Makes Progress vs FretPulse
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Makes Progress
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Practice makes progress. Now you can simplify your practice sessions with the app that combines everything you need to practice your instrument or practice with the band: - Metronome - Sheet music viewing - Song playback - Timer (count up or down) - Target tempos - Success tracking of your target tempos and overall session Great for the self-taught musician who has various sources of practice material in the form of songs, PDF documents, images, web based charts and learning services. You can bring all these together into a practice plan and easily use the all. Timer: You can set how long you intend to practice an item and have the timer count up from 0 or count down to 0. Metronome: Set your tempo, time signature and subdivision. Sheets and Web: Both the Sheet music viewer and Web viewer store your pan and zoom customizations in how you want to see their content so that you don't have to keep redoing them in every practice. The for PDF files you can also set the page you want to start at when you practice. Music: You can use songs you've purchased in Music, an Apple Music subscription or import music files to play along with. Once you've added a song you can set the Start and End points so you can play along to the whole thing or just focus on the part you're working on. You can also adjust the playback speed of the song for purchased and imported songs (not supported for Apple Music songs). Note: You can make a note on your session so that you don't need to remember what you want to focus on next time. Enjoy and improve. App EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
FretPulse
This app generates personalized daily guitar practice routines, tracks your progress with real-time BPM tracking, and guides you through exercises with scrolling notation and a built-in metronome. It offers a growing library of exercises and allows for custom routine creation.
- Personalized daily practice routines
- Auto-generated practice plans
- Speed trainer with BPM progression
- Real-time scrolling notation
- Built-in metronome
- Track BPM progress per exercise
- Customizable routines and playlists
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FretPulse auto-generates your daily practice routine, tracks your BPM progress exercise by exercise, and guides you through every drill with real-time scrolling notation. Built for guitarists who practice with intention. Stop winging it. Start getting better. PERSONALIZED DAILY ROUTINES FretPulse builds a fresh practice plan based on your skill level, focus areas, and session length — Mechanics & Dexterity, Lead Articulation, Rhythm & Groove, or Fretboard Navigation. Your routine refreshes on a schedule you control (1–7 days) so you're never grinding the same thing. SPEED TRAINER BUILT IN Set a start BPM, a target BPM, and an increment. FretPulse walks you up to tempo automatically — the same way serious musicians build speed. No separate app needed. REAL-TIME NOTATION & METRONOME Every exercise plays back with a scrolling staff and a live playhead so you always know where you are. Built-in metronome with Always On and Count-In modes. Independent volume for both click and guitar. TRACK BPM MASTERY PER EXERCISE FretPulse remembers your working tempo and personal-best BPM for every single exercise. Rate your effort after each session and your progress updates automatically — so you can see exactly how far you've come. GROWING EXERCISE LIBRARY Hundreds of exercises across Alternate Picking, Legato, Sweep Picking, String Bending, Strumming, Scales, Chords, Tapping, and more — organized by technique and difficulty. New exercises added regularly. CUSTOM ROUTINES & PRE-BUILT PLAYLISTS Build your own practice playlists from the full library. Drag to reorder, set per-exercise durations, and return to them any time. Or start from a pre-built routine and clone it to make it your own. DRILL ANY SECTION Loop a specific measure range to isolate exactly what needs work. Set work/rest intervals so your hands recover between rounds. No restarting the whole exercise just to hit one section. STREAKS & FOCUS ANALYTICS See your practice streak, total time by category, technique breakdown charts, and recent personal bests — all in one dashboard view. FREE TO TRY Jump in with a full-featured demo — no account, no credit card. Upgrade to FretPulse Premium to unlock the complete exercise library, unlimited custom routines, cloud sync, and full progress tracking. FretPulse is free to download. Full access to all features requires asubscription ($9.99/month or $99.99/year.) Terms of Service: https://fretpulse.io/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: FretPulse at 15.1 against Makes Progress's 17.6. On price, 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
Both are free to download. Makes Progress sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year and FretPulse sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Makes Progress ships an update weekly, FretPulse every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Makes Progress | FretPulse |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hammer of the Gods Software | FretPulse LLC |
In-app purchases
Makes Progress
- Makes Progress - Full (Annual)$4.991 Year
FretPulse
- FretPulse Premium$9.991 Month
- FretPulse Premium$99.991 Year
Questions
Is Makes Progress free?
Is FretPulse free?
Do Makes Progress or FretPulse have ads?
Which is updated more often, Makes Progress or FretPulse?
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