Comparison

Pianoteq 9 vs Quartet 4

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

Head to head
About

Pianoteq 9

This virtual instrument app uses advanced physical modeling to generate realistic sounds for pianos, electric pianos, harpsichords, and more. It offers compact file sizes and is trusted by renowned instrument makers. Unlock full instrument access with a license.

Highlights
  • Physical modeling sound generation
  • Realistic playability
  • Compact file size
  • Wide range of instruments
  • Plugin support for DAWs
  • New Syngular synthesizer
Features
Read full description

PIANOTEQ 9: THE ULTIMATE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT Pianoteq is an award-winning virtual instrument that simulates a wide range of instruments including pianos, electric pianos, harpsichords, vibraphones, guitars, steel drums, and more, using advanced physical modeling. Unlike traditional virtual instruments that use recorded sounds, Pianoteq generates sounds in real-time by calculating the physics of how strings vibrate and how the soundboard radiates sound. Why Pianoteq Stands Out: - Natural Playability: Physical modeling captures many of the subtle interactions and dynamic nuances found in acoustic instruments, providing a responsive playing experience. - Compact Size: Without relying on large sample libraries, Pianoteq requires only a fraction of the storage space of many virtual instruments, making it ideal for iPhone and iPad. Trusted by the Best: Steinway, Kawai, Bösendorfer, Bechstein, Petrof, Steingraeber, Grotrian, Blüthner, and Hohner have all endorsed Pianoteq for its faithful sound reproduction. Getting Started: - Connect a MIDI device to your iPad/iPhone. - Launch Pianoteq. - Start playing! Pianoteq also works as a plugin in any Audio Unit host application, such as GarageBand, AUM, Cubasis, Camelot, and more. Note: All instruments run in demo mode (with some keys disabled) until you purchase a Pianoteq STAGE license (unlocks two instruments) or link to an existing Pianoteq user account with a valid license. Licenses purchased on the App Store are valid across other supported platforms (macOS, Windows, Linux). Already own Pianoteq 8? Upgrade to Pianoteq 9 at an attractive upgrade price and unlock a new level of realism and expression. Simply launch Pianoteq 9, click “Restore Purchases”, and follow the instructions. Here’s what’s new in Pianoteq 9: - Richer tone and enhanced spatial depth: all modern and historical grands have been thoroughly revoiced. - A beautiful new Italian Triple Harp joins the Harp pack. - Electric pianos (MKII, Reeds) have been updated. - Expressive new “Sombre” presets for cinematic playing. - A refined, more intuitive mixer panel. - Portrait orientation and windowed mode now supported. - A new instrument: the Syngular synthesiser. Experience your instruments like never before, more vivid, expressive, and alive.

About

Quartet 4

Practice and perform jazz standards with high-quality backing tracks. Mute your instrument, change keys, adjust tempo, and loop sections for focused practice. Features animated chord diagrams and royalty-free multitrack exports for further creative use.

Highlights
  • Live jazz backing tracks
  • Mute your instrument
  • Change key and tempo
  • Looping for practice
  • Animated chord diagrams
  • Multitrack export
  • Playlist creation
Features
Read full description

Practice and perform jazz standards on another level with Quartet. And with a host of brand-new features, the top-selling jazz play along apps just got even better. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. Volume 4 includes another 100 stunning jazz standards recorded exclusively by 6 of the world’s best jazz musicians. All ‘live’ studio recordings with intros, endings and top line solos. Whether you play jazz piano, guitar, saxophone, trumpet, bass, drums…simply mute your instrument from the Quartet for the ultimate jazz play along. And for jazz singers too, each edition of Quartet is an unrivalled collection of jazz backing tracks powerful enough to gig with. Change key on the fly. Speed up or slow down the audio seamlessly. Loop sections and slow them right down for practice. Select the number of repeats. Choose from preset mixes or create your own custom mix using the new onboard mixer. Arrange each song exactly the way you want it with the new automated ‘Arranger’ feature. Add a touch of reverb and you’re good to go. Improve your skills with full screen animated chord diagrams for Piano, Guitar and Ukulele. Search the entire Quartet song library (700 songs) by composer, style, BPM, associated artist and more. Build and share multi-app playlists and easily export PDF chord charts for every song. Export your stereo mix or export the multitrack if you want to develop the high quality separated parts in GarageBand or whatever DAW you use. Either way, all recordings are offered to you royalty-free giving you endless creative possibilities. The 100 jazz standards in Quartet Volume 4 include improvisations in the style of… ‘Affirmation’, ‘Água de Beber’, ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’, ‘Blue in Green’, ‘Born to Be Blue’, ‘Cinema Paradiso’, ‘Chicken’, ‘Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye’, ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’, ‘Got a Match?’, ‘Here There and Everywhere’, ‘I Get a Kick out of You’, ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’, ‘La Fiesta’, ‘Manhattan’, ‘Nothing Personal’, ‘Poinciana’, ‘Save Your Love for Me’, ‘Social Call’, ‘Surrey with the Fringe on Top’… and 80 more. Install Quartet on all of your iOS devices plus your Mac devices (M series only) at no extra cost. Ready to take your jazz standards to another level? Hear more at www.quartetapp.com Featured artists on Quartet Volume 4 Guitar Nigel Price Nigel has recorded with many big-name artists, performing on over 50 albums, most recently Van Morrison’s studio album ‘Keep Me Singing’. A former member of The James Taylor Quartet, Nigel was voted the UK’s ‘Best Guitarist’ in the 2016 British Jazz Awards and is “…probably the most dynamic and gifted guitarist on the British jazz scene today” [All About Jazz]. Trumpet Steve Fishwick Steve has performed and recorded with many leading European jazz musicians including Sir John Dankworth, George Mraz, Dado Moroni, Claus Raibler, Tony Lakatos and the WDR big band. In the USA, Steve has performed and recorded with Anita O' Day, Ron Carter, Jimmy Heath, Peter Erskine, Eric Harland, Scott Hamilton, Herb Geller Saxophones and Flutes Andy Panayi Credits include Shirley Bassey, Jessye Norman, Paul McCartney, Seth MacFarlane, Elaine Paige, Elvis Costello, Georgie Fame, Helen Shapiro, Madeline Bell, Patty Austin, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Billy Cobham Piano Graham Harvey Credits include Incognito (MD), Stacey Kent, George Benson, M People, Hamish Stuart, The Jones Girls, Philip Bailey, Chaka Khan, The BBC Big Band, Madeline Bell, Jocelyn Brown, Mica Paris, Sir Cliff Richard Bass Geoff Gascoyne Credits include Jamie Cullum (MD), Sting, Van Morrison, Bill Bruford, Mari Wilson, Paloma Faith, Georgie Fame, Gloria Estefan, Guy Barker, Charlie Watts, Benny Golson, Jacqui Dankworth, John Martyn, Eartha Kitt Drums Sebastiaan de Krom Credits include Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Phil Woods, Dave Holland, Jamie Cullum, Guy Barker, Wynton Marsalis

Screenshots

Pianoteq 94 screens
Quartet 44 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pianoteq 9 at Free against Quartet 4's $16.99. Pianoteq 9 also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). Quartet 4's advantage is review sentiment (89% vs 72%). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Pianoteq 9 is free to download; Quartet 4 costs $16.99 up front. Pianoteq 9 sells 19 one-off in-app purchases and Quartet 4 sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pianoteq 9 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 18 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of Pianoteq 9's written reviews are positive against 89% of Quartet 4's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pianoteq 9 ships an update every 3 weeks, Quartet 4 monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pianoteq 9 versus Quartet 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPianoteq 9Quartet 4
PriceFree — better$16.99
Rating5.0 (52 ratings) — better4.7 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews89.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings52 — better18
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB528 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperModarttUK Music Apps Ltd

Customer experience

Pianoteq 9

All ratings52 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral11.1%
Negative16.7%

Quartet 4

All ratings17 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.3%

Bugs and requests

Pianoteq 9

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Quartet 4

Requested features

1 request
  • More guitar in rhythm section for future volumes

In-app purchases

19 purchases

Pianoteq 9

One-time19
  • Use existing licenceFree
  • Upgrade to latest version$29.00
  • Classical Guitar$49.99
Show 16 more
  • Steelpans$49.99
  • Grand Blüthner$49.99
  • Grand Petrof$49.99
  • Grand YC5$49.99
  • Harp$49.99
  • Grand Steinway B$49.99
  • Grand Shigeru Kawai SK-EX$49.99
  • Grand Steingraeber$49.99
  • Grand Bösendorfer 280VC$49.99
  • Electric Pianos$49.99
  • Hohner Collection$49.99
  • Upright U4$49.99
  • Syngular$49.99
  • Stage to Standard$129.99
  • Standard to Pro$129.99
  • Pianoteq STAGE$139.00
5 purchases

Quartet 4

One-time5
  • Upgrade song$0.99
  • Buy 10 tokens$8.99
  • Buy 20 tokens$14.99
Show 2 more
  • Buy 50 tokens$22.99
  • Upgrade all songs$39.99

Questions

Is Pianoteq 9 free?
Pianoteq 9 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Quartet 4 free?
Quartet 4 costs $16.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pianoteq 9 or Quartet 4?
Pianoteq 9 is rated higher. Pianoteq 9 averages 5.0 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while Quartet 4 averages 4.7 from 18 ratings.
Do Pianoteq 9 or Quartet 4 have ads?
Neither Pianoteq 9 nor Quartet 4 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pianoteq 9 or Quartet 4?
Pianoteq 9 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Quartet 4 monthly. Most recently, Pianoteq 9 was updated on October 19, 2026 and Quartet 4 on October 22, 2026.

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