Comparison

Fretboard King vs GuitarDex

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

Head to head
About

Fretboard King

Master every note on the guitar fretboard with interactive drills and guided lessons. Improve your solos and overall playing by building instant recall of note locations and patterns across the entire neck. Practice anywhere, anytime, with or without your instrument.

Highlights
  • Note-find drill
  • Octave game
  • Mic note detection
  • Built-in tuner
  • Guided lessons
  • Fretboard Explorer
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Learn every note on the fretboard - the skill that unlocks solos and ups your level. Fretboard King drills you in fast sessions. The app names a note and a string, G on the A string. Tap where it is on the neck, or play it on your guitar and the app listens. You know instantly if you're right, and if you miss, the correct fret lights up. Round by round, you learn every note on every string. Includes learning hub for new learners. Core value: you learn every note on the guitar neck, so scales, chords and solos start to make sense. -Note-find drill. The app names a note and a string, and you tap where it is. You build instant recall of every note on the neck. - Rounds of 6, 12 or 24 notes. A round fits a spare minute or a long practice session. - Timed or untimed. Learn at your own pace, then push for speed. - String and fret filters. You drill exactly the part of the neck you want. - Octave game. Find one note on every string. You connect notes across the whole neck instead of learning them string by string. - Focus sessions. One tap drills your weakest string. Practice goes where you need it most. - Mic note detection. Play the note and the app checks it. Audio stays on your phone and is never recorded. You practise on the actual instrument, not just a screen. - Listening card. It shows the note you're playing in real time. You know right away whether you hit the right note. - Octave quiz on the guitar. Play a note, then its octave. Octave shapes end up in your hands. - Built-in tuner. An in-tune guitar means the app reads your notes correctly, with no separate tuner app needed. - 4 guided lessons: Open String Mastery, Landmark Frets, Standard Octaves, The B-String Shift. You get a step-by-step method, not just repetition. - Fretboard Explorer. Tap a note and see it everywhere on the neck. You see the patterns across the whole neck at a glance. - Progress sheet: accuracy trend, per-string bars, trickiest note, best streak, answer speed. You see exactly where you're improving and what to work on. - Daily Note: one question a day, with a link straight into a round. Keeps the habit going in a few seconds a day. - Progress nudge. It fires only when your accuracy has actually improved. It encourages you with real progress, not reminders for their own sake. IT WORKS Our data proves, players average 55% in their first round and increase in only a few sessions to above 80%. No sign-up, no account. You're practising within seconds of opening the app. No monthly fees. It's free and supported by ads, and heavy practice days can unlock ad-free overtime by watching one video. You can try the whole app before spending anything. Works offline. You can practice anywhere, even on the bus. Advanced players score 100%. Keep drilling until you do. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://fretboardking.com/privacy/

About

GuitarDex

Features
Read full description

Most guitar apps help you learn a song, GuitarDex helps you maintain your library of songs in a fun way. You might find yourself forgetting old songs or not knowing what to practice for the day, GuitarDex tracks every practice session, levels up your songs as you play them, and lets them decay if you don't. The more you've practiced a song, the slower it fades, so the songs you actually know stay yours for good. GuitarDex gives you an overview of what songs you know right now, and which need more practice. LEVEL UP YOUR REPERTOIRE - Earn XP for every practice session — it scales with difficulty, duration, and your streak - Songs progress through Seen → Learning → Refined → Fluent → Mastered - Mastered songs never decay below Refined; Refined songs never drop below level 5 - Adjust XP boost and decay rate to make progress as fast or as demanding as you want CHORD TOOLS FOR EVERY TUNING - Interactive fretboard across 12 frets, with custom tunings and capo support - Discovery mode: tap notes on the fretboard and GuitarDex tells you what chord you're forming - Search mode: pick a root and quality for up to 20 ranked chord voicings, or a scale for a full neck map broken into practice positions - Hear any chord or scale played back instantly CHORDS, TABS & PLAYBACK - Build your own chord sheets, with lyrics and chords aligned word-for-word - Import and play Guitar Pro tabs - Sync tabs to YouTube audio, adjust playback speed, loop tricky bars, and follow a built-in metronome PRACTICE TOOLS - Dedicated tuner, plus an inline tuner during practice sessions - Metronome with tap tempo and accented beats - Have a song specific metronome if your song has tabs STAY CONNECTED - Follow friends and see their libraries and practice activity - Send and receive quests, challenge a friend to master a song - Collaborate on shared Jam Decks, see what songs you both know - Full privacy controls for your activity and library

Screenshots

Fretboard King4 screens
GuitarDex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: GuitarDex at none against Fretboard King's 1. 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. Fretboard King sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. GuitarDex asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Fretboard King versus GuitarDex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFretboard KingGuitarDex
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPaul McCarthyAli Riaz

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Fretboard King

Subscriptions1
  • Fretboard King Pro7 Days trial$1.991 Month
None

GuitarDex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fretboard King free?
Fretboard King is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GuitarDex free?
GuitarDex is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Fretboard King or GuitarDex have ads?
Neither Fretboard King nor GuitarDex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fretboard King or GuitarDex?
Fretboard King ships an update every 4 days, and GuitarDex every 4 days. Most recently, Fretboard King was updated on November 1, 2026 and GuitarDex on October 26, 2026.

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