FretBuilder vs Bravo Nota
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
FretBuilder
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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/
Bravo Nota
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
| Parameter | FretBuilder | Bravo Nota |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 15 months | Every 4 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No โ better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad โ better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 โ better | 26.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Brandon Fraune | Yahor Zaleski |
In-app purchases
FretBuilder
- Monthly premium$1.991 Month
- Yearly premium$19.991 Year
Bravo Nota
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is FretBuilder free?
Is Bravo Nota free?
Do FretBuilder or Bravo Nota have ads?
Which is updated more often, FretBuilder or Bravo Nota?
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