# Piano vs Piano Apprentice

The clearest difference is rating: Piano at 5.0 against Piano Apprentice's 3.4. Piano also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Piano Apprentice's advantage is review sentiment (46% vs 9%) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 12 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Piano sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Piano Apprentice sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Piano holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Piano Apprentice has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 9% of Piano's written reviews are positive against 46% of Piano Apprentice's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Piano ships an update every 12 months, Piano Apprentice every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Piano | Piano Apprentice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano/id304925021/reviews)** | [3.4 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano-apprentice/id456471024/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **17** |
| Positive reviews | 8.8% of reviews | **46.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 28 MB | 75 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **8.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Alteru Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/434747758) | [ION Audio](https://appshunter.io/developer/456471027) |

## What reviewers say

### Piano

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano/id304925021)

This virtual piano app offers a full 88-key experience with recording capabilities for both piano play and voice. It features intuitive keyboard switching and a dual keyboard display, making it versatile for entertainment, training, and sharing musical creations.

**Highlights:** 88-key virtual piano, Record piano and voice, Intuitive keyboard switching, Dual keyboard display, Share soundtracks and sheet music

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Piano Ads Free | $1.99 | one-time |


### Piano Apprentice

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piano-apprentice/id456471024)

Learn piano with video lessons from a professional instructor. Follow along with visual cues on a compatible keyboard or learn to read sheet music. Practice songs at your own pace or simply enjoy improvising.

**Highlights:** Video piano lessons, Interactive keyboard lighting, Sheet music tutorials, Adjustable playback speed, Piano jam mode

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Holiday Song 3-Pack | $0.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👨‍🏫 Excellent instructor (Piano Guy) with patient, friendly teaching style
- 🎹 Works well with ION keyboard and other MIDI keyboards
- 📚 Sheet music feature helps with music reading
- 🆓 Free app with no paywall for core content
- 🎯 Effective for beginners learning basic songs quickly

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Video playback controls broken - cannot rewind/fast-forward
- 📥 Frequent download failures and missing content
- ⚡ App crashes and compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- 🎬 No video display in lessons (audio only)
- ⌨️ Keyboard keys unresponsive or not lighting up

**Reported bugs**

- Video seek/scrub functionality resets to beginning on iOS 6.1+
- Lessons fail to download or download incomplete
- Video displays blank screen with audio only
- Keys not lighting up during playback
- App fails to update or gets stuck on update screen

**Requested features**

- Add more songs to the library
- Implement proper video scrubbing/seek functionality
- Slow down instructor playback speed
- Add pause and rewind controls for videos
- Include left-hand chord notation in sheet music


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Piano free?

Piano is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Piano Apprentice free?

Piano Apprentice is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Piano or Piano Apprentice?

Piano is rated higher. Piano averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Piano Apprentice averages 3.4 from 17 ratings.

### Do Piano or Piano Apprentice have ads?

Neither Piano nor Piano Apprentice shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Piano or Piano Apprentice?

Piano ships an update every 12 months, and Piano Apprentice every 5 weeks. Most recently, Piano was updated on October 12, 2026 and Piano Apprentice on October 8, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*