SMA vs Carnatic Raga
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SMA
This app provides registered students of the Shankar Mahadevan Academy access to their course materials. Students can view video and audio lessons, lyrics, and notations, and submit practice recordings for instructor feedback. It also allows viewing and submitting assessments and class recordings.
- Access course materials
- View video and audio lessons
- Submit practice recordings
- Receive instructor feedback
- View and submit assessments
- Access class recordings
Read full descriptionHide full description
NOTE: Users will need a Shankar Mahadevan Academy student id and password to use the app. This app is intended only for registered students of the Academy. The Shankar Mahadevan Academy App is designed for students to access their course material. View video and audio lessons, lyrics and notations through your OM BookTM. Use OM RiyaazTM and submit practice recordings and get feedback from our instructors View and submit assessments View class recordings About Shankar Mahadevan Academy Shankar Mahadevan Academy (SMA) was founded under the guidance and leadership of the award-winning music composer and singer, bringing high quality Indian music instruction to the masses. The Academy’s mission is Joy of Music. SMA has students from 76 countries learning through its programs offered online, at its centre, and through school partners. The Academy offers several courses in Carnatic and Hindustani Classical Music, Guitar, Piano, Keyboard, Hindi Movie Songs, Devotional Songs, Music for Children, Voice Gym, and several others. Visit www.shankarmahadevanacademy.com for more information.
Carnatic Raga
Discover and learn about over 950 ragas in Carnatic music, including fundamental and derived types. Search ragas by their notes or names, and view their ascending and descending scales. This app is essential for anyone passionate about Carnatic music.
- Search ragas by swaras or name
- View Arohanam and Avarohanam
- Melakarta raga information
- Create favorite raga lists
- Play scales
- Share raga details
Read full descriptionHide full description
Explore over 950 ragas used in Carnatic music, including both Melakarta (fundamental) and Janya (derived) ragas. Easily search for a raga by its swaras (notes) or name, and view the Arohanam (ascending scale) and Avarohanam (descending scale) for every raga. A must-have app for any Carnatic music enthusiast! Features: • Search by Swaras using exact or partial matches • Search by Name, including advanced search capabilities • Melakarta raga information for Janya ragas • Create your own favorite raga list • Letter notation for Arohanam and Avarohanam • Piano/Keyboard interface for swara selection • Play the Arohanam and Avarohanam • Share raga details with your friends • Search for a raga directly from Spotlight • Tala reference Explore, learn and enjoy! We welcome your feedback! Visit the support link to suggest new features. If you find our app beneficial, share it with your friends and family. Thank you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Carnatic Raga at 4.8 against SMA's 1.7. Carnatic Raga also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 60%) and ratings volume (490 vs 6). SMA's advantage is update cadence (every 6 months vs every 44 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Carnatic Raga holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Carnatic Raga has 490 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of SMA's written reviews are positive against 87% of Carnatic Raga's.
SMA ships an update every 6 months, Carnatic Raga every 44 months. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.
| Parameter | SMA | Carnatic Raga |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (6 ratings) | 4.8 (490 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 87.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 490 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months — better | Every 44 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Clood On Music Private Limited | Aspul Studios LLC |
Customer experience
SMA
Carnatic Raga
Bugs and requests
SMA
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Carnatic Raga
Reported bugs
7 issues- Dharmavathi is named as Dhamavathi
- Some Raga spellings are incorrect
- Play button does not work
- Play button not working on ios14
- No sound on iOS 6.1.3
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Crashes on iOS 6.1.3
- Volume not working when touching swara
Requested features
10 requests- Play any 16 notes in any order
- How to find raaga if up and down notes differ
- Add two more octaves on the piano
- Add functionality to play swaras
- Add sound bites for swaras
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Add ability to listen to ragas in different shrutis
- Add different instruments to play ragas
- Option to 'like' favorite ragas
- Link to find more songs in a raga
- Add Hindustani music section
In-app purchases
SMA
No in-app purchases
Carnatic Raga
No in-app purchases
