Comparison

Song Buddy vs Harmonaut

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

Head to head
About

Song Buddy

Features
Read full description

Song Buddy separates any song into its individual parts — vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano, and more — so you can learn, practice, and play along like never before. Powered by a native on-device AI engine, Song Buddy splits any audio file into up to 6 stems in minutes. No internet connection required. Your audio never leaves your device. LEARN BY EAR - Isolate any instrument to hear exactly what's being played - See the bass line as a piano-roll — notes are detected automatically and scroll in time with the song - Mute vocals and sing along, or mute the bass and play it yourself - Slow down playback without changing pitch - Shift pitch up or down to match your instrument or voice PRACTICE SMARTER - Loop any section of a song to drill the tricky parts - Beat-detected metronome that follows the song's own tempo - Built-in chromatic tuner — get in tune before you start - Per-track volume, mute, and solo controls - Waveform view with zoom for precise navigation PLUG IN AND PLAY ALONG - Connect your instrument or mic and hear yourself in the mix - Built-in amp simulation with 3-band EQ and cabinet modelling - Compressor and reverb for a studio-quality feel BUILT FOR YOU - All processing runs locally — no subscriptions, no cloud, no account - Supports any audio format your device can read - Saves your work as a portable files — open it on any of your devices Whether you're transcribing a guitar solo, learning a bass line, drilling a drum fill, or just jamming along with a backing track — Song Buddy is your dedicated practice companion.

About

Harmonaut

Create rich musical chord progressions by feel, without music theory. Shape the mood with intuitive faders and export your creations as MIDI for use in any Digital Audio Workstation. Perfect for songwriters and producers looking for a new way to explore musical ideas.

Highlights
  • Play chords by feel, no theory required
  • Shape chord mood with tension and brightness faders
  • Build and reorder full chord progressions
  • Voice-led chords for smooth transitions
  • Export progressions as MIDI files
  • Export to iReal Pro format
Features
Read full description

Harmonaut™ is a chord instrument you play by feel. Press a key and hear a rich chord, voice-led smoothly from the last one, no theory needed. Build a progression, shape its mood, and export it as MIDI for your track. Two faders let you shape the mood as you play: more tension or less, brighter or darker, even major to minor. Chase a moody electronic progression, a warm lo-fi loop, a jazzy turn, a cinematic swell, or a simple pop hook. It all comes from your intent, not from naming chords. HOW IT PLAYS • Tension that actually resolves: chords that lean, pull home, and land, so your progression goes somewhere instead of just floating • Every one of the twelve keys is in play: reach past the obvious chords for richer, more surprising color, and it still sounds right • Build a whole progression, not just four chords: every chord you play lands in your trail, ready to reorder or duplicate to try new versions in seconds • Pick up right where you left off: your ideas are saved for you TAKE IT TO YOUR TRACK • Export any progression as a MIDI file and drop it into BandLab, GarageBand, or any DAW that opens MIDI, then play it through any instrument you like • Export to iReal Pro format to keep a chord chart or practice over the changes • Harmonaut Pro unlocks MIDI export, iReal Pro export, and unlimited saved progressions IT SOUNDS GOOD FOR A REASON Every chord is voice-led from the one before it, live, as you play: the notes move the shortest way, so a progression flows instead of jumping around. That's the finished feeling you hear in the songs you love. Push Intensity and the voicings open up: lush 9ths, bright 13ths, and altered dominants like G7#9b13, the colors session keyboard players reach for. And Harmonaut names every chord the way musicians actually write it, like Ebmaj7, so you can hand your progression to a session player, a bandmate, or a producer and they'll play it back exactly, first time. No box to buy, nothing to charge, no menus to dig through. It's already in your pocket. Whether it's your first progression or a sound you can hear but can't name, Harmonaut meets you where you are. See the end user license agreement at the following link: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Song Buddy4 screens
Harmonaut4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Song Buddy at none against Harmonaut's 1. Harmonaut's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Harmonaut sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Song Buddy asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Song Buddy ships an update every 8 days, Harmonaut every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Song Buddy versus Harmonaut: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSong BuddyHarmonaut
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—7 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB117 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarcello MasciaDistrict One Mobile, LLC

In-app purchases

None

Song Buddy

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Harmonaut

One-time1
  • Harmonaut Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Song Buddy free?
Song Buddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Harmonaut free?
Harmonaut is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Song Buddy or Harmonaut have ads?
Neither Song Buddy nor Harmonaut shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Song Buddy or Harmonaut?
Song Buddy ships an update every 8 days, and Harmonaut every 9 days. Most recently, Song Buddy was updated on November 13, 2026 and Harmonaut on November 5, 2026.

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