Comparison

BandCut vs GuideTone

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

Head to head
About

BandCut

Features
Read full description

No Monthly Fees Top up credits once—they never expire. Pay only for what you separate. Split any song into studio-quality stems—vocals, drums, bass, guitar, and piano—in seconds. Perfect for musicians, producers, and DJs. Full-Screen Studio Mixer: Real-time vertical faders, solo/mute controls, and a live waveform seek bar. Pro Practice Tools: Pitch-shift keys without changing tempo, loop tricky sections, and auto-detect BPM.

About

GuideTone

This app provides musicians with tools to practice songs more effectively. It allows users to import audio, loop and slow down difficult sections, and isolate or mute specific instruments. Users can also record their own practice sessions and utilize built-in editing, tuning, and metronome features.

Highlights
  • Import songs from various sources
  • Loop and slow down audio sections
  • Isolate or mute instruments on-device
  • Record practice takes with built-in console
  • Non-destructive audio editing
  • Chromatic tuner and metronome
Features
Read full description

GuideTone turns any recording into your personal practice room. A guide tone is the 3rd or the 7th of a chord — the note that tells you where the harmony is going, and the one worth hearing first. That is the whole idea: show you what actually matters in a song, so the practice can start. Import a track, loop the hard parts, slow them down without changing the pitch, pull the band apart, and see the changes written out — all on your iPhone or iPad, and all without an internet connection. WRITE YOUR OWN MUSIC Start a new score with its key, time signature and tempo, then tap notes in on the piano and hear each one as it lands. Add dynamics, accents, slurs and chord symbols, lay out repeats and endings, copy and paste bars, or write a phrase through all twelve keys. Export a PDF to print, or a MusicXML file that opens in MuseScore, written for your instrument or at concert pitch. OPEN SCORE FILES Bring in a MusicXML or .mxl chart and read it engraved: as written or at concert pitch, one part at a time, with a tap on any note to hear it. Anything GuideTone can't draw yet is listed, and your original file is kept. IMPORT MUSIC YOU OWN Bring in tracks from Files, iCloud Drive, or AirDrop — MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF, FLAC. (Streaming subscription downloads are copy-protected and cannot be imported by any app.) YOUR LIBRARY Every song and take on one sheet with its key, tempo, length and waveform, your scores beside them. Setlists hold both, so your exercises can have their own; tag anything, and your last song waits where you stopped. LOOP & SLOW DOWN Set A/B markers and loop any passage. Change tempo and pitch independently, a fast lick at half speed without the chipmunk effect or a friendlier key, and ramp the tempo up rep by rep with the Speed Trainer. ISOLATE THE PARTS (ON-DEVICE) Split a song into 2, 4 or 6 stems right on your iPhone or iPad. Mute the vocals for karaoke, mute the melody and take the solo, or solo the drums to lock in your time. Nothing is uploaded. SEE THE CHORDS GuideTone listens to the song and writes out its chords, laid out bar by bar on a Chord Ribbon that follows along as it plays. Wrong chord? Correct the label, set its exact spelling, or retime it by hand — your edit sticks. READ THE WORDS GuideTone listens to a song and writes down its lyrics on your iPhone or iPad, each word lined up to the audio. Read them on the Lyrics screen, the chords over the words, from across the room: each word lights as it's sung and the page turns itself. Tap a word to jump there, hold a line to loop it, and fix a word right in the sheet. READ IT ON THE STAFF Open the Chart to read the chords on a properly engraved lead sheet that follows the playhead, re-engraves when you transpose, and takes your edits right on the page. Engraved or handwritten-jazz notation, your choice. Tap Edit to write your own notes on it in the Transcription Editor. KNOW THE SHAPES Every chord in the song, drawn for guitar and piano with its positions and inversions — and they sound when you touch them. CAST THE WORDS TO A TV Cast the Lyrics screen to a TV or a second screen, with words lighting as they're sung and chords in time, while your iPhone or iPad stays the remote. RECORD YOUR TAKES Play along and capture it with a built-in count-in, then balance the backing against your mic before you save. EDIT LIKE A PRO A live, non-destructive audio editor: cut, copy, paste, fade, gain, one-tap normalize and snap to the beat. TUNER & METRONOME A precise chromatic tuner and a sample-locked metronome are built in, and the song's own tempo and beats set the metronome and the count-in. EVERYTHING STAYS ON YOUR iPhone or iPad Your audio, your recordings, and your practice happen on-device. No account required. PRICING Try every feature free for 14 days. After that, unlock GuideTone forever with a single one-time purchase — no subscription. Restore Purchases is built in. Questions or feedback? We'd love to hear from you.

Screenshots

BandCut4 screens
GuideTone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: BandCut at 16.4 against GuideTone's 18.0. On price, update cadence, 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. BandCut sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and GuideTone sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BandCut ships an update weekly, GuideTone every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
BandCut versus GuideTone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBandCutGuideTone
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPoramate WongbiasujjMichael Colon

In-app purchases

3 purchases

BandCut

One-time3
  • Start Pack$0.99
  • Pro Pack$1.99
  • Studio Pack$2.99
1 purchases

GuideTone

One-time1
  • GuideTone Lifetime Unlock$29.99

Questions

Is BandCut free?
BandCut is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GuideTone free?
GuideTone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BandCut or GuideTone have ads?
Neither BandCut nor GuideTone shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BandCut or GuideTone?
BandCut ships an update weekly, and GuideTone every 4 days. Most recently, BandCut was updated on October 25, 2026 and GuideTone on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons