Polychord vs Chordable
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Polychord
Create music with an intuitive interface that makes playing chords easy for everyone. Explore songwriting, strum and solo with confidence, and even add auto-accompaniment. Advanced MIDI features allow integration with popular music production software.
- Play chords from diverse palettes
- Strum and solo in key
- Auto-accompaniment band feature
- MIDI control for DAWs
- Songwriting tools
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Polychord turns your iPad into a chord instrument — a full band at your fingertips. Nine chord circles hold every chord in your key — arranged so the right one is always under your fingers. Tap a circle to hear it, and the ring around it offers the colors: sevenths, sixths, suspensions. Strum across the keys like a harp. You can't hit a wrong note, and you never have to stop and think. Flip on Auto Accompany and a rhythm section falls in behind you: bass and drums that follow every chord change you make, in styles from folk to funk to krautrock. One finger becomes a band. When something good happens, hit record. Loop, layer, and bounce it to audio, or export multi-track MIDI with chords, strum, bass, arpeggiator, and drums on separate tracks, ready for your DAW. In the studio, Polychord comes with you. The AUv3 MIDI-effect plugin puts the chord grid inside DAWs like Logic Pro that support MIDI effects, and MIDI in and out means it can play — or be played by — everything else you own. Whether you've played for twenty years or never learned an instrument, Polychord closes the gap between imagining music and making it. FEATURES • Nine chord circles covering the full harmony of any major or minor key • Chord palettes for folk, jazz, gospel, bossa nova, soul, cinematic, and more • Strum keys with pitch bend • Auto Accompany: bass lines and drum patterns that follow your chords • Arpeggiator with adjustable direction, rate, and octave span • Built-in wavetable synth with ADSR envelopes, filter, delay, and bitcrusher • Record performances and bounce to audio • Multi-track MIDI export: chords, strum, bass, arpeggiator, and drums on separate tracks • MIDI out to any app or hardware; MIDI in to trigger chords from a keyboard • You can even split your MIDI output to trigger multiple instruments at once in DAWs like Logic • AUv3 MIDI-effect plugin: play the chord grid inside your favorite host • AUv3 works in DAWs like Logic Pro that support MIDI effect plug-ins Polychord is a one-time purchase. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no account. Your music stays yours.
Chordable
This app generates chords for music production, offering universal DAW and MIDI controller compatibility. It features smart voicing, strumming effects, and key signature selection to enhance compositions.
- Universal DAW and MIDI controller compatibility
- Chord generation (triads to complex jazz chords)
- Smart chord voicing
- Spread, humanize, and strum effects
- Adjustable strum patterns
- Key signature selection
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Introducing Chordable, the ultimate chord generation tool that elevates your music production experience. Designed to work seamlessly with your DAW and MIDI controller, Chordable unlocks a world of harmonic possibilities at your fingertips. Key Features: - Universal Compatibility: Effortlessly connect with your DAW and MIDI controller for a smooth and hassle-free setup. - Chord Generation: From simple triads to complex jazz chords, create stunning chord progressions with ease. - Smart Voicing: Chordable intelligently selects the most pleasing chord voicings, ensuring your music always sounds professional. - Spread, Humanize & Strum: Add depth and realism to your chords with adjustable spread, humanization, and strumming effects. - Strum Patterns: Choose from a variety of strum patterns to suit any genre or style, and bring your compositions to life. - Key Signature: Easily play in any key signature, making Chordable the perfect companion for songwriters and composers. - And More! Chordable is your go-to solution for composing and producing music with unparalleled ease and versatility. Download now and unlock your full creative potential with Chordable – where harmony meets innovation. By downloading this app, you agree to the standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA). Read them here: http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chordable at Free against Polychord's $9.99. Chordable also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Polychord's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement 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
Chordable is free to download; Polychord costs $9.99 up front. Chordable sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Polychord asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chordable holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39 and 98 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Polychord's written reviews are positive against 87% of Chordable's.
Polychord ships an update every 2 months, Chordable every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Polychord | Chordable |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (39 ratings) | 4.8 (98 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.8% of reviews | 87.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 39 | 98 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Apposite | MattPfeiffer Apps LLC |
Customer experience
Polychord
Chordable
Bugs and requests
Polychord
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes during recording
- Incompatible with iOS 8+ on older devices
- MIDI off messages not sent properly
- Sporadic glitches with Logic Pro and GarageBand
- Sound occasionally disappears until app restart
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- Strum keys disappear or become unresponsive
- Record button resets project
- Chord release affects all sustained chords
- Visual glitches on Retina display
- App not receiving updates for compatibility
Requested features
20 requests- Custom chord creation and palette selection
- Copy and paste functionality
- Save and load configurations/presets
- Additional instrument sounds and drum kits
- Retina display support
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- Metronome and click track
- Recording improvements (overdub, undo)
- Visual chord progression tracker
- Velocity control via accelerometer
- Chord builder for custom chords
- Master tune control
- Extended chord types (M9, m9, M13, etc.)
- Slash chords support
- More scales (bebop, mixolydian, etc.)
- Strum keys with note labels
- Full iPad width strum section
- AUv3 plugin support
- Inverted chord options
- MIDI channel routing
- Audio copy/paste support
Chordable
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Polychord
No in-app purchases
Chordable
- Chordable Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Chordable Pro Discounted$19.99
- Chordable Pro Lifetime$59.99









