Fretboard King vs FretCipher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Note-find drill
- Octave game
- Mic note detection
- Built-in tuner
- Guided lessons
- Fretboard Explorer
- Progress tracking
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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/
FretCipher
This app visually maps music theory concepts like scales, modes, and chords directly onto a guitar fretboard. It offers interactive training and customization to help guitarists understand and apply musical knowledge.
- Interactive fretboard visualization
- Scale and mode exploration
- Chord and triad visualization
- Interactive training games and quizzes
- Custom scale and note creation
- Fretboard appearance customization
- Save and export fretboard diagrams
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Master the guitar fretboard. See how music theory actually connects. FretCipher is an interactive guitar fretboard, music theory reference, and training tool designed to help guitarists understand what they’re playing—not just memorize patterns. Explore scales, modes, chords, triads, intervals, and note relationships directly on the fretboard. Whether you’re learning your first scale positions, connecting shapes across the neck, studying chord tones, or trying to finally understand how music theory applies to guitar, FretCipher makes it visual. SEE THE ENTIRE FRETBOARD Choose a key, scale, or mode and instantly see the notes and intervals mapped across the neck. Move between positions or view the larger pattern to understand how everything connects. EXPLORE CHORDS & TRIADS Visualize chord tones, triads, inversions, and different voicings on the fretboard. See where the root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and other intervals actually live beneath your fingers. LEARN SCALES & MODES Explore major and minor scales, pentatonics, modes, and other useful scale patterns. Switch between note names and intervals to study the fretboard from different perspectives. TRAIN, DON’T JUST STUDY Interactive games and quizzes help turn fretboard knowledge into instinct. Practice identifying notes, intervals, triads, positions, key signatures, and more. BUILD YOUR OWN Create and save custom scales and note combinations for the sounds and concepts you want to explore. MAKE IT YOUR FRETBOARD Customize the appearance of the fretboard with your own color schemes so roots, intervals, and important notes stand out the way you want them to. SAVE & EXPORT Save your favorite scales and configurations, then export clean fretboard diagrams for practice, teaching, songwriting, or reference. FretCipher is built for guitarists who want to go beyond memorizing boxes and start understanding how the fretboard works as one connected musical system. See it. Understand it. Play it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: FretCipher at daily against Fretboard King's every 4 days. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Fretboard King sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and FretCipher sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 Fretboard King against 5.0 for FretCipher. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively.
Fretboard King ships an update every 4 days, FretCipher daily. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fretboard King | FretCipher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Paul McCarthy | Loggic Labs LLC |
In-app purchases
Fretboard King
- Fretboard King Pro7 Days trial$1.991 Month
FretCipher
- FretCipher Pro Unlock$9.99
Questions
Is Fretboard King free?
Is FretCipher free?
Which has better reviews, Fretboard King or FretCipher?
Do Fretboard King or FretCipher have ads?
Which is updated more often, Fretboard King or FretCipher?
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