Comparison

Start Jamming with Grass vs Banjo Licks

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

Head to head
About

Start Jamming with Grass

Learn bluegrass music with a comprehensive song library, including chords, lyrics, and demo videos. Discover over 700 bluegrass jams nationwide to connect with other musicians. Practice with built-in backing tracks at adjustable tempos.

Highlights
  • Extensive song library with chords and lyrics
  • Demo videos for jam standards
  • Jam finder for local bluegrass events
  • Track played songs and share with friends
  • Automatic backing tracks with adjustable tempo
Features
Read full description

Grass is your companion for learning bluegrass music. Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand your skills, this app provides everything you need to join the bluegrass community. Key Features: - Song Library: Chords, lyrics, and demo videos for over 400 jam standards, filterable by category and artist. - Jam Finder: Meet new friends to play with at 700+ bluegrass jams across the country. - Lists: Track what you've played, or "go live" and help your friends follow along - Practice Tools: Built-in automatic backing tracks at adjustable tempos. Perfect for: - Beginning musicians interested in bluegrass - Intermediate players looking to expand their repertoire - Anyone wanting to join the bluegrass community - Musicians searching for local jams

About

Banjo Licks

Learn bluegrass music by ear for banjo and guitar. This app offers a comprehensive system with lick packs, song experiences, and structured programs to develop musical confidence and improvisation skills. New content is added monthly, with lessons taught by a professional musician.

Highlights
  • Learn by ear, not just tabs
  • Lick packs for musical vocabulary
  • Song experiences for full tunes
  • Structured learning programs
  • 500+ lessons with monthly updates
  • Community feedback and support
Features
Read full description

Most banjo players spend years memorizing tabs and practicing isolated licks — and still freeze up the moment someone calls a tune they don't know. The problem usually isn't effort. It's the method. Banjo Licks teaches you the way musicians actually learn: by ear, in context, in real musical situations. It's a complete system built to take you from "stuck" to jam-ready. NOW MORE THAN BANJO Banjo Licks is growing into a full bluegrass-by-ear platform. Guitar content is now included under the same roof, with the same ear-first method and the same step-by-step system — so you can build real musical confidence on the instrument you love, or more than one. WHAT YOU GET Lick Packs — build a real musical vocabulary one phrase at a time, and learn how each one fits so you can drop it into any song. Song Experiences — play full tunes by ear, step by step: melody, backup, and improvisation. Programs — day-by-day structure for the fundamentals that make everything click, like timing, tone, and backup. 500+ lessons, with new content added every month. Plus a community where you can post videos and get feedback. WHY BY EAR When you train your ear alongside your technique, the instrument stops feeling like memorization and starts feeling like music. You hear chord changes coming, recognize melodies faster, improvise with intention, and finally build your own sound. LEARN FROM A PRO Every lesson is taught by Bennett Sullivan, a working banjo player who's shared the stage with Steve Martin, Billy Strings, and Del McCoury, and whose playing appears in Poker Face, The Greatest Showman, and Bright Star on Broadway. He's helped 11,000+ students worldwide improve their timing, backup, and improvisation. Just $39/month for All Access — every banjo and guitar lesson, program, and song experience in one membership. One private lesson usually costs more than a whole month of this. Cancel anytime. -- ▷ Already a Member? Sign-In to access your subscription. ▷ New? Subscribe in the app to get instant access. Banjo Licks offers auto-renewing subscriptions. You'll receive unlimited access to content on all your devices. Payment is charged to your Account at confirmation of purchase. Pricing varies by location and is confirmed prior to purchase. Subscription automatically renews each month unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period, or the trial period (when offered). Cancel anytime in Account Settings. For more information see our: -Terms of Service: https://banjolicks.com/terms -Privacy Policy: https://banjolicks.com/privacy

Screenshots

Start Jamming with Grass4 screens
Banjo Licks3 screens

Verdict

The call

Start Jamming with Grass and Banjo Licks both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Banjo Licks's written reviews are positive against 33% of Start Jamming with Grass's. Start Jamming with Grass's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

Both are free to download. Banjo Licks sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $38.99 per month. Start Jamming with Grass asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Banjo Licks holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Start Jamming with Grass's written reviews are positive against 100% of Banjo Licks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Start Jamming with Grass ships an update weekly, Banjo Licks every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Start Jamming with Grass versus Banjo Licks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStart Jamming with GrassBanjo Licks
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (11 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11 — better4
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB67 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperElijah Jacob MayfieldDaily Banjo Licks, LLC

Customer experience

Start Jamming with Grass

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral66.7%
Negative0.0%

Banjo Licks

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Start Jamming with Grass

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Banjo Licks

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly All Access7 Days trial$38.991 Month

Questions

Is Start Jamming with Grass free?
Start Jamming with Grass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Banjo Licks free?
Banjo Licks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Start Jamming with Grass or Banjo Licks?
Banjo Licks is rated higher. Start Jamming with Grass averages 4.8 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Banjo Licks averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Start Jamming with Grass or Banjo Licks have ads?
Neither Start Jamming with Grass nor Banjo Licks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Start Jamming with Grass or Banjo Licks?
Start Jamming with Grass ships an update weekly, and Banjo Licks every 6 weeks. Most recently, Start Jamming with Grass was updated on October 24, 2026 and Banjo Licks on October 29, 2026.

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