Comparison

StringMaster vs HEY CLAY®

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

Head to head
About

StringMaster

This comprehensive music learning app offers tools for chord building, scale visualization, songwriting, and instrument tuning. It supports a wide range of instruments and provides features for both beginners and seasoned musicians.

Highlights
  • Chord building and detection
  • Scale visualization and playback
  • Songwriting tools
  • Chromatic tuner and metronome
  • Fretboard learning
  • Alternate tuning and capo support
  • Piano keyboard mapping
Features
Read full description

Introducing StringMaster, the original heart of the StringMaster family of applications that represent the pinnacle of advanced music applications for iPad and Mac, tailored for musicians ranging from relative beginners to seasoned guitarists. The StringMaster family has five versions catering to diverse needs with StringMaster providing most of the features of the Pro version, with the exception of Fretlight Guitar support and the Jam/MIDI capability, though in app upgrades are available for these features. Unlock a world of possibilities with support for chord building and detection, chord tones, scales, and songwriting, backed by a chromatic tuner, metronome, fretboard learning, flexible alternate tuning and capo support for any instrument in any orientation, and more. The StringMaster family boasts over 150,000 users and having held the #1 Music App position in 34 countries. It supports an array of instruments, from acoustic and electric guitars to bass guitars, banjos, mandolins, ukuleles, pianos, and even balalaikas. Dive into a rich sound library with distortion, reverb, or piano options for any instrument. Whether you're a guitarist, bassist, or multi-instrumentalist, StringMaster has you covered. Key features include chord building and detection, a comprehensive fretboard learning system, advanced songwriting tools, and flexible alternate tuning and capo support for any instrument in any orientation. StringMaster 4 introduces piano keyboard support, allowing seamless mapping of guitar chords to the piano keyboard. Explore the robust capabilities of StringMaster: * Play and discover chords and fingering with natural tones. * Display and play scales, including scale runs up the fretboard. * Visualize chord notes, suggested fingering, and Chord Tones. * Utilize the unique Note Finding capability to learn notes and their relative positions on the fretboard. * Benefit from the integrated Chromatic Tuner and Metronome, playable in the background. * Leverage StringMaster's chord-naming algorithms based on finger positions. * Unleash your creativity with the Song Writer, recommending chord progressions and facilitating songwriting. * Master instruments by comparing chords, patterns, and fingerings across a variety of instruments. * Output MIDI from played notes. Experience the next level of musical exploration and education with StringMaster – where versatility meets excellence. Join the global community of musicians who have made StringMaster their go-to app for musical innovation. Download StringMaster now and elevate your musical journey to new heights! Note that the App Purchase of StringMaster Pro includes full Fretlight Wireless support as well as the "Jam" capability.

About

HEY CLAY®

This app offers an engaging and educational DIY experience for children to learn clay modeling. It guides users through creating various characters and figures with step-by-step instructions and interactive games, fostering creativity and fine motor skills.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step clay modeling instructions
  • Interactive kid-friendly interface
  • Develops fine motor skills and creativity
  • Original colorful animation
  • Includes 5 fun games
  • Capture and share creations
  • No third-party advertising
Features
Read full description

Dive into an exciting and educational DIY world! Do you want to teach your kid clay modeling with fun? HEY CLAY® makes it easy. Start with simple balls and sausage shapes, and your child will soon make unique characters, just like a real sculptor! The App connects inspiring clay animation with hands-on modeling. Colorful and engaging, it takes your children on a fun journey of creative crafting! Your kid will learn to roll and bend the clay into various shapes and figures. With amusing clay sets such as Aliens, Dinos, Monsters, and others, the App makes learning an entertaining discovery on how to easily sculpt each of them. Bigfoot, Doggie, Penguin, Donut, Tyrannosaurus, and many other creatures can materialize from the screen. And most importantly – empower your kids to create fantastic claymates you’ll be proud of! FEATURES: • Learn about clay modeling in an easy and intuitive way • All characters contain step-by-step instructions • Fantastic sets such as Shrek, Cats, Plant Friends, Plant Folks, Dragon Island, Bluey, Vivid Accessories (Bubblegum, Aqua and Beads Sets), Colorini, Nice Ice Cream, Easter Studio, Dog Buddies, Minions, Rainbow Unicorns, Construction Vehicles, Advent Calendar, Poop Oops, Fluffy Pets, Eco Cars, Happy Cars, Cyber Cars, Winter Holidays, Ocean, Forest Animals, Beasts, Aliens, Birds, Dinosaurs, Monsters, Animals, Bugs, Fruit, Veg, Mega Dinos, Sweet Rings, Alien Rings, Flower Rings, Dog Story, and Farm Birds • Helps develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, abstract thinking, and creativity • Amazing original colorful animation • Interactive kid-friendly interface with 5 fun games to play • Capture & share your creations with friends • No third-party advertising For best-looking creations, use the original HEY CLAY® air-dry clay: it’s super light, non-sticky, and has bright colors. But the best part is that it allows you to create your own toys: model your favorite characters, wait for the clay to harden, and play with the figures as with real toys! The clay sets are available for purchase through the App. You can also take pictures and share the creations with friends and family easily from the App. Make your clay art gallery to keep your masterpieces! Find HEY CLAY on social networks to see more creative ideas. We’d love to hear your feedback and become friends! Enjoy creative clay modeling with the HEY CLAY® App!

Screenshots

HEY CLAY®4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: HEY CLAY® at Free against StringMaster's $14.99. HEY CLAY® also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (13K vs 24). StringMaster's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 58%). On rating, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

HEY CLAY® is free to download; StringMaster costs $14.99 up front. StringMaster sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and HEY CLAY® sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for StringMaster against 4.6 for HEY CLAY®. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HEY CLAY® has 13K ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of StringMaster's written reviews are positive against 58% of HEY CLAY®'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StringMaster ships an update every 3 months, HEY CLAY® fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
StringMaster versus HEY CLAY®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStringMasterHEY CLAY®
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (24 ratings) — better4.6 (13K ratings)
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews — better57.7% of reviews
Number of ratings2413K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size172 MB247 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGreat Apptitude Pty LtdHEY CLAY

Customer experience

StringMaster

All ratings23 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral5.7%
Negative14.3%

HEY CLAY®

All ratings13,105 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.4%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews667 reviews
Positive57.7%
Neutral8.7%
Negative33.6%

Bugs and requests

StringMaster

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

HEY CLAY®

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashing on launch
  • Inability to access purchased content
  • Losing progress when app closes
  • Compatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More free character options
  • Offline mode for instructions
  • Community section to share creations
  • Ability to adjust tutorial speed
  • Color mixing and blending tools

In-app purchases

2 purchases

StringMaster

One-time2
  • Fretlight Support$4.99
  • StringMaster Pro Upgrade$7.99
17 purchases

HEY CLAY®

Subscriptions1
  • HEY CLAY Monthly Plan$5.991 Month
One-time16
  • Peacock$0.99
  • Penguin$0.99
  • Spider$0.99
Show 13 more
  • Burger$0.99
  • Bigfoot$0.99
  • Horse$0.99
  • Tyrannosaurus$1.99
  • All2 variants$4.99
  • All dinos$4.99
  • All Bugs$4.99
  • All Aliens$4.99
  • All Animals$4.99
  • All Forest Animals$4.99
  • All Beatst$4.99
  • All Dog Story$4.99
  • All Australian Animals$4.99

Questions

Is StringMaster free?
StringMaster costs $14.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is HEY CLAY® free?
HEY CLAY® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, StringMaster or HEY CLAY®?
StringMaster is rated higher. StringMaster averages 4.7 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while HEY CLAY® averages 4.6 from 13K ratings.
Do StringMaster or HEY CLAY® have ads?
Neither StringMaster nor HEY CLAY® shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StringMaster or HEY CLAY®?
StringMaster ships an update every 3 months, and HEY CLAY® fortnightly. Most recently, StringMaster was updated on October 4, 2026 and HEY CLAY® on October 12, 2026.

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