# Guitar Riff vs Guitar 3D

The clearest difference is ads: Guitar 3D at none against Guitar Riff's shown. Guitar 3D also leads on review sentiment (99% vs 70%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Guitar Riff sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Guitar 3D sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Guitar 3D holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Guitar 3D has 741 ratings behind it against 95, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Guitar Riff's written reviews are positive against 99% of Guitar 3D's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Guitar Riff | Guitar 3D |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (95 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-riff-play-by-ear/id520215526/reviews) | **[4.8 (741 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-3d-basic-chords/id1255417133/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 95 | **741** |
| Positive reviews | 70.1% of reviews | **98.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 53 MB | 145 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Learn To Master Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/431947334) | [Polygonium](https://appshunter.io/developer/544258399) |

## What reviewers say

### Guitar Riff

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-riff-play-by-ear/id520215526)

Learn to play your favorite guitar riffs by ear. This app offers over 1000 songs across various genres with a configurable virtual guitar featuring clean and distortion effects. Master difficult sections by adjusting speed and volume, with options for left-handers and note highlighting.

**Highlights:** Learn over 1000 songs, Configurable virtual guitar, Clean and distortion effects, Adjustable speed and volume, Left-handed support, Highlight notes option

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Version | $2.99 | per month |
| Annual Premium Version | $24.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎸 Effective riff learning tool for beginners
- 📚 Large song library with diverse genres
- ⚙️ Customizable playback options (speed, fret width)
- 💰 Free content available without mandatory purchases
- 🎯 Intuitive progression system (5 notes to 10 notes, etc.)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sound quality poor and unrealistic
- 📱 No left-handed support available
- 🔊 No sound output on some devices
- 🎨 Difficult to see highlighted notes during playback
- 📺 Small fretboard difficult for fat fingers

**Reported bugs**

- No sound output on iPhone 5 and iPhone 4
- App doesn't play songs or is non-functional
- Random logouts during use
- App crashes frequently
- Screen navigation requires song selection to exit

**Requested features**

- Left-handed mode support
- Ability to slow down playback speed
- Wider fretboard for easier use
- Record and playback user's own riffs
- Customizable note highlight colors


### Guitar 3D

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guitar-3d-basic-chords/id1255417133)

Learn guitar chords, strumming, and fingerpicking with interactive 3D visualizations. Compose your own music using a simple editor and hear real guitar sounds. Ideal for visual learners wanting to play basic guitar quickly.

**Highlights:** 3D right and left hand viewer, Chord chain editor, Auto play & loop, Speed control, Chord training game, Left-handed guitarist support, Chord library

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Classical Guitar | $1.99 | one-time |
| Acoustic Guitar | $1.99 | one-time |
| Classical Guitar | $2.99 | one-time |
| Acoustic Guitar | $2.99 | one-time |
| Electro-Classical Guitar | $2.99 | one-time |
| Guitar Bundle | $4.99 | one-time |
| Guitar Bundle | $7.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent visuals
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Helpful for learning chords
- 👍 Great for beginners
- 👍 Intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🐛 Difficulty seeing strings being picked
- 🐛 Slow or disjointed performance
- 🐛 No sound in some cases

**Reported bugs**

- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices

**Requested features**

- Include more advanced chords and chord progressions
- Add interval display
- Incorporate barred chords
- Integrate with a DAW or guitar pro software
- Provide a song library with popular songs


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Guitar Riff free?

Guitar Riff is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Guitar 3D free?

Guitar 3D is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Guitar Riff or Guitar 3D?

Guitar 3D is rated higher. Guitar Riff averages 4.6 out of 5 from 95 ratings, while Guitar 3D averages 4.8 from 741 ratings.

### Do Guitar Riff or Guitar 3D have ads?

Guitar Riff shows ads; Guitar 3D does not.

### Which is updated more often, Guitar Riff or Guitar 3D?

Guitar Riff ships an update every 2 months, and Guitar 3D every 2 months. Most recently, Guitar Riff was updated on October 23, 2026 and Guitar 3D on October 20, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*