Comparison

Tones vs Chords Pad

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

Head to head
About

Tones

Create music easily with simple tap controls. This app offers a range of high-quality sounds and tempo adjustments, making it accessible for all ages and musical experience levels. Shake your device to clear the sound pads.

Highlights
  • Tap to create music
  • High-quality sound selection
  • Adjustable tempo
  • Add columns for longer tunes
  • Shake to clear sound pads
Features
Read full description

Tones makes music creation easy for everyone. It really couldn't be any simpler. Even if you can't play a musical instrument, you'll be making cool sounding tunes in no time. You don't need any musical experience at all! Tones is so simple that people of all ages, from young children to adults, can begin effortlessly tapping across sound pads and begin creating fun and interesting sounds that will impress your friends and keep you happily entertained for hours. Features: - Simply tap to activate or deactivate sound pads and start creating music straight away. - Choose from a carefully selected range of high quality sounds. - Adjust the speed of your tune in the tempo menu. - Add extra columns to add length to your music. - Shake your device to quickly and easily clear the display of active sound pads.

About

Chords Pad

Explore musical chords with an interactive keyboard display and customizable pads. Visualize chord tones, experiment with progressions, and play notes via MIDI. Unlock advanced features and sounds through in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Chord tone display on keyboard
  • Customizable chord pads
  • Chord progression builder
  • MIDI Bluetooth support
  • Multiple chord list layouts
  • Adjustable keyboard range
Read full description

This app can easily check the sound and the display on the keyboard of the chord tone of musical chords. We have prepared various UI for checking the chords. Use the method that suits you. - Pad Display - Chord List - Pad Display - Custom Pad - Chord Progress [Chord List] You can select from the following patterns for the chord button list display. It supports chord reordering and toggling chord visibility. - Each key : Displays all types of chord patterns in a list for each key - Vertical : Displays all types of chord patterns vertically and each key horizontally - Horizontal : Displays all types of chord patterns horizontally with each key vertically [Custom pad] Larger buttons than the chord list are arranged. You can freely set the chord and key for each button. [Chord Progress] Displays a list of typical chord progressions. The chord buttons are arranged so that you can easily check the sound of the chord progression, and it supports chord changes. It also supports root shifts. In either case, when the chord button is tapped, the selected chord is played and the chord tone is displayed on the keyboard. * If you'd like to display all the chord patterns including tension (b9, # 9, 11, # 11, b13, 13), You need In-App Purchase. [Chord inversion area] When you select a chord in "Chord List" or "Custom Pad," its root position and inversions appear below the chord button area. Example: - CM7 : C E G B (Root position) - CM7/E : E G B C - CM7/G : G B C E - CM7/B : B C E G The note after "/" indicates the bass note. Scroll horizontally through the inversions and tap a button to play it and display its notes on the keyboard. The inversion area for "Custom Pad" can be shown or hidden with "Inversion display" in Settings. Other features: - Supports chord reordering and toggling chord visibility in the "Chord List". ([Settings screen] - [Edit Chord List]) - The keyboard can be slid with the slider. (range: C2 ~ C7) And the keyboard also supports playing. - There are 28 types in all kinds of sound. (It is 9 kinds can be used in the initial state. To use all type, you need In-App Purchase.) - Supports Bluetooth MIDI connection. - Supports sending MIDI messages (note on / off). Chord list: M, 7, 7(b5), 7(#5), 6, 6 9, 9, add9, M7, M9, M7(b5), M7(#5), m, m6, m6 9, m(#5), m add9, m7, mM7, m7(b5), m7(#5), m9, mM9, aug, dim, dim7, sus4, 7sus4, 9sus4, M7sus4, M9sus4, sus2, 7sus2, M7sus2 (To use below, you need In-App Purchase.) 7(b9), 7(#9), 7(#11), 7(b13), 7(13), 7(b9 #11), 7(b9 b13), 7(b9 13), 9(#11), 9(b13), 9(13), 7(#9 #11), 7(#9 b13), 7(#9 13), M7(#11), M9(#11), M7(13), M9(13), m7(11), m7(13), m9(11), m7(b5 11), m7(b5 13) If you would like to create more flexible chord progressions or compose music using chords, try iOS app "Piano Chords Master".

Screenshots

Tones4 screens
Chords Pad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Chords Pad at 4.8 against Tones's 3.5. Chords Pad also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 26 months) and ratings volume (93 vs 4). Tones's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Chords Pad sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Tones asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chords Pad holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chords Pad has 93 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Tones's written reviews are positive against 77% of Chords Pad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tones ships an update every 26 months, Chords Pad every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Tones versus Chords Pad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTonesChords Pad
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (4 ratings)4.8 (93 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews77.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings493 — better
Update frequencyEvery 26 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBen WalkerLoop-Sessions.LLC.

Customer experience

Tones

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

Chords Pad

All ratings93 ratings
Positive98.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive77.4%
Neutral9.7%
Negative12.9%

In-app purchases

None

Tones

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Chords Pad

One-time4
  • All sounds are available$0.99
  • Available sending MIDI message$0.99
  • All chords are available$2.49
Show 1 more
  • Always remove ads.$7.99

Questions

Is Tones free?
Tones is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chords Pad free?
Chords Pad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tones or Chords Pad?
Chords Pad is rated higher. Tones averages 3.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Chords Pad averages 4.8 from 93 ratings.
Do Tones or Chords Pad have ads?
Both Tones and Chords Pad show ads.
Which is updated more often, Tones or Chords Pad?
Tones ships an update every 26 months, and Chords Pad every 6 weeks. Most recently, Tones was updated on October 7, 2026 and Chords Pad on October 18, 2026.

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