers, and pros at schools like Berklee College of Music — iReal Pro has been helping musicians get better since 2008. BAND • 50 accompaniment styles — Swing, Bossa Nova, Blues, Funk, Rock, Bluegrass, Reggae, Latin, Gypsy Jazz, Country, and more • Customize each style with acoustic or electric piano, Fender Rhodes, guitars, upright or electric bass, drums, vibraphone, organ • 40 additional styles — blues, salsa, Brazilian — available as in-app purchases BOOK • Download thousands of free chord charts shared by the iReal Pro community • Create your own charts in minutes with the built-in editor • Organize charts into playlists for gigs, sets, or lessons PRACTICE • Adjust tempo, loop difficult sections, transpose to any key • Automatic tempo increase and key cycling for focused practice • Global Eb, Bb, F, and G transposition for horn players REFERENCE • Guitar, ukulele, and piano fingerings for any chord • Tap any chord in your chart to see how it's played • Scale suggestions for improvisation SHARE • Share charts and playlists with other iReal Pro users • Export charts as PDF or MusicXML • Export backing tracks as audio or MIDI files • Sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud FOR TEACHERS • Create playlists of exercises or tunes for students • Use in the classroom, over live stream, or while screen-sharing lessons We're a small team of musicians who built this app because we needed it ourselves. We hope you enjoy using it as much as we do.

About

RealPlay

Practice music with authentic backing tracks performed by professional musicians. Customize tempo, key, and mix for focused learning. Features over 100 standard chord progressions with an expanding library.

Highlights
  • Authentic backing tracks
  • 100+ standard chord progressions
  • Real-time tempo adjustment
  • Instrument isolation and mixing
  • Instant transposition to all keys
Features
Read full description

RealPlay lets you practice with real music—not midi tracks, AI, or loops. Play along with authentic backing tracks performed by world-class rhythm sections, featuring an expanding library of over 100 essential standard chord progressions. Easily customize your practice with real-time controls for tempo, key, and mix—so you can focus on exactly what you need. Features: • World-class rhythm sections • 100+ essential jazz standards and chord progressions (expanding library) • Real-time tempo adjustment • Instrument isolation and mixing (ideal for rhythm section players) • Instant transposition to all 12 keys Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

iReal Pro4 screens
RealPlay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: RealPlay at Free against iReal Pro's $21.99. RealPlay also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). iReal Pro's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 170) and chart position (#5 vs unranked). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

RealPlay is free to download; iReal Pro costs $21.99 up front. iReal Pro sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and RealPlay sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.29 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for iReal Pro against 4.8 for RealPlay. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iReal Pro has 11K ratings behind it against 170, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of iReal Pro's written reviews are positive against 73% of RealPlay's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iReal Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, RealPlay every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
iReal Pro versus RealPlay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriReal ProRealPlay
Price$21.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (11K ratings) — better4.8 (170 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better73.2% of reviews
Number of ratings11K — better170
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size179 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTechnimo LLCRealPlay LLC

Customer experience

iReal Pro

All ratings11,148 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews1,010 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral8.0%
Negative8.7%

RealPlay

All ratings164 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive73.2%
Neutral12.2%
Negative14.6%

Bugs and requests

iReal Pro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional skipping or timing issues with playback
  • Trouble with registration and login process
  • Compatibility issues with newer devices or operating systems

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add ability to write rhythm notation
  • Integrate with Real Books
  • Improve sound quality and add more instrument options
  • Add melodies and lyrics support
  • Improve chord editing and customization
Show 2 more
  • Add more styles and grooves
  • Improve sync and backup functionality across devices

RealPlay

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

iReal Pro

One-time3
  • Blues style backing tracks$6.99
  • Salsa style backing tracks$6.99
  • Brazilian backing tracks$6.99
2 purchases

RealPlay

Subscriptions2
  • RealPlay Pro Monthly$3.291 Month
  • RealPlay Pro Yearly$21.991 Year

Questions

Is iReal Pro free?
iReal Pro costs $21.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is RealPlay free?
RealPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iReal Pro or RealPlay?
iReal Pro is rated higher. iReal Pro averages 4.9 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while RealPlay averages 4.8 from 170 ratings.
Do iReal Pro or RealPlay have ads?
Neither iReal Pro nor RealPlay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iReal Pro or RealPlay?
iReal Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, and RealPlay every 5 days. Most recently, iReal Pro was updated on October 28, 2026 and RealPlay on October 28, 2026.

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