Comparison

Piano Code vs The Color Encyclopedia

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

Head to head
About

Piano Code

Features
Read full description

Piano Code turns sheet music into an interactive practice studio. Browse a growing library of tunes, hear them played back, and learn them note by note on a built-in 88-key keyboard. KEY FEATURES • MIDI Playback — Tap any tune to hear it played from its score. The staff itself acts as the progress indicator, so you always know exactly where you are in the piece. • Virtual Keyboard Follow-Along Training — A full 88-key piano is built right in. Notes light up on both the staff and the keyboard to guide your hands: upcoming notes in purple, correct hits in green, mistakes flash red. Play along with mouse, touch, or keyboard input. • Track Your Progress — Time your practice sessions and log every tune you work on. Your training records sync to your account so you can pick up right where you left off. Whether you're starting from scratch or polishing a favorite piece, Piano Code helps you read, hear, and play — one note at a time.

About

The Color Encyclopedia

Explore and understand the full spectrum of musical notes and their relationships. Hear, visualize, and learn about thousands of unique sound combinations, from familiar scales to entirely new sonic territories. This app offers a comprehensive map of musical space for musicians and enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Offline access to musical map
  • Listen to any note combination
  • Scale visualizer for instruments
  • Filter and search musical sounds
  • Curated and custom note lists
  • Reactive UI with dynamic background
  • Randomize sounds for discovery
Features
Read full description

Every sound available in twelve-tone music - all 2,048 of them, organized into 351 "colors" - playable and searchable wherever you go. This Encyclopedia is a complete map of musical space. Each of the 351 unique families of notes gets an entry: hear it, visualize it, learn its name and how it relates to everything around it. Familiar scales and chords sit alongside thousands more - most musicians have never encountered. You may already know The Color Tree, the special-case sounds whose notes are all adjacent along the circle of fifths, organized from simple to complex and dark to bright. The Encyclopedia contains those 67 sounds - and every other sound there is. Key Features: • Fully offline - the whole map, no connection required • Listen to any color - customizable playback for every set of notes • Scale visualizer - see the notes laid out on your instrument of choice • Filter and search - narrow by scale degree, interval range, and more • Curated and custom lists - browse collections or build your own favorites • Reactive UI - a dynamic sky background that responds to your selections • Randomize - surprise yourself with sounds you've never heard! For composers, improvisers, theorists, sound designers, and anyone who has ever wondered what else is out there.

Screenshots

Piano Code4 screens
The Color Encyclopedia4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Piano Code at Free against The Color Encyclopedia's $9.99. The Color Encyclopedia's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 12 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Piano Code is free to download; The Color Encyclopedia costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Piano Code ships an update every 12 months, The Color Encyclopedia every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Piano Code versus The Color Encyclopedia: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPiano CodeThe Color Encyclopedia
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.416.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHABIT KING LIMITEDANDREW SHERON

In-app purchases

None

Piano Code

No in-app purchases

None

The Color Encyclopedia

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Piano Code free?
Piano Code is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Color Encyclopedia free?
The Color Encyclopedia costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Piano Code or The Color Encyclopedia have ads?
Neither Piano Code nor The Color Encyclopedia shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Piano Code or The Color Encyclopedia?
Piano Code ships an update every 12 months, and The Color Encyclopedia every 2 days. Most recently, Piano Code was updated on October 5, 2026 and The Color Encyclopedia on October 1, 2026.

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