the Craic vs ECD Tunes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
the Craic
This app transforms your device into a portable digital tunebook, offering thousands of traditional tunes in ABC notation. Easily search, play, and organize music for various instruments, with options to create custom sets and collections. Import tunes from multiple sources and share them as ABC or PDF.
- Searchable tune library
- Create and play tune sets
- Organize favorite tunes
- Import ABC notation
- Playback with tempo control
- Edit ABC notation
- Print and share tunes
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Stop rummaging through paper tunebooks - turn your iPad or iPhone into a portable tunebook. Quickly search, display and hear thousands of Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton and other tunes for fiddle, flute, bagpipes, banjo, mandolin, concertina or accordion. Please leave a review or rate the app if you enjoy it - it helps! Subscribe either monthly or yearly to help support ongoing development. - includes a selection of 76 commonly played session tunes (lots more on the Internet!) - create, play and print sets of tunes - create collections of your favourite tunes and sets, print them as tune books or as incipits - import ABC notation via iTunes, cloud services like iCloud and Dropbox, email or the internet - bagpipe notation for tunes with HP or Hp key - search online or on your iPad or iPhone - online search results can be quickly imported into your library - simple playback with tempo control and looping - choose flute, whistle, fiddle, banjo, guitar, piano, harp or accordion - create and edit ABC notation on your iPad with a keyboard extension to simplify entry - external keyboard fully supported - print - share via email as ABC notation or PDF - open as a PDF in other applications Use of the Craic is governed by the standard Apple Terms of Use. You can view this at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
ECD Tunes
This app provides a digital library for English Country Dance musicians, allowing them to organize and access sheet music. It supports various file formats and lets users create and share event schedules.
- Digital sheet music library
- Supports PDF, GIF, TIF, PNG
- Add custom music volumes
- Capture images via camera
- Create and share events
- AirDrop and email sharing
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ECD Tunes is meant for English Country Dance musicians. It contains a copy of the Blue and Red Barnes and allows users to add their own volumes of music by creating ZIP archives of PDF, GIF, TIF, and PNG files. Users can also capture images using their iPad's camera and image library. Events can be created and shared via AirDrop, email, and file sharing apps. You can find instructions for this app at http://www.TransportedProductions.com/iDeas
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: the Craic at $4.99 against ECD Tunes's $40.99. the Craic also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 36 months) and review sentiment (75% vs 50%). ECD Tunes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On ads 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
the Craic costs $4.99 and ECD Tunes $40.99 up front. the Craic sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.39 per month. ECD Tunes asks for nothing beyond the download.
the Craic holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of the Craic's written reviews are positive against 50% of ECD Tunes's.
the Craic ships an update every 2 months, ECD Tunes every 36 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | the Craic | ECD Tunes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $40.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (13 ratings) — better | 4.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.5% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 36 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Paid — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wil Macaulay | Ralph Canapa |
Customer experience
the Craic
ECD Tunes
In-app purchases
the Craic
- Monthly supporter7 Days trial$1.391 Month
- Yearly supporter$12.991 Year
- Small Tip$0.99
- Large Tip$4.99
- Huge Tip$19.99
ECD Tunes
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is the Craic free?
Is ECD Tunes free?
Which has better reviews, the Craic or ECD Tunes?
Do the Craic or ECD Tunes have ads?
Which is updated more often, the Craic or ECD Tunes?
Other comparisons
