Comparison

Well Tempered vs Nova Tuner

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

Head to head
About

Well Tempered

This app provides precise chromatic instrument tuning using your device's speaker and microphone. It offers a vast library of temperaments and customizable reference frequencies, along with a built-in keyboard for immediate sound testing. Control is also available via Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • Chromatic instrument tuner
  • Pitch pipe and tuning fork
  • 268 unique temperaments
  • Customizable reference frequency
  • Built-in keyboard for testing
  • Apple Watch control
Features
Read full description

Well Tempered is a chromatic instrument tuner, pitch pipe and tuning fork using your iPhone or iPads speaker and microphone, or an external microphone. Well Tempered features 268 unique temperaments that you can customize to start with any of 12 notes, totalling 3205 unique tunings! You can define a precise reference frequency, such as A = 417.32 Hz, making Well Tempered a favourite among instrument makers. With all these tuning options, Well Tempered provides a keyboard so that you can play with the tuning right away to decide if this is the tuning you want for the music you will play on your instrument. Control the tuner through your Apple Watch Made by musicians, for musicians with input from musicians

About

Nova Tuner

A professional chromatic tuner designed for musicians, especially those in Early Music. It offers extensive temperament support, custom profile creation, and a clean interface for precise instrument tuning. No internet connection or data collection required.

Highlights
  • Extensive built-in temperaments
  • Add and create custom temperaments
  • User profiles for quick settings
  • Sound and Auto detection modes
  • Adjustable A4 pitch detector
  • Multiple waveform options
  • Light and dark mode support
Features
Read full description

Written for professionals, especially those in the field of Early Music, Nova Tuner is a fully featured, accurate, chromatic tuner with extensive temperament support. A full demonstration of the app is on YouTube: https://youtu.be/egkAFaICdXY?si=peIM6QvGHLqXMqtD Nova Tuner was written by professional fortepianist and harpsichordist, Thomas Foster. MAIN FEATURES - Sound Mode (reference pitch) and Auto Mode (detect pitch) - Clean and simple interface - About 30 built-in temperaments (see www.thomasfoster.org/novatuner for full list) - Add/Create new temperaments. - Duplicate and edit built-in temperaments - Create profiles to quickly set pitch and temperament for frequently used settings. - A4 pitch detector to quickly determine an instrument's pitch level. - Quick selection of common pitch levels: 392, 415, 430, and 440 Hz (these are customizable). - Four waveforms for audible note: Sawtooth, Square, Triangle, Sine. - No data is collected, no internet connection is required. INTERFACE - All tuner information (pitch level, temperament, etc) clearly visible on main screen. - Standard, simple iOS appearance and controls. - Large and intuitive adjustment buttons (no fussy scroll wheels). - Light and dark mode. - Supports portrait and landscape orientations. - Note names in English, German, and Neo-Latin (do, re, mi) TEMPERAMENTS - Temperaments can be transposed - Add, duplicate and edit temperaments - Favorite frequently used temperaments - Filter by favorited and custom - Search entire list of temperaments by name or information (creator, type, year, etc.) - Hide unwanted temperaments so they don't appear in the list or search SPECIFICATIONS Transposition range: -11 to +11 semitones Detection range: A0 to C8 Reference tone: C2 to B7 Tuning modes: Sound, Auto, Auto with Sound Back Calibration range: A4=300-500 Hz, 0.1 Hz increments

Screenshots

Well Tempered4 screens
Nova Tuner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nova Tuner at 100% against Well Tempered's 40%. Nova Tuner also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (32 vs 3). Well Tempered's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and price ($4.99 vs $7.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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

Well Tempered costs $4.99 and Nova Tuner $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nova Tuner holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nova Tuner has 32 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Well Tempered's written reviews are positive against 100% of Nova Tuner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Well Tempered ships an update every 2 months, Nova Tuner every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Well Tempered versus Nova Tuner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWell TemperedNova Tuner
Price$4.99 — better$7.99
Rating3.7 (3 ratings)4.7 (32 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings332 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.1
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNiklas SaersThomas J Foster

Customer experience

Well Tempered

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

Nova Tuner

All ratings32 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Well Tempered

No in-app purchases

None

Nova Tuner

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Well Tempered free?
Well Tempered costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nova Tuner free?
Nova Tuner costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Well Tempered or Nova Tuner?
Nova Tuner is rated higher. Well Tempered averages 3.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Nova Tuner averages 4.7 from 32 ratings.
Do Well Tempered or Nova Tuner have ads?
Neither Well Tempered nor Nova Tuner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Well Tempered or Nova Tuner?
Well Tempered ships an update every 2 months, and Nova Tuner every 5 months. Most recently, Well Tempered was updated on September 21, 2026 and Nova Tuner on September 22, 2026.

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