Scale Navigator Dashboard vs Chords Explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Scale Navigator Dashboard
Explore musical harmony by navigating scales and chords. Save interesting progressions, build songs step-by-step, and sync with other musicians or DAWs in real-time. Visualize the interconnected network of scales in 2D or 3D.
- Navigate interconnected scales
- Explore and save chord progressions
- Build songs step-by-step
- Real-time ensemble syncing
- DAW integration
- 3D scale network visualization
- Instrument tablature display
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What key are we in, what’s the chord right now, and what comes next? Scale Navigator answers that question by giving you a way to explore harmony and keep what you find. You can move through scales and chords, try things, and hear how they connect. Stay in one area or move somewhere new. When you come across something you like, you can save it. Build sequences of harmonic states and chain them into a progression or a full song. Whether you’re exploring or building, the foundation stays the same: a shared harmonic state. Once it’s set, everything can follow it. Your playing, your instruments, your DAW, or other musicians in the room. THE SCALE NETWORK Scales are arranged in a connected network: think of it like the circle of fifths on steroids. Each scale sits next to neighbors that are related, so moving between them feels smooth. Move locally for subtle changes, or jump across the network for contrast. CHORD PROGRESSIONS Every scale contains its own set of chords. You can adjust chord quality, control how roots move, and shape the voice leading. This gives you a structured way to explore chords, try ideas, and keep what works as you move through different harmonic areas. SKETCHPAD When you land on something you like, you can save it. Each saved state keeps the scale and chord together, so you can return to it, compare it, and build from it. Write music step by step by chaining together the moments you want to keep. ENSEMBLE Create an ensemble and share a link. The host controls the harmonic state. Anyone who joins stays in sync with the same scale and chord in real time. Each person or instrument can use it differently. Play directly, improvise, read notation or tablature, or route it into MIDI. It works just as well for coordinating multiple instruments on your own as it does for playing with other people. TABLATURE View scales and chords on piano, guitar, bass, mandolin, and other instruments, along with standard notation. 3D VIEW The network can also be explored in 3D, with zooming and rotation control. DAW INTEGRATION Connects to your DAW, so your session stays in sync with the current harmonic state.
Chords Explorer
This app helps musicians, producers, and songwriters generate and refine chord progressions. It offers various tools like a piano keyboard, guitar fretboard, and random chord generator to spark creativity. Progressions can be exported in multiple formats.
- Piano keyboard and guitar fretboard views
- Random chord generator
- Real-time audio playback
- Smart chord suggestions
- Drag and reorder chords
- Custom Chord Builder
- Export to MIDI, WAV, or TXT
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Spark your next chord progression. Select a chord or roll the dice → build and refine → export to MIDI, WAV or TXT. Chords Explorer is a chord progression builder designed for musicians, producers and songwriters who want to quickly find and explore new ideas. Features Piano keyboard and guitar fretboard views Random chord generator to break creative blocks Real-time audio playback with adjustable tempo and sustain Smart chord suggestions based on music theory Drag and reorder chords in the timeline Inversions and voicing options Custom Chord Builder — define your own chord types with any interval combination Export to MIDI, WAV or TXT Community progressions — vote and discover Sharp / flat / auto notation that follows the detected key Available in English, Français, Español, Русский, 日本語 ABC and solfège notation Export, custom chords and real-time MIDI output are a one-time unlock — no subscription.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Scale Navigator Dashboard at none against Chords Explorer's 2. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Chords Explorer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Scale Navigator Dashboard asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Scale Navigator Dashboard against 5.0 for Chords Explorer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 7 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on July 17, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Scale Navigator Dashboard | Chords Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nathan Turczan | Loup Vuarnesson |
Customer experience
Scale Navigator Dashboard
Chords Explorer
In-app purchases
Scale Navigator Dashboard
No in-app purchases
Chords Explorer
- Unlock Exports2 variants$2.99





