ChordMapMidi vs Pensato
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ChordMapMidi
This app is a MIDI controller for exploring musical chords and progressions in major and minor keys. It sends note information to other synthesizer apps on your device, making it a portable tool for musicians and educators.
- Explore chords and progressions
- Major and minor keys
- MIDI controller functionality
- Sends note information to synth apps
- Portable music tool
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ChordMapMidi allows you to explore chords and chord progressions in both major and minor keys, one finger tap at a time. Note: ChordMapMidi is a MIDI controller. It doesn't create sound on its own. It sends note information to synthesizer apps you have on your device. ChordMapMidi is useful for songwriters, MIDI musicians, music educators... especially in places where the only instrument you have is the phone in your pocket. Have fun exploring chords and progressions!
Pensato
Explore over 1400 musical scales and modes with this app. Visualize chords and notes for any root, find scales via keyboard input or circle of fifths, and discover shared chords between multiple scales to build complex progressions.
- Over 1400 scales and modes
- Smart-Finder for note input
- Circle of fifths integration
- Chord and note visualization
- Scale progression builder
- Built-in synthesizer
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Pensato allows you to explore over 1400 musical scales and modes. You can view the chords and notes of each scale for any root note. You can find scales by inputting notes on a piano keyboard, by picking from the circle of fifths or by choosing one of the auto-generated related scales. When you add multiple scales to your list you will be able to see what chords are shared between them. This is a great way to build up complex chord progressions and key modulations in your songs. You can use Pensato simply as a learning tool or to build up scale progressions while composing music. The main idea was to make an app that focused on scale progressions instead of chord progressions, allowing you to evolve your music with more richness and interest than if you were to stay in one key. Open up Pensato in front of you while composing music and easily visualize chords in various scales to help you write interesting progressions. *** FEATURES *** • Library with over 1400 different scales and modes. • Includes standard 7-note scales as well as scales ranging from 3 to 12 tones. • Explore simple minor/major scales or more advanced blues, diminished, bebop and exotic scales. • A Smart-Finder allows you to plug in notes on a piano and find all the scales that contain those notes. This is a great way to find scales that match a melody. • A Smart-Suggestion page shows you all closely-related scales to the previous scale in your list. • Use the circle of fifths to easily add closely related scales. • See all chords contained in a given scale (either simple triads or full 4-note chords). • View the notes of the scale on a piano keyboard. Great for learning new scales or easily referencing familiar scales. • Easily transpose all scales and notes. • Built in synthesizer lets you audition chords and scales. • Press and hold a chord to view its notes. • Add scales to your list so you can see what notes and chords they share. This is a great way to transition from scale to scale. • Your scale progression and settings are saved when you restart the app. • Customizable UI allows you to hide the piano notes, scale names or chords. • A "focus" mode allows you to remove all the UI so you can focus on the chords and notes. • Ability to add a random scale to your list. Great for inspiration or for starting out a new song. • Beautiful modern minimal UI design. Focus on the content, not the interface. • Universal iPhone/iPad app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pensato at 89% against ChordMapMidi's 53%. Pensato also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 8 months) and device support (3 vs 1). ChordMapMidi's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). 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
ChordMapMidi costs $3.99 and Pensato $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ChordMapMidi holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 15 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of ChordMapMidi's written reviews are positive against 89% of Pensato's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
ChordMapMidi ships an update every 8 months, Pensato every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ChordMapMidi | Pensato |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $3.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | 4.7 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.9% of reviews | 88.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Malcolm Mugglin | Nebojsa Petrovic |
Customer experience
ChordMapMidi
Pensato
In-app purchases
ChordMapMidi
No in-app purchases
Pensato
No in-app purchases









