Comparison

Fretboard Map vs Rhythm Trainer

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

Head to head
About

Fretboard Map

Features
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Fretboard Map helps beginning guitarists understand the fretboard visually. Explore the CAGED system, shell voicings, chord tones, and an interactive note map to move beyond open chords and the first three frets. Guided practice paths help you learn roots, octaves, CAGED shapes, and fretboard connections. Hear the notes you are learning with separate recorded acoustic and electric guitar sounds. Play a chord together or hear its tones one at a time as an arpeggio. The acoustic sound uses nylon-string guitar recordings; the electric sound uses pickup recordings with gentle amplifier processing. Both sounds are included for offline playback. Key features: - Diatonic chord diagrams across seven modes, with chord and arpeggio playback - All five CAGED shapes and shell voicings - Triads and major, minor, dominant, and half-diminished seventh chords - Switch between note names and scale degrees - Interactive note learning and guided daily practice - Acoustic and electric guitar playback for notes, chords, and arpeggios - Built-in tuner with 440 Hz, 432 Hz, and 430 Hz reference standards - Landscape layouts for iPhone and iPad - English and Simplified Chinese interfaces No account is required. Build your understanding of chord shapes, note locations, and connections across the guitar neck.

About

Rhythm Trainer

Features
Read full description

Train rhythm like a skill: hear it, read it, tap it in time. Rhythm Bench is a rhythm trainer and metronome for musicians, drummers, music students and teachers. More than 30 exercises cover pulse, subdivisions, syncopation, tuplets, odd meters, sight reading, polyrhythms and independence—with early/late timing feedback you can actually practise from. RHYTHM TRAINER WITH REAL TIMING FEEDBACK See whether each tap was early, on time or late. Session summaries show timing bias, consistency and drift so you know what to fix—not only whether an answer was correct. SIGHT READING & EAR TRAINING FOR RHYTHM Read rhythms on the staff, tap them against the click, and train dictation and recognition. Build from simple note values to complex patterns without repeating the same drill forever. METRONOME, TEMPO & PRACTICE TOOLS Use a metronome with accents, subdivisions, swing, gap bars, tempo ramps and polymeter. Build speed with the tempo trainer, browse grooves, or tap an idea and turn it into readable notation. GUIDED COURSES + FULL CATALOGUE Follow ten guided paths from pulse through compound meter, syncopation, tuplets, odd meters, polyrhythm and sight-reading fluency—or open the exercise catalogue and build a session around the skill you need. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Works offline for practice. No account or cloud sync of your history. Anonymous Firebase Analytics helps improve the app. Your practice history stays on your device unless you export it. Premium is a one-time unlock (no subscription): remaining curriculum paths, full catalogue and advanced practice tools.

Screenshots

Fretboard Map4 screens
Rhythm Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Fretboard Map at none against Rhythm Trainer's 1. Fretboard Map also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). Rhythm Trainer's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). 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. Rhythm Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Fretboard Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fretboard Map ships an update every 9 days, Rhythm Trainer monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Fretboard Map versus Rhythm Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFretboard MapRhythm Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJialang ZhangFrancisco Ferreira Pampulha

In-app purchases

None

Fretboard Map

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Rhythm Trainer

One-time1
  • Premium unlock$2.99

Questions

Is Fretboard Map free?
Fretboard Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rhythm Trainer free?
Rhythm Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Fretboard Map or Rhythm Trainer have ads?
Neither Fretboard Map nor Rhythm Trainer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fretboard Map or Rhythm Trainer?
Fretboard Map ships an update every 9 days, and Rhythm Trainer monthly. Most recently, Fretboard Map was updated on October 24, 2026 and Rhythm Trainer on October 25, 2026.

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