Tuner by Piascore vs Nova Tuner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tuner by Piascore
This app provides a chromatic instrument tuner and pitch pipe for musicians. It offers accurate tuning for a wide range of instruments using your device's microphone, with advanced features for precise adjustments.
- Chromatic instrument tuning
- Pitch pipe/tone generator
- Custom temperaments
- Transposition support
- Spectrum power indicator
- Adjustable calibration
- Needle meter display
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** More than 10,000,000 musicians are now using the Tuner by Piascore! ** "Tuner by Piascore" is a chromatic instrument tuner and pitch pipe that allows you to quickly and accurately tune your instrument using the built-in mic in your iPhone or iPad. "Tuner by Piascore" supports a custom temperaments, transposition, notations such as solfège, adjustable calibration and more. By spectrum power indicator, you can understand sound more intuitively. "Tuner by Piascore" packs more power than most pro tuners, yet it is simple enough for everyone to use. "Tuner by Piascore" can tune acoustic or electric guitar, bass, bowed strings, woodwinds, brass, piano, tympani, and any other instrument that can sustain a tone. Free version "Tuner Lite by Piascore" is offered. ** Features ** - Needle meter display - Ultra responsive 50 cents range fine tuning display - LED display easy-to-understand high and low sound - Accuracy ±0.01 semitone (±1 cent) - Landscape view (iPhone5 or later) - Power spectrum indicator - Selectable Temperaments - Selectable Notations (such as Solfège) - Support for transposing instruments - Pitch Pipe/Tone generator - Automatic reference note calibration - Changing the wallpaper ** Contact ** : http://piascore.com/service/tuner/ : contact@piascore.com
Nova Tuner
A professional chromatic tuner designed for musicians, especially those in Early Music. It offers extensive temperament support, custom profile creation, and a clean interface for precise instrument tuning. No internet connection or data collection required.
- Extensive built-in temperaments
- Add and create custom temperaments
- User profiles for quick settings
- Sound and Auto detection modes
- Adjustable A4 pitch detector
- Multiple waveform options
- Light and dark mode support
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Written for professionals, especially those in the field of Early Music, Nova Tuner is a fully featured, accurate, chromatic tuner with extensive temperament support. A full demonstration of the app is on YouTube: https://youtu.be/egkAFaICdXY?si=peIM6QvGHLqXMqtD Nova Tuner was written by professional fortepianist and harpsichordist, Thomas Foster. MAIN FEATURES - Sound Mode (reference pitch) and Auto Mode (detect pitch) - Clean and simple interface - About 30 built-in temperaments (see www.thomasfoster.org/novatuner for full list) - Add/Create new temperaments. - Duplicate and edit built-in temperaments - Create profiles to quickly set pitch and temperament for frequently used settings. - A4 pitch detector to quickly determine an instrument's pitch level. - Quick selection of common pitch levels: 392, 415, 430, and 440 Hz (these are customizable). - Four waveforms for audible note: Sawtooth, Square, Triangle, Sine. - No data is collected, no internet connection is required. INTERFACE - All tuner information (pitch level, temperament, etc) clearly visible on main screen. - Standard, simple iOS appearance and controls. - Large and intuitive adjustment buttons (no fussy scroll wheels). - Light and dark mode. - Supports portrait and landscape orientations. - Note names in English, German, and Neo-Latin (do, re, mi) TEMPERAMENTS - Temperaments can be transposed - Add, duplicate and edit temperaments - Favorite frequently used temperaments - Filter by favorited and custom - Search entire list of temperaments by name or information (creator, type, year, etc.) - Hide unwanted temperaments so they don't appear in the list or search SPECIFICATIONS Transposition range: -11 to +11 semitones Detection range: A0 to C8 Reference tone: C2 to B7 Tuning modes: Sound, Auto, Auto with Sound Back Calibration range: A4=300-500 Hz, 0.1 Hz increments
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Tuner by Piascore at 1.5K against Nova Tuner's 32. Tuner by Piascore also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and price ($4.99 vs $7.99). Nova Tuner's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 91%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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
Tuner by Piascore costs $4.99 and Nova Tuner $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Tuner by Piascore against 4.7 for Nova Tuner. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tuner by Piascore has 1.5K ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Tuner by Piascore's written reviews are positive against 100% of Nova Tuner's.
Tuner by Piascore ships an update every 2 months, Nova Tuner every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tuner by Piascore | Nova Tuner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better | 4.7 (32 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 32 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #182 | #113 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 16.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Piascore, Inc. | Thomas J Foster |
Customer experience
Tuner by Piascore
Nova Tuner
Bugs and requests
Tuner by Piascore
Reported bugs
2 issues- Tuner stops working after iOS updates
- App crashes when trying to tune certain instruments
Requested features
4 requests- Add metronome functionality
- Improve transposition and temperament settings
- Provide more wallpaper/theme options
- Expand display of note frequency information
Nova Tuner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Tuner by Piascore
No in-app purchases
Nova Tuner
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Tuner by Piascore free?
Is Nova Tuner free?
Which has better reviews, Tuner by Piascore or Nova Tuner?
Do Tuner by Piascore or Nova Tuner have ads?
Which is updated more often, Tuner by Piascore or Nova Tuner?
Which is more popular, Tuner by Piascore or Nova Tuner?
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