Comparison

PulseKey Tuner vs SCOUT

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

Head to head
About

PulseKey Tuner

Features
Read full description

Get in tune. Find the key. Keep making music. PulseKey puts an always-listening instrument tuner and a song key finder on your iPhone. Open Tuner and play a note, or tap Listen in Key finder to estimate the musical key of the sound around you. Audio analysis happens on your device. START FREE - Chromatic tuner for single notes. - Standard guitar and ukulele presets. - Live note, frequency and cents readings. - Automatic string targeting or manual note lock. - Keep the screen awake while you play. - Five successful microphone analyses in Key finder, with an estimated key, harmonic profile, relative key and Camelot notation. Failed or canceled key measurements do not use your five included analyses. The allowance is five successful analyses in total, not five per day. PULSEKEY PRO: ONE PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION Unlock Pro once for lifetime access to: - Unlimited Key finder analyses. - Alternate guitar tunings, four- and five-string bass, low-G ukulele, violin and mandolin presets. - Custom tunings for your own instruments. - Pitch trace, adjustable A4 reference and a reference tone. - Audio-file import, selected-region analysis and loop playback. - Estimated keys across sections of an imported recording. - Saved measurements with titles and notes. - Scale notes, diatonic chords, Open Key notation and compatible mixing keys. - Experimental drum resonance and lug-comparison tools. ALREADY BOUGHT PULSEKEY? If you purchased the paid app before this free-with-Pro update, lifetime Pro is included at no extra charge. Use the same Apple Account, and choose Restore Purchases in Settings if needed. MADE FOR YOUR NEXT SESSION Move quickly between Key finder and Tuner. PulseKey remembers your last mode, so you can pick up where you left off. No account, advertising or developer analytics. Microphone audio and imported files are not uploaded by PulseKey. A NOTE ABOUT MEASUREMENTS Key and pitch readings are estimates and depend on the instrument, room noise and microphone. For tuning, play one clear note at a time. Complex music can have more than one plausible key. Experimental drum readings may follow an overtone rather than the fundamental. Pro is an optional one-time in-app purchase. Restore Purchases is available in Settings and on the Pro screen.

About

SCOUT

Features
Read full description

SCOUT hears the music around you and tells you what it is. Point your phone at a speaker, a DJ booth or a rehearsal room and SCOUT locks onto the KEY and TEMPO in a few seconds — on a Camelot wheel built for harmonic mixing, with sharp or flat spelling, tuning offset and a confidence readout so you know when to trust it. When key and tempo are both sure, SCOUT tells you it has locked. Tap tempo when you'd rather count it yourself. Everything is analysed on the device: no account, no ads, no recording, nothing uploaded. FREE, FOREVER • Live key & BPM from the microphone • Camelot / sharp / flat display, tuning readout, confidence • Tap tempo, half/double time, HOLD and COPY SCOUT PRO — one payment, no subscription • CHORDS: the chord playing right now, including sevenths, sixths, sus and slash chords • PROGRESSION: the chords as they come, named as Roman numerals against the key (vi–IV–I–V) • LOG: every detection you've made, ready to copy into your set notes • +FILE: analyse any track from Files or iCloud for the definitive key, BPM and progression — then hear it play while the scope follows it live Built by Echelon Audio, makers of the SCOUT plugin for the studio. Same detector, in your pocket.

Screenshots

PulseKey Tuner4 screens
SCOUT3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PulseKey Tuner at none against SCOUT's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. SCOUT sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PulseKey Tuner asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
PulseKey Tuner versus SCOUT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPulseKey TunerSCOUT
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperErkan ErdoganEchelon Audio

In-app purchases

None

PulseKey Tuner

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SCOUT

One-time1
  • SCOUT Pro$4.99

Questions

Is PulseKey Tuner free?
PulseKey Tuner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SCOUT free?
SCOUT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PulseKey Tuner or SCOUT have ads?
Neither PulseKey Tuner nor SCOUT shows ads.

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