Comparison

MIDI Guitar vs Chordify

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

Head to head
About

MIDI Guitar

Transform your guitar into a MIDI controller in real-time. This app accurately transcribes your playing into MIDI data, allowing you to control any synth or virtual instrument. It offers low latency and high accuracy, comparable to professional hardware.

Highlights
  • Real-time guitar to MIDI transcription
  • Low latency and high accuracy
  • Control any synth or virtual instrument
  • AudioUnit (AUv3) plugin support
  • Standalone app for hosting other synths
  • MIDI output to DAWs like GarageBand
Features
Read full description

Play any synth or virtual instrument with your trusted guitar. ##### Lots of user videos: jamorigin.com ##### MIDI Guitar is the World’s first app to transcribe guitar playing into MIDI in real-time, with latency and accuracy comparable to expensive and inconvenient hardware MIDI guitar solutions. MIDI Guitar is over 10 years in development(!) and based upon state-of-the-art polyphonic pitch detection and –prediction technology that can accurately recognize guitar playing and -articulation with very low latency and without spurious hits. The technology has been validated by thousands of guitarists over the years. MIDI Guitar comes as AudioUnit plugin (AUv3) and as a standalone app which can host other iOS synth apps or send virtual midi to Garageband or other DAWs. You need a guitar interface for best results. We recommend a digital interface (using the lightning connector) over analog (via headphone jack), preferably with input gain control. Using an acoustic guitar with the built in microphone works for some purposes but is not optimal. The free version will interrupt every few minutes, asking you to buy an in-app purchase. If you have problems please refer to the website: www.jamorigin.com/docs or the user forum: jamosapien.com.

About

Chordify

Learn to play your favorite songs on guitar, piano, or ukulele. Get accurate chords for millions of songs, with animated views and YouTube integration. Premium features include slowing down songs, looping sections, and exporting chords.

Highlights
  • Accurate chords for any song
  • Animated chord views
  • YouTube integration
  • 36 million+ song catalog
  • Transpose chords
  • Slow down songs
  • Loop tricky parts
Read full description

Chordify helps musicians of all levels to learn to play the music they love. Get started with Chordify right now and get immediate access to the following free features: - Accurate chords for any song - Curated content & personal library - Animated views for piano, ukulele and guitar chords - Seamless integration with YouTube - Search our 36,000,000 song catalog, and any other song in the world - Cross-platform library integration (desktop, mobile) How does Chordify work? Simply: 1. Search for any song you want to play. 2. Choose the instrument you want to play the song on. 3. Jam along with your favorite song! Subscribe to Chordify Premium and get access to the following extra features: - Easily transpose the chords if you want to play in a different key - Try the capo feature and play your chordified songs the easy way - Slow down songs to keep up - Loop tricky parts to jam like a pro - Download the chords from your favorite songs as MIDI file for easy audio editing - Take the calculated chords with you as a PDF printout, wherever you go. Everyone is a musician. Start playing. QUOTES “I'm using Chordify to learn new tunes for my Punk Rock Karaoke Band” - Greg Hetson, Guitarist - Bad Religion, The Circle Jerks, Punk Rock Karaoke “Chordify is incredible for studying music. Drop in a video and it works out the chords to play along.” - Oliver, user “Chordify is the greatest invention since someone thought to put milk in espresso. SERIOUSLY.” - Stephen, user ABOUT Chordify Chordify is an online music education tool, made by music lovers to help you to get chords for any song you want. Our service automatically recognizes the acordes and audio signal of a song and will synchronize this with your song in a simple and innovative music player. Chordify is an innovative business that will help starting musicians and advanced with playing the music they want to play. Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chordify Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chordify Privacy Policy: https://chordify.net/pages/privacy-policy/ Terms & Conditions: https://chordify.net/pages/terms-and-conditions/ Chordify Premium You can subscribe to Chordify Premium annually or monthly. If you choose to subscribe, you will be charged the access price according to your local store currency. The price will be shown in the App before you complete the payment. Annual and Monthly subscriptions auto-renew unless explicitly turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. Your iTunes account will automatically be charged within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period and you will be charged accordingly. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings. Download Chordify now and get chords for any song you want! Ready to play?

Screenshots

MIDI Guitar1 screens
Chordify4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Chordify at 4.7 against MIDI Guitar's 4.3. Chordify also leads on ratings volume (34K vs 136) and chart position (#53 vs unranked). MIDI Guitar's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 57%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. MIDI Guitar sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Chordify sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $8.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chordify holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chordify has 34K ratings behind it against 136, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of MIDI Guitar's written reviews are positive against 57% of Chordify's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MIDI Guitar ships an update every 2 weeks, Chordify every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
MIDI Guitar versus Chordify: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMIDI GuitarChordify
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (136 ratings)4.7 (34K ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.3% of reviews — better57.2% of reviews
Number of ratings13634K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#53 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB80 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperJam OriginChordify BV

Customer experience

MIDI Guitar

All ratings136 ratings
Positive80.9%
Neutral5.1%
Negative14.0%
Written reviews159 reviews
Positive72.3%
Neutral8.2%
Negative19.5%

Chordify

All ratings33,653 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews764 reviews
Positive57.2%
Neutral10.1%
Negative32.7%

User reviews

MIDI Guitar

From 136 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎸 Exceptional polyphonic MIDI tracking accuracy
  • 💡 Innovative pitch-to-MIDI conversion technology
  • 🎵 Works with any guitar without special pickups
  • ⚡ Low latency performance on modern devices
  • 🎹 Seamless integration with synths and virtual instruments

Room to improve

  • 💸 Multiple in-app purchases required for full functionality
  • 🔐 Confusing IAP structure and pricing model
  • ⏱️ Noticeable latency on older iOS devices
  • 🎼 Requires adjusted playing technique and style
  • 🔊 Struggles with fast lead lines and complex fingerpicking

Chordify

From 34K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Syncs chords to music
  • 👍 Helps improve playing and timing
  • 🎶 Vast song library
  • 💡 Transpose and capo features
  • 🎸 Works for multiple instruments

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Chords not always accurate
  • 👎 Ads and limited free usage
  • 🔀 Scrolling issues with favorites
  • 💸 Expensive subscription
  • 🕰️ Timing and rhythm issues

Bugs and requests

MIDI Guitar

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App crashes on iOS updates
  • AU3 controls unresponsive (rotary knobs snap back to zero)
  • Freezing in AUM with buzzing sound
  • Audio cutouts despite full purchases
  • Microphone input cannot be disabled
Show 7 more
  • AU3 not discoverable in some hosts after purchase
  • Latency locked at 256ms on newer iPhones
  • Contact form and support registration issues
  • Occasional dropped notes in external MIDI mode
  • AU3 fascia too small to read on large screens
  • Beta version pulled repeatedly
  • Compatibility issues with GarageBand on iOS

Requested features

12 requests
  • Lower tuning support (below D, baritone guitars, 8-string support)
  • 432Hz tuning option
  • Audiobus and IAA compatibility improvements
  • Higher sample rate support (96kHz standalone)
  • Pitch bending and slide detection
Show 7 more
  • MIDI FX slots for MIDI-only effect plugins
  • Improved AU3 interface scaling and controls
  • Cross-platform IAP compatibility (iOS to macOS)
  • Better bass guitar tracking
  • Faster iOS beta release cycle
  • Restore purchases functionality
  • Unified pricing model instead of multiple IAPs

Chordify

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Songs failing to load
  • Crashes when importing songs
  • Incorrect chord detection and timing
  • Syncing issues between web and mobile versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add lyrics display
  • Improve chord detection for complex chords
  • Allow custom playlists and organization
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve offline functionality

In-app purchases

2 purchases

MIDI Guitar

One-time2
  • AudioUnit Hosting$9.99
  • MIDI Outputs$19.99
7 purchases

Chordify

Subscriptions7
  • Monthly Subscription$8.001 Month
  • Monthly Subscription$8.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription$9.001 Month
Show 4 more
  • Yearly Subscription$42.001 Year
  • Yearly Subscription1 Year trial$42.001 Year
  • Black Friday Deal$47.901 Year
  • Yearly Subscription1 Year trial$54.001 Year

Questions

Is MIDI Guitar free?
MIDI Guitar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chordify free?
Chordify is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MIDI Guitar or Chordify?
Chordify is rated higher. MIDI Guitar averages 4.3 out of 5 from 136 ratings, while Chordify averages 4.7 from 34K ratings.
Do MIDI Guitar or Chordify have ads?
Neither MIDI Guitar nor Chordify shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MIDI Guitar or Chordify?
MIDI Guitar ships an update every 2 weeks, and Chordify every 9 days. Most recently, MIDI Guitar was updated on September 19, 2026 and Chordify on September 24, 2026.

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