KnowYourNeck vs Guitar Codex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KnowYourNeck
Explore the interconnectedness of musical scales and arpeggios on a guitar fretboard. Visualize chord tones, target notes, and practice with visual overlays for backing tracks. Offers tools for learning intervals, scales, and chords, with advanced features for Pro users.
- Overlay multiple arpeggios
- Identify target notes between chords
- Play along with visual fretboard overlay
- Visualize intervals and scales
- Display chord voicings and inversions
- Real-time pitch detection
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Most guitar apps show you one scale or arpeggio at a time. KnowYourNeck shows you how everything connects. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT • Multi Arp — Overlay up to three arpeggios simultaneously. See the chord tones for an entire progression on the neck at once, so you can practice connecting lines and navigating changes instead of just memorizing isolated shapes. • Target Notes — Identify which notes are safe landing points between chord changes. Overlaying a scale against an arpeggio shows you exactly which degrees work as target notes when you land on a new chord — the key to sounding musical instead of mechanical. • Play Along with Visual Overlay — Practice with backing tracks while the fretboard changes with every chord in your progression. A preview shows the upcoming scale or arpeggio before the change hits, so you can prepare your line in advance. Available in Jazz, Blues, Rock, Funk, Bossa, and Drone styles. EVERYTHING ELSE YOU GET • Intervals — Visualize the distance between any two notes across all six strings. • Scales — Every common scale and mode mapped across the full neck with color-coded degrees. • Chords — Triads, Drop 2, Drop 3, and Shell voicings with every inversion drawn as a grip across the neck. • Lick Builder (Pro) — Tap out note sequences on the fretboard and save your lines. • Quiz Mode (Pro) — Test intervals, chord tones, and scale mastery with detailed accuracy and speed stats. • Pitch Detection — Play a note and the app identifies it on the neck in real time. • Zen Mode — Full-screen fretboard with no chrome, for focused practice. BUILT FOR LEARNING Toggle note names or scale degrees. Switch sharps and flats. Show or hide open strings. Chromatic color mode to spot patterns fast. Whether you're working on your first pentatonic or learning to navigate a jazz progression, KnowYourNeck shows you the neck the way it actually works — as a connected system, not a collection of boxes. Free to explore. Upgrade to Pro for the Lick Builder, Quiz Mode, and Play Along.
Guitar Codex
This app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for guitarists of all levels, from beginners to experienced players. It includes a tuner, metronome, interactive chord and scale libraries, and a structured 140-lesson course covering theory, technique, and songwriting.
- Chromatic tuner with multiple presets
- Metronome with tap tempo
- Interactive circle of fifths
- Extensive chord and scale libraries
- 140 structured lessons
- Fretboard diagrams with color-coded notes
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Guitar Codex is the app you reach for every time you pick up a guitar. Find a chord, run a scale, tune up, or sit down for a proper lesson. It works for total beginners and for players twenty years in. THE TOOLS - Chord Finder: tap the frets on a blank fretboard and watch the chord names appear. Play a shape you can't name and find out what it is, or build a chord note by note and see how it's made. - Chromatic tuner with a smooth needle and presets for Standard, Drop D, Open G, DADGAD, and more. Reference pitch is adjustable from 432 to 445 Hz. - Metronome with tap tempo, time signatures, and a visual beat indicator. - An interactive circle of fifths: tap any key and see its seven chords, its key signature, and its relative key. THE LIBRARIES Every chord, scale, arpeggio, and triad renders on the same big, high-contrast fretboard diagram, with each note color-coded by its job in the shape: root, 3rd, 5th, and so on. You learn why a shape works, not just where your fingers go. - Chords: every common type and voicing, with CAGED positions up the whole neck - Scales: five boxes per scale, a full-neck view, and advice on when to use each one - Triads: three string sets, three inversions each, all on one page - Arpeggios: chord tones mapped across the neck for every quality THE COURSE 140 lessons in 12 modules take you from holding the guitar for the first time through chords, scales, theory, the CAGED system, progressions, modes, songwriting, technique, genre studies, and fretboard and ear mastery. Lessons teach with diagrams and real songs, and every one ends with a short Try It exercise you can do with the guitar in your hands. All of Module 1 is free. PAY ONCE, OWN IT FOREVER Guitar Codex has no subscription and never will. The free version includes the Chord Finder, the full tuner, the metronome, and a real taste of everything else. Two optional one-time purchases unlock the rest: Pro, the complete reference toolkit, and Complete, which adds all 140 lessons plus every lesson added in the future. Buy it once and it is yours for good.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Guitar Codex at every 2 days against KnowYourNeck's every 11 days. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. KnowYourNeck sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Guitar Codex sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for KnowYourNeck against 5.0 for Guitar Codex. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
KnowYourNeck ships an update every 11 days, Guitar Codex every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 1, 2026.
| Parameter | KnowYourNeck | Guitar Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Adam Rhodes | CampCheck Interactive LLC |
Customer experience
KnowYourNeck
Guitar Codex
In-app purchases
KnowYourNeck
- KnowYourNeck Pro$4.991 Month
- KnowYourNeck Pro$49.991 Year
Guitar Codex
- Guitar Codex Pro$9.99
- Pro to Complete Upgrade$9.99
- Guitar Codex Complete$19.99
Questions
Is KnowYourNeck free?
Is Guitar Codex free?
Which has better reviews, KnowYourNeck or Guitar Codex?
Do KnowYourNeck or Guitar Codex have ads?
Which is updated more often, KnowYourNeck or Guitar Codex?
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