Comparison

RealPlay vs Jazz Catalog

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

Head to head
About

RealPlay

Practice music with authentic backing tracks performed by professional musicians. Customize tempo, key, and mix for focused learning. Features over 100 standard chord progressions with an expanding library.

Highlights
  • Authentic backing tracks
  • 100+ standard chord progressions
  • Real-time tempo adjustment
  • Instrument isolation and mixing
  • Instant transposition to all keys
Features
Read full description

RealPlay lets you practice with real music—not midi tracks, AI, or loops. Play along with authentic backing tracks performed by world-class rhythm sections, featuring an expanding library of over 100 essential standard chord progressions. Easily customize your practice with real-time controls for tempo, key, and mix—so you can focus on exactly what you need. Features: • World-class rhythm sections • 100+ essential jazz standards and chord progressions (expanding library) • Real-time tempo adjustment • Instrument isolation and mixing (ideal for rhythm section players) • Instant transposition to all 12 keys Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Jazz Catalog

Features
Read full description

The jazz canon, organized. JazzCatalog is a chart reader built for working musicians. Browse thousands of standards across every canonical fake book, drop in your own charts, build setlists for the night, and practice with a built-in metronome, MIDI chord recognition, annotations, and YouTube playback — all on your iPad or iPhone. WHAT'S INSIDE • 3,500+ standards. Search the entire jazz canon by title or book. Filter to playable tunes or your bookmarked favorites. • Add your own charts. Drop in any single-song PDF and it joins the catalog right alongside the standards. Or override a tune's book version with your own arrangement — the app will use your PDF for that song while keeping the book for everything else. • Setlists. Build the night in your own order. Tap Next on the bandstand and you move to the next tune in the list, not the next page in the book. • Practice metronome. Visual click with time signatures and accents. Per-song BPM is saved automatically the moment you change it. • MIDI chord display. Plug in a keyboard and the chord you're holding shows on screen — inversions, slashes, and extensions resolved correctly. • Annotations. Mark up charts with pen, marker, or pencil. Use a finger or Apple Pencil. Annotations stay locked to each tune across launches. • YouTube reference tracks. Listen to a canonical recording of any tune while reading the chart. The player floats — drag it anywhere that doesn't cover the staff. • Your library, your way. Import legally-acquired PDFs of full fake books, or drop in single-song charts. Everything stays on your device — no cloud, no account, no subscription. BUILT FOR THE BANDSTAND JazzCatalog isn't a beginner app or a notation editor. It's a tool for the working musician who already plays the music and needs the chart, the chord reference, the click, and the recording all in one place. PRIVACY Your library, bookmarks, custom charts, and setlists stay on your device. There's no account to create. There's nothing to sync.

Screenshots

RealPlay4 screens
Jazz Catalog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Jazz Catalog at none against RealPlay's 2. Jazz Catalog also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). RealPlay's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. RealPlay sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.29 per month. Jazz Catalog asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RealPlay ships an update every 5 days, Jazz Catalog every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
RealPlay versus Jazz Catalog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRealPlayJazz Catalog
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (164 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews73.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings164 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size113 MB82 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRealPlay LLCNicolas Tejera

In-app purchases

2 purchases

RealPlay

Subscriptions2
  • RealPlay Pro Monthly$3.291 Month
  • RealPlay Pro Yearly$21.991 Year
None

Jazz Catalog

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RealPlay free?
RealPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Jazz Catalog free?
Jazz Catalog is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RealPlay or Jazz Catalog have ads?
Neither RealPlay nor Jazz Catalog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RealPlay or Jazz Catalog?
RealPlay ships an update every 5 days, and Jazz Catalog every 2 days. Most recently, RealPlay was updated on October 22, 2026 and Jazz Catalog on October 10, 2026.

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