SheetMuse vs Fret & Key
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SheetMuse
This music practice app offers synced chords, guitar tabs, lyrics, and native sheet music. It allows musicians to mute or solo instruments, slow down tracks, and transpose without losing sync. Features include band synchronization and setlist building.
- Synced chords, tabs, and lyrics
- Native sheet music with playhead sync
- Instrument stems for muting/soloing
- Tempo and pitch adjustment
- Band synchronization over Wi-Fi
- Setlist creation
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SheetMuse is the practice app for musicians: synced chords, guitar tabs, lyrics, native sheet music, and stems — one app. Not a PDF viewer with ads. SHEET MUSIC Engraved Sheet Music moves with the playhead. Native notation for practice — the flagship SheetMuse view. CHORDS, TABS & LYRICS Chord banner and karaoke lyrics stay locked to the track. Guitar Tab on the beat grid. Fretboard chord diagrams for every change. STEMS & TRANSPOSE Mute or solo vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass. Slow down, speed up, and transpose without losing lock. BAND SYNC & SETLISTS Rehearse together on the same Wi‑Fi. Build setlists for gigs and lessons. THE REAL SHEETMUSE Seller: Step-In CTO / sheetmuse.app. Search SheetMuse — this is the practice app, not a third-party PDF score viewer. Privacy Policy: https://sheetmuse.app/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
Fret & Key
This music app helps you identify chords, scales, and song keys. It features a chord finder, identifier, key finder, and an accurate tuner for various instruments. Designed for simplicity and speed, it offers essential tools without subscriptions or ads.
- Chord finder for piano and stringed instruments
- Chord identifier and key analysis
- Song key detection
- Scales and chord families
- Accurate instrument tuner
- Clean, quick navigation
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Find a chord, name the one you're playing, or hear a song and know its key. Scales, chord families, and an accurate tuner too, all in one beautifully simple app. No account, no subscription. It's the app you reach for mid-practice and set down thirty seconds later, having gotten exactly what you came for. Clean, quiet, and quick to navigate, built for piano and stringed instruments alike. What's inside: Chord finder for piano, guitar, and other stringed instruments Chord identifier: play a chord and it names it, and shows which keys it lives in Key finder: listens to a song, tells you its key, and sets the whole app to that key Chord families: the main chords in any key, at a glance Scales in every key, clear on both the fretboard and the keyboard An accurate tuner A clean Tools section that keeps each of these a tap away What's not inside: No subscriptions No ads No sign-up Just a beautifully simple tool that respects your time and your ears.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Fret & Key at free against SheetMuse's freemium. Fret & Key also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 90%). SheetMuse's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 9 days) and ratings volume (15 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. SheetMuse sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month and Fret & Key sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Fret & Key holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SheetMuse has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of SheetMuse's written reviews are positive against 100% of Fret & Key's.
SheetMuse ships an update every 3 days, Fret & Key every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SheetMuse | Fret & Key |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (15 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 90.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 88 MB | 124 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Step-In CTO Pty Ltd | Curious Labs |
Customer experience
SheetMuse
Fret & Key
In-app purchases
SheetMuse
- SheetMuse Pro Monthly14 Days trial$12.991 Month
- SheetMuse Pro Annual14 Days trial$99.991 Year
Fret & Key
- Full Unlock$7.99









