PolyTune vs D'Tools
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PolyTune
This application provides a powerful and accurate tuning tool for musicians. It allows for simultaneous tuning of all strings, supports various guitar and bass modes, and offers drop tunings. Its technology is based on a highly-regarded pedal tuner used by professionals.
- Tune all strings at once
- Guitar/bass mode
- Drop tunings support
- Award-winning pedal technology
- Chromatic tuning modes
- High accuracy
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It's the most powerful tool you've ever had in your pants! You know ... for tuning. That said, this is one of those nuggets on the App store you cannot afford to miss if you value being in tune and you take your smartphone with you when you go places. Yes to both? Then it's a no-brainer! - Tune all strings at once! Just strum your guitar, and see the pitch of all strings instantly. - Guitar/bass mode - Drop-tunings - 1:1 port of the award-winning PolyTune pedal (Guitar Player, Guitar World, Premier Guitar, MIPA, NAMM Best in Show 2010, etc.) - Based one the world’s best selling pedal tuner used by countless pros such as Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Steve Morse, Orianthi and many more! PolyTune is the world's first polyphonic tuner that will have future guitarists wondering how we ever got by without it. The magic lies in a never before seen approach to tuning aimed at speed, accuracy and ease of use, which allows you to get in tune fast, and back to doing what you love: playing. The PolyTune iPhone app is a 1:1 port of the award-winning PolyTune pedal tuner, and PolyTune for iPhone delivers exactly the same features and tuning technology as the pedal version. The pedal version is the fastest way to tune on-stage, whereas the iPhone app is the fastest and most convenient way to tune off-stage. Specifications: - Reference pitch from 435Hz to 445Hz - Drop tuning from E-flat to B - 0.5 cent accuracy - 2 chromatic tuning modes: Needle and Stream - MonoPoly recognizes whether one or several strings are played at once
D'Tools
This app is a comprehensive toolkit for guitarists, offering features like a chord library, scale explorer, digital tuner, and metronome. It provides professional-grade utilities to help players of all levels improve their technique and explore musical possibilities.
- Chord library with 7,000+ chords
- Scale and arpeggio explorer
- Professional-grade digital tuner
- Hyper-accurate digital metronome
- Chord finder by fret selection
- Lefty mode for chords
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Newly updated to support the latest iPhones and iOS 12, D'Tools (formerly Guitar Tools) is the ultimate hand-held utility kit for guitar players of any style or skill level, brought to you by D'Addario & Company, Inc., the world's largest designer, manufacturer and distributor of musical instrument accessories. Enjoy the full functionality of the Chordmaster and Scale Wizard apps, the core features of ProTune and ProTempo. Developed exclusively for iOS by the minds at Audiofile Engineering, D'Tools packs a wealth of easy-to-use, professional-grade guitar utilities into one elegant application for your iPhone or iPod touch. FEATURES: CHORDS Explore a library of more than 7,000 guitar chords by simply tapping and strumming the touch screen. View chords in every position up and down the guitar neck and hear each one played back in pristine audio. There's even a "lefty" mode for the oft-neglected southpaw. CHORD FINDER You know how to play it, but what do you call it? Select frets and finger positions to discover the proper name for your chord. SCALES Improve your technique by choosing from thousands of scales, modes and arpeggios to practice. Try multiple positions and alternate tunings to boost your versatility. Use "big stretches" for unique, challenging fingerings. TUNER Keep your instrument in tune with a professional-grade digital tuner, powered by Audiofile Engineering's precise AETune™ pitch detection technology. Choose between strobe or needle interface and access dozens of presets. METRONOME Keep in time with a hyper-accurate and visually stunning digital metronome. Set tempos numerically or by tapping the touch screen. Choose from multiple sounds and time signatures. --- D'Tools was developed by Audiofile Engineering, a leading developer of audio software for OS X and iOS.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: D'Tools at Free against PolyTune's $4.99. D'Tools also leads on rating (3.6 vs 2.8) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 40 months). PolyTune's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (66% vs 49%). On ratings volume, ads 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
D'Tools is free to download; PolyTune costs $4.99 up front. D'Tools sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PolyTune asks for nothing beyond the download.
D'Tools holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 79 and 30 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 66% of PolyTune's written reviews are positive against 49% of D'Tools's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
PolyTune ships an update every 40 months, D'Tools every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PolyTune | D'Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.8 (79 ratings) | 3.6 (30 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.7% of reviews — better | 49.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 79 — better | 30 |
| Update frequency | Every 40 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #184 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TC Electronic | D'Addario & Company, Inc. |
Customer experience
PolyTune
D'Tools
User reviews
PolyTune
From 79 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🩵 Works really well
- 💯 Accurate and precise
- 🔢 Polyphonic tuning mode
- 🎨 Customizable display colors
- 🔌 Works with electric and acoustic guitars
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes or freezes on newer iOS versions
- 🔇 Struggles to pick up low strings or in noisy environments
- ⏱️ Screen dims during use
- 🚫 No support for alternate/custom tunings
- 💤 Drains battery quickly when running in background
D'Tools
From 30 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎸 Comprehensive all-in-one guitar tool (tuner, metronome, chord finder, scales)
- 👍 User-friendly and intuitive interface
- 💰 Free or affordable pricing
- 🎯 Accurate tuner (when working properly)
- 📚 Extensive chord and scale library
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes, especially with chord finder
- 🔊 Audio/sound issues after app closure or phone reboot
- 📱 Microphone access problems on newer iOS versions
- 🎵 Tuner accuracy issues (reads sharp or flat)
- ⚠️ Poor app support and unresponsive developers
Bugs and requests
PolyTune
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on launch
- Unable to detect or tune certain strings
- Inaccurate tuning readings
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for 432Hz tuning
- Implement custom tuning options
- Improve compatibility with external audio interfaces
- Add a dedicated on/off switch
D'Tools
Reported bugs
14 issues- Chord finder crashes app repeatedly
- Tuner stops working after iOS updates
- Microphone access not granted or requested properly
- Audio/sound stops working after app closure
- Metronome has no sound intermittently
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- App crashes when accessing 'Find Stores' or 'Find Teachers' features
- Chord finder displays 'no chord' for valid chords
- Tuner reads notes sharp or flat (off by semitones)
- App crashes after receiving phone calls
- Chord finder cannot recognize bar chords
- Cannot select open strings in chord finder
- App requires internet connection to function
- Incompatibility with iOS 7, 8, 11, and 12.5.7
- Tuner frequency range too limited (doesn't go below A1)
Requested features
13 requests- Mute button for metronome
- Bluetooth audio output for metronome
- Dark mode/dark background for tuner visibility
- Ability to change tuning in chord dictionary
- Auto-play feature for continuous chord/scale playback
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Poly-rhythm metronome
- 3 notes per string scale display option
- Bass-specific scale options
- Ability to play pitch reference tone (440Hz, etc.)
- Support for alternate tunings
- Background metronome playback during multitasking
- Restore previous purchases button
- Microphone access request on app launch
In-app purchases
PolyTune
No in-app purchases
D'Tools
- Buzz Feiten Tuning System$19.99








