Comparison

Tapko Tuner vs Vagabond Synth

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

Head to head
About

Tapko Tuner

A highly accurate chromatic tuner designed for bass and guitar, offering real-time pitch detection. It functions as a standalone app using your device's microphone or as an AUv3 effect within compatible music applications.

Highlights
  • High-accuracy chromatic tuning
  • Real-time pitch detection
  • Standalone microphone tuning
  • AUv3 extension support
  • Adjustable reference pitch
  • Low-noise idle behavior
Features
Read full description

Tapko Tuner is a precise chromatic tuner for guitar and bass, from 5-string low B up to the top frets of a guitar. Use it on its own with your device microphone, or load it as an AUv3 effect in AUM, GarageBand, Loopy Pro and other hosts. The audio passes through untouched. Features: - Accurate real-time pitch detection, steady even on low bass notes - Clean horizontal meter that shows flat, in tune and sharp at a glance - Large note name with octave and live frequency readout - Adjustable reference pitch (A4 = 420-460 Hz) - Adjustable indicator width and height - No ghost readings when the room is quiet - MIDI CC output in AUv3 hosts, one CC per tuning zone Notes: - Microphone permission is required for standalone tuning. - MIDI output is available when Tapko Tuner runs as an AUv3 plugin.

About

Vagabond Synth

This is a free wavetable synthesizer app that can be used standalone or as an AUv3 instrument. It offers 16 voice polyphony, multiple oscillators, a switchable filter, modulation, and effects. It also includes a MIDI processor for generating musical sequences.

Highlights
  • Standalone or AUv3 instrument
  • 16 voice polyphony
  • Multiple oscillators per voice
  • Switchable filter
  • Modulation and effects
  • Generative MIDI processor
Features
Read full description

Vagabond is an idiosyncratic wavetable synthesiser, running standalone or as an AUv3 instrument in compatible hosts such as GarageBand, AUM, Loopy Pro or Cubasis. It features 16 voice polyphony, 4 unison oscillators per voice plus a sub-oscillator, switchable filter, a bit of modulation and some effects. Also built in is a MIDI processor plugin, Twelve, a generative music toy that creates 12-bar blues sequences. Vagabond uses this for demo purposes, but you can load it in other hosts if you like. It's kind of a one trick pony, but one trick is better than none. As always, Vagabond is 100% free, no IAPs, no subs, no spyware, no nag screens. We don't want your money and we don't want your data.

Screenshots

Tapko Tuner1 screens
Vagabond Synth3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tapko Tuner at every 5 weeks against Vagabond Synth's every 3 months. Vagabond Synth's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Tapko Tuner against 5.0 for Vagabond Synth. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Vagabond Synth has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tapko Tuner ships an update every 5 weeks, Vagabond Synth every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Tapko Tuner versus Vagabond Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTapko TunerVagabond Synth
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid Lars GuvaMatthew Caldwell

Customer experience

Tapko Tuner

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Vagabond Synth

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Tapko Tuner

No in-app purchases

None

Vagabond Synth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tapko Tuner free?
Tapko Tuner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Vagabond Synth free?
Vagabond Synth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tapko Tuner or Vagabond Synth?
Tapko Tuner and Vagabond Synth are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 7 ratings respectively.
Do Tapko Tuner or Vagabond Synth have ads?
Neither Tapko Tuner nor Vagabond Synth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tapko Tuner or Vagabond Synth?
Tapko Tuner ships an update every 5 weeks, and Vagabond Synth every 3 months. Most recently, Tapko Tuner was updated on November 5, 2026 and Vagabond Synth on October 31, 2026.

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