Comparison

RiffAlly Loop vs FretCipher

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

Head to head
About

RiffAlly Loop

Read full description

Your playing. On repeat. Turn your own playing into a backing loop you can play along with. RiffAlly Loop brings a pedal-inspired recording workflow to your iPhone—no foot pedal required. PLAY FIRST. KEEP THE BARS YOU WANT. Choose Record & Select, set or tap your tempo, and pick a time signature. Listen to one bar of count-in, then start playing. Finish your phrase and tap Stop & select during the following bar. Loop initially selects bar 1 through the last complete bar, leaving out the unfinished final bar. If the selection is right, tap Use & Play once to start looping. Want a different section? Adjust the start and end on the pedal's waveform, preview if you like, then Use & Play. Change selection lets you revisit the original take. Made a mistake? New loop leaves an unaccepted take in one tap. When editing an accepted loop, Back to loop keeps your previous selection. OR LET LOOP STOP FOR YOU. In Fixed bars, choose 1–64 bars before you start. Loop counts you in, records the chosen length, and starts playback automatically. Quick choices include 4, 8 and 12 bars for familiar practice lengths. MAKE THE PEDAL YOURS. • Set 40–240 BPM or tap your tempo. • Choose 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8, separately from loop length. • Follow audible clicks and a prominent beat-and-bar counter. • Pick from ten recording-click sounds, with a distinct count-in cue. • Pause, then restart from the beginning of your loop. • Adjust loop volume and personalize the pedal finish and display. • Find practical instructions and troubleshooting in Help. RECORD ON IPHONE. PLAY ALONG. Count-in and recording use the built-in iPhone microphone and speaker. Recording clicks may become part of your loop. Completed loops can play through the iPhone or a selected compatible Bluetooth media speaker. Bluetooth is not used for live guidance or microphone input. Isolated headphone clicks, wired-headphone playback and AirPlay are not supported. Loop uses your chosen tempo and time signature to place bar boundaries; it does not analyze notes or correct your timing. Silence and sustained notes within the selected bars are preserved. Tap the main beats: quarter notes in /4 meters, dotted-quarter notes in compound /8 meters. Keep Loop in the foreground while practicing. Record & Select has no preset bar cap, but storage and interruptions limit recording. It retains the current finalized original and selection on your iPhone, including an undismissed draft—not a multi-loop library. Fixed bars loops are session-only. Clearing or replacing a take removes its retained copy. There is no export, overdubbing or background recording. RiffAlly does not upload your recordings. No RiffAlly account is required. Optional one-time tips support development and unlock no features.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

RiffAlly Loop4 screens
FretCipher4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: FretCipher at daily against RiffAlly Loop's every 9 days. FretCipher also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, 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. RiffAlly Loop sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and FretCipher sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RiffAlly Loop ships an update every 9 days, FretCipher daily. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
RiffAlly Loop versus FretCipher: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRiffAlly LoopFretCipher
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFernando Lanner CardosoLoggic Labs LLC

In-app purchases

3 purchases

RiffAlly Loop

One-time3
  • Small tip$1.99
  • Supporter tip$4.99
  • Generous tip$9.99
1 purchases

FretCipher

One-time1
  • FretCipher Pro Unlock$9.99

Questions

Is RiffAlly Loop free?
RiffAlly Loop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FretCipher free?
FretCipher is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RiffAlly Loop or FretCipher have ads?
Neither RiffAlly Loop nor FretCipher shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RiffAlly Loop or FretCipher?
RiffAlly Loop ships an update every 9 days, and FretCipher daily. Most recently, RiffAlly Loop was updated on October 31, 2026 and FretCipher on October 31, 2026.

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