Comparison

iGuzheng⁺ vs Harp Real

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

Head to head
About

iGuzheng⁺

This app allows users to play the Guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument, with ease. Its innovative "Follow Play" feature provides real-time prompts, making it accessible for beginners to perform professional pieces. It supports a wide range of playing techniques and offers additional instrument sounds.

Highlights
  • Follow Play real-time prompts
  • Supports 21 strings
  • Record and playback songs
  • High-quality stereo samples
  • Additional instrument sounds
  • Customizable tuning
Features
Read full description

iGuzheng's innovative "Follow Play" feature allows even complete beginners to effortlessly play professional Guzheng pieces! Guzheng is a Chinese plucked zither that dates back to 500 B.C. It is rich in playing techniques. The performer plucks the strings with his right-hand fingernails, while his left-hand fingers apply pressure to the strings to execute vibratos, slides, and other embellishments , as well as occasional plucking techniques. iGuzheng supports many playing techniques, like an acoustic Guzheng: · Playing techniques for Right Hand: Pluck, Glissando, Tremolo (Shake/摇指), Automatic Tremolo, Overtone · Playing techniques for Left Hand: Pitch Slide, Small Vibrato, Big Vibrato, Tap Pitch (Dian Yin – 点音) Main Features: √ Follow Play: iGuzheng's original "Follow Play" feature combines Guzheng playing symbols with string positions to provide real-time playing prompts, allowing even complete beginners to effortlessly play professional Guzheng pieces! ** Supports setting to follow only the right-hand part or both hands! ** When following only the right-hand part, iGuzheng will automatically play the left-hand part for you! ** Can be set to automatically play left-hand pressing actions: pressed notes, glissando, vibrato, etc. [Appendix] Meanings of various lines in Follow Play: Vertical line – Represents a "chord line," commonly used for major plucks, minor plucks, and chords. Wavy line – Represents a "glissando line," commonly used for ornamental notes, glissando, double thumb, heavy thumb, etc. Fine dashed line – Represents a "note group." All notes connected by fine dashed lines form a note group, which may consist of common fingering combinations (alternating thumb and middle finger, four-note patterns, etc.), grace notes, triplets, arpeggiated chords, rhythmic patterns, etc. Horizontal thick dashed line – Represents a "tremolo line," indicating the start and end times of the tremolo. √ Flexible Guzheng View — easy scrolling and zooming with drag/pinch gestures on the Pitch Slider Bar. √ Record your songs, and songs can be played back with animations. √ You can share your songs (*.igz or *.m4a) √ High-quality stereo samples from Guzheng. √ Additional instrument sounds: Harp, Marimba, Pipa, Ruan , Dulcimer √ Full 21 strings. √ Automatically play "Shake" technique (自动摇指) when you move your touch on the string horizontally. √ Smart snapping to the correct pitch grid when moving the pitch slider. √ Portamento / Vibrato. √ Overtone : use two fingers to tap strings at the same time. √ "Dian Yin" Effect (点音/Tap Pitch) : tap the pitch slider after plucking a string to create the "Dian Yin" sound effect. √ Tuning as standard Guzheng tunings or custom tuning. √ Transpose control .

About

Harp Real

This app simulates a 27-string lever harp, offering a realistic playing experience with a wide frequency range. Practice songs with adjustable speed and transposition, or play in real-time. Record and share your music.

Highlights
  • 27-string lever harp simulation
  • Frequency range C3 to A6#
  • Offline and online song practice
  • Adjustable song speed and transposition
  • Reverb effect
  • Normal and RealTime play modes
  • Autoplay option
  • Record, playback, and share functionality
Features
Read full description

The Harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3500 BC. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, where it evolved into a wide range of variants with new technologies, and was disseminated to Europe's colonies, finding particular popularity in Latin America. Although some ancient members of the harp family died out in the Near East and South Asia, descendants of early harps are still played in Myanmar and parts of Africa, and other defunct variants in Europe and Asia have been utilized by musicians in the modern era. Harps vary globally in many ways. In terms of size, many smaller harps can be played on the lap, whereas larger harps are quite heavy and rest on the floor. Different harps may use strings of catgut, nylon, metal, or some combination. While all harps have a neck, resonator, and strings, frame harps have a pillar at their long end to support the strings, while open harps, such as arch harps and bow harps, do not. Modern harps also vary in techniques used to extend the range and chromaticism (e.g., adding sharps and flats) of the strings, such as adjusting a string's note mid-performance with levers or pedals which modify the pitch. The pedal harp is a standard instrument in the orchestra of the Romantic music era (ca. 1800–1910) and the contemporary music era. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harp) The Harp Real is Lever Harp (Celtic Harp) 27 strings simulation app with lever feature. Frequency range: C3 -> A6#. More offline and online songs for practice (With the ability to change speed, transpose, reverb). Play with 2 modes: - Normal - RealTime You can choose autoplay for listening songs. Record feature: record, play back and share to your friends. ** Songs is updated regularly

Screenshots

iGuzheng⁺4 screens
Harp Real4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Harp Real at Free against iGuzheng⁺'s $2.99. Harp Real also leads on ratings volume (646 vs 23). iGuzheng⁺'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 15 months). On rating, in-app purchases, device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Harp Real is free to download; iGuzheng⁺ costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for iGuzheng⁺ against 4.7 for Harp Real. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Harp Real has 646 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of iGuzheng⁺'s written reviews are positive against 68% of Harp Real's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iGuzheng⁺ ships an update every 4 weeks, Harp Real every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
iGuzheng⁺ versus Harp Real: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriGuzheng⁺Harp Real
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (23 ratings) — better4.7 (646 ratings)
Positive reviews85.5% of reviews — better67.9% of reviews
Number of ratings23646 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterEvery 15 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size132 MB97 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperSupertintin Co., LtdSon Truong Ngoc

Customer experience

iGuzheng⁺

All ratings23 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews110 reviews
Positive85.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative10.9%

Harp Real

All ratings635 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive67.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative25.0%

User reviews

iGuzheng⁺

From 23 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎶 Beautiful sound quality
  • 👍 Realistic playing experience
  • 📱 Intuitive and well-made app
  • 💡 Frequent updates and developer support
  • 🎵 Wide variety of songs available

Room to improve

  • 🎶 Limited song selection
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes
  • 📉 Songs are too short
  • 🤔 Difficulty with certain techniques
  • 💸 Some users feel it's overpriced

Harp Real

From 646 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎵 Realistic harp sound quality
  • 💰 Free app with premium features
  • 🎛️ Adjustable parameters (reverb, room size, tuning levers)
  • 🎼 Built-in songs included
  • 😌 Relaxing and enjoyable to play

Room to improve

  • 📢 Unexpected ads during gameplay
  • 📖 Lack of instruction manual/documentation
  • 🔊 Sound issues for some users
  • 🎵 Pitch accuracy problems reported
  • ❌ Missing second hand notes for some songs

Bugs and requests

iGuzheng⁺

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App crashes when selecting song directory
  • No sound after update (on tablet)
  • Cannot change tuning after update (on tablet)
  • Yao-Zhi pops up too often
  • No sound after download (historically)
Show 7 more
  • App crashes on iOS 7 (historically)
  • No sound on iPad Mini with iOS 7 (historically)
  • Latency issues
  • Pitch bend sounds artificial
  • Fixed repeat rate for note repetition gesture
  • No sound on third run
  • Glitches causing no sound

Requested features

25 requests
  • Export music sheets/tabs
  • Download music files/videos
  • Print music sheets
  • Song suggestion system
  • Gesture practice modules
Show 20 more
  • More popular/trending songs
  • More traditional Guzheng songs
  • AUv3/Audiobus compatibility
  • MIDI support
  • Zoom gesture lock toggle
  • Customizable string count (21-13)
  • User-customizable backgrounds
  • Add specific songs (e.g., Jay Chou's, The Untamed OST, 'Ren Jian Yan Huo', 'Xue Shan Chun Xiao', 'Yu Zhou Chang Wan', 'Wo Yuan Yi')
  • Practice mode with metronome
  • Ability to record oneself playing along
  • More beginner-friendly tutorials/lessons
  • Explanation of complex fingerings/techniques
  • Ability to control string selection range during follow-play
  • Left-hand string pressure control
  • Add Chinese names for songs
  • Integrated audio tracks for practice
  • Adjustable string distance
  • More realistic 'Yaozhi' sound
  • Option to change general pitch/sound quality
  • Santoor app

Harp Real

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • No sound output for some users
  • Volume control not easily accessible
  • Incorrect pitches in some instances
  • App not functioning properly on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Background play functionality
  • Transpose button
  • Second hand notes for all songs
  • Better documentation/tutorial

In-app purchases

None

iGuzheng⁺

No in-app purchases

None

Harp Real

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iGuzheng⁺ free?
iGuzheng⁺ costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Harp Real free?
Harp Real is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iGuzheng⁺ or Harp Real?
iGuzheng⁺ is rated higher. iGuzheng⁺ averages 4.8 out of 5 from 23 ratings, while Harp Real averages 4.7 from 646 ratings.
Do iGuzheng⁺ or Harp Real have ads?
Harp Real shows ads; iGuzheng⁺ does not.
Which is updated more often, iGuzheng⁺ or Harp Real?
iGuzheng⁺ ships an update every 4 weeks, and Harp Real every 15 months. Most recently, iGuzheng⁺ was updated on October 29, 2026 and Harp Real on October 26, 2026.

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