Piano Apprentice vs Piano Sim
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Piano Apprentice
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.
- Video piano lessons
- Interactive keyboard lighting
- Sheet music tutorials
- Adjustable playback speed
- Piano jam mode
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Learn to play piano the easy way with Piano Apprentice! Piano lesson videos are provided by The Piano Guy, a.k.a. Scott Houston. Just press “Piano Lessons”, pick the song you want to learn and he will show you how easy it is to play popular melodies. Start with the Right Hand alone, then the Left. Once those are mastered he will show you how to put your hands together! If you are using the Ion Piano Apprentice keyboard, the notes will light up along with Scott’s hands. Follow the lights and begin playing music instantly! Or, if you want to learn to read notes, select “Sheet Music” from the home screen. Then, you can choose to watch a basic tutorial on reading notes, or just dive right in to the song of your choice. Speed controls are provided for controlling the playback tempo, so you can learn at your own pace. Of course you can just have fun playing the piano and making up your own melodies by selecting “Piano Jam”.
Piano Sim
This app brings the piano experience to your device with high-quality sounds and versatile play modes. Explore different piano types, shape your sound with effects, and customize the layout for an immersive musical journey. Record and share your performances easily.
- Three distinct piano types
- Multiple flexible play modes
- Expressive real-time effects
- Customizable key width and note display
- Microtonal tuning and transpose function
- Record, share, and screenshot performances
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Step into the expressive world of piano performance with Piano Sim! Whether you're a seasoned pianist, a music enthusiast, or a curious beginner, Piano Sim brings the beauty of piano music to your fingertips. Featuring high-quality sounds, versatile play modes, powerful effects, and rich customization options, this app offers a complete and deeply immersive piano experience. Three Piano Types – Three Distinct Characters Explore a curated collection of premium piano sounds to match your musical mood and style: Grand Piano – Rich, warm, and resonant—perfect for classical and cinematic performances. Digital Piano – Clean, modern tones ideal for pop, ambient, and electronic compositions. Honky Tonk Piano – Bright and nostalgic with a slightly detuned charm—great for jazz, blues, and retro vibes. Flexible Play Modes for Full Musical Control Tailor your playing experience with three intuitive sound behavior modes: Multi Note Mode: Play freely with full polyphony—perfect for chords and expressive melodies. Single Note Mode: Only one note can play at a time—ideal for lead lines and monophonic styles. No Hold Mode: Notes stop immediately when you release the key, just like on a synth or organ. Expressive Effects to Shape Your Sound Reverb: Add spaciousness and ambiance to your performance. Chorus: Enrich your tone with lush, layered harmonics. Sensitive Play Mode: The lower part of each key plays louder when touched—allowing dynamic control key by key, simulating real pressure-based sensitivity. Visual and Functional Flexibility Note Display Options: Choose between traditional Do Re Mi notation or scientific note names like C1, D1, E1...—perfect for all skill levels. Adjustable Key Width: Seamlessly navigate all 88 keys of a full piano with adaptive key sizing, so you can play complete pieces even on small screens. Advanced Musical Controls Microtonal Tuning: Perform Eastern modes and alternative scales with precise pitch control. Transpose Function: Instantly shift the pitch of the entire keyboard to suit your voice or instrument range. Capture and Share Your Creativity Record Your Music: Save your performances with a single tap. Share Anywhere: Send your recordings via messaging apps or post them directly on social media. Take Screenshots: Capture visual moments of your performance and share them just as easily. Why Piano Sim Stands Out Three Distinct Pianos with beautiful, professionally sampled sounds Three Sound Modes for ultimate playing flexibility Real-Time Effects and per-key dynamics for expressiveness Microtone + Transpose Support for advanced musical exploration Recording, Sharing & Screenshot Features built into the app Customizable Layout and note display modes Modern, Intuitive Interface designed for all ages and skill levels Download Piano Sim today and experience the freedom, creativity, and power of piano music—wherever you go!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Piano Sim at 5.0 against Piano Apprentice's 3.4. Piano Apprentice's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (17 vs 5). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Piano Apprentice sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Piano Sim sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Piano Sim holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 5 respectively.
Piano Apprentice ships an update every 5 weeks, Piano Sim every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Piano Apprentice | Piano Sim |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (17 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 130 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ION Audio | Alper Kahriman |
Customer experience
Piano Apprentice
Piano Sim
Bugs and requests
Piano Apprentice
Reported bugs
10 issues- 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
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- Content vanishes after app closure
- Keyboard unresponsive without app connection
- Playback controls broken on iPad 2 and newer iOS versions
- Sheet music playback has same seek issues as video
- Download pending indefinitely without completion
Requested features
14 requests- 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
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- Add chord training and music theory lessons
- Implement adjustable tempo/BPM controls
- Add different difficulty levels for beginners vs advanced
- Include note labeling on sheet music
- Add voice-over identifying note names
- Provide downloadable content for offline use
- Create in-app song purchase options
- Add headphone jack to keyboard
- Extend keyboard to full octave range
Piano Sim
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Piano Apprentice
- Holiday Song 3-Pack$0.99
Piano Sim
- Get Premium$9.99
Questions
Is Piano Apprentice free?
Is Piano Sim free?
Which has better reviews, Piano Apprentice or Piano Sim?
Do Piano Apprentice or Piano Sim have ads?
Which is updated more often, Piano Apprentice or Piano Sim?
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