Comparison

FretBuilder vs Bravo Nota

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

Head to head
About

FretBuilder

Features
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Grow as a musician by visualizing notes on your instrument's fretboard. With this app, you can view some (or all) of your instrument's fretboard, tap to hear pitches at any string/fret, and use overlays to help you quickly identify pitches. The app supports multiple fretted string instruments, including guitar, bass guitar, and ukulele. It also features some of the most common preset tunings. Some advanced features of the app are enabled with a subscription, including custom fretboard designs (via photo library selection), custom instrument tunings, and a special overlay mode that lets you tap any position on the fretboard to see the individual pitch! More features are planned, so keep your eyes peeled and your instruments tuned! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Bravo Nota

Features
Read full description

Bravo Nota is a free, on-device music toolkit for guitarists, pianists, songwriters and music students. CHORD RECOGNITION FROM ANY AUDIO Drop in an MP3 (or any audio file) - or hit Record - and Bravo Nota lays out the chord progression on a scrubbable timeline. Switch between the Original, synthesized Chords, and a crossfade. Handles 7ths, sus, slash and altered chords, not just major / minor. Tap any chord to jump straight to it. Quiet recordings are automatically loudness-normalized on playback; a live mic-level meter while you record helps you nail the right input level. PITCH-PERFECT TUNER Chromatic plus dozens of instruments and alternate tunings: Standard / Drop D / Open G / Open D / Open E / Open C / DADGAD / Half-Step-Down guitar; baritone & re-entrant ukulele; banjo Open G & Double-C; mandolin, mandola, viola, cello, double bass; 4/5/6-string bass. A4 calibration from 415 Hz to 466 Hz. The pitch detector is accurate to one cent, stable on bowed strings and decaying piano notes alike. ADVANCED MODE - LIVE SPECTROGRAM A waterfall spectrogram for when you need to see every harmonic. Two-finger pinch to zoom into any frequency band, drag to pan; one-finger tap drops a crosshair with note / Hz / dB readout. Optional "peak at this time" overlay marks the loudest tone instantly. Switchable frequency grids (scientific notes, raw Hz, classical Helmholtz), two orientations, optional dB SPL with Apple-ResearchKit calibration. METRONOME THAT WON'T DRIFT Well under 1 ms drift over a 5-minute click. Time signatures from 2/4 through 12/8 plus custom; 1/4, 1/8, 1/6 triplets, 1/16 subdivisions; per-beat accents (loud / normal / mute); tap-tempo; Italian tempo markings (Grave through Prestissimo); five built-in click sounds including a real vintage pyramid metronome. Plays in the background - leave it running with the screen off. FULL CHORD LIBRARY A browsable reference with every triad, 7th, extension, sus and slash chord across all twelve roots. Each chord ships with a piano keyboard view (highlighted notes) and a guitar fingerboard that names every note of the voicing - with the chord root highlighted - plus recommended fingerings. PRIVACY Bravo Nota processes everything on your device. No microphone audio, no imported file, no usage data ever leaves your iPhone. There is no analytics SDK, no advertising and no account. REQUIREMENTS iOS 26 or later, iPhone only. Free, no in-app purchases, no ads.

Screenshots

FretBuilder4 screens
Bravo Nota4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bravo Nota at none against FretBuilder's 2. Bravo Nota also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 15 months). FretBuilder's advantage is iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. FretBuilder sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Bravo Nota asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FretBuilder ships an update every 15 months, Bravo Nota every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
FretBuilder versus Bravo Nota: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFretBuilderBravo Nota
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 15 monthsEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.6 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size16 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrandon FrauneYahor Zaleski

In-app purchases

2 purchases

FretBuilder

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly premium$1.991 Month
  • Yearly premium$19.991 Year
None

Bravo Nota

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FretBuilder free?
FretBuilder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bravo Nota free?
Bravo Nota is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do FretBuilder or Bravo Nota have ads?
Neither FretBuilder nor Bravo Nota shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FretBuilder or Bravo Nota?
FretBuilder ships an update every 15 months, and Bravo Nota every 4 days. Most recently, FretBuilder was updated on October 7, 2026 and Bravo Nota on October 15, 2026.

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