Chordology vs Chords Compass Lite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chordology
Access hundreds of thousands of chord variations for multiple instruments like guitar, piano, and ukulele. Features a minimalist, fast interface and supports iPhone, iPad, and OSX. Enjoy a completely ad-free experience.
- Multi-instrument chord dictionary
- Hundreds of thousands of chords
- Thousands of chord variations
- Guitar, piano, ukulele support
- Minimalist interface
- Ad-free
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Chordology - Chords and Scales, Beautifully Visualized See music. Hear music. Understand music. Chordology is the cleanest, most colorful way to explore chords and scales across all your favorite instruments. Whether you're a beginner learning your first shapes or a seasoned player digging into theory, Chordology turns abstract music concepts into something you can see, hear, and feel. EVERY INSTRUMENT, ONE APP Browse chords and scales for: - Piano - Guitar - Bass Guitar - Banjo - Ukulele BUILT FOR THE WAY YOU ACTUALLY PLAY - Custom tunings (Chordology Pro): set up any tuning on your stringed instruments and see every shape update instantly. - Capo support (Chordology Pro): dial in your capo position and view chords exactly as they'll sound. - Multiple finger positions: for guitar, bass, ukulele, and banjo, swipe through every voicing up and down the neck to find the one that fits. - Hear it instantly: tap play to hear any chord or scale rendered authentically on your chosen instrument. GO DEEPER THAN SHAPES Every chord comes with rich musical insight. Explore qualities like brightness, darkness, and consonance to understand not just how a chord is played, but why it sounds the way it does, and how to use it in your own music. AN INTERFACE AS BEAUTIFUL AS IT IS USEFUL Chordology's signature color system gives every note its own identity, so patterns leap off the fretboard and keyboard. The clean, bright design keeps the music front and center: no clutter, no noise, just clarity. CHORDOLOGY PRO Chordology is free: every instrument, every chord and scale, every voicing, and playback, at standard tuning. Chordology Pro is a one-time purchase - no subscription - that adds alternate tunings, a capo on any fret, and sharing. Pick an instrument. Choose a chord or scale. Press play. Start exploring. Download Chordology and see your music in a whole new light.
Chords Compass Lite
Explore a vast library of over 80,000 chords for various musical instruments. Visualize chords as diagrams or notes, and even listen to them. Supports multiple instruments and tunings, with options for left-handed players.
- 80,000+ chord library
- Supports piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, balalaika
- Chord diagrams and music notes
- Listen to chords
- Transfer chords between instruments
- Left-handed player support
- Multiple instrument tunings
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An extensive chord library with over 80,000 chords! Find the perfect chords for your songs on all popular music instruments! Thanks to a specially developed algorithm, Chords Compass Lite will show you chord diagrams with all possible options in all positions on the music instrument of your choice, on keyboard or fretboard. Simply select a key on the left, a chord type in the middle and a chord type addition on the right, and explore the chords with Chords Compass Lite! App features: - 80,000 chords: - Piano chords: 800 - Guitar chords: 30,000 - Bass Guitar chords: 10,000 - Ukulele chords: 10,000 - Mandolin chords: 10,000 - Banjo chords: 15,000 - Balalaika chords: 6,000 - All popular music instruments are supported: - Piano - Guitar: 6-string - Bass guitar: 4-String, 5-String, and 6-String. - Ukulele: Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Concert, and Sopranino - Mandolin: Mandolin, Mandola, and Mandocello, - Banjo: 5-string & 4-string, - Balalaika: 3-string - All music instruments in the app are interconnected, and this gives you the ability to transfer the chords from one instrument to another! - The displayed chord type notation and chord set are fully compatible with the GarageBand smart instruments. - You can listen to each displayed chord. - You can see the chords as music notes and as chord diagrams. - Supported 56 chord types. - Authentic sound for all the 7 instruments. - Left-handed player support. - Adjustable volume. - Retina graphics. - The app includes all common music instrument tunings: - Guitar 1. Standard, 2. New standard, 3. Lute, 4. Halftone flat, 5. Whole tone flat, 6. Halftone sharp, 7. Whole tone sharp, 8. Drop B, 9. Drop C, 10. Drop D, 11. Double dropped D, 12. Celtic, DADGAD 13. DADADD, 14. Open A, 15. Open C, 16. Open D, 17. Open E, 18. Open G, 19. Slide open A, - Bass Guitar 1. Standard (4 String), 2. Standard (5 String), 3. Standard (6 String), 4. Tenor (5 String), 5. Alternative (6 String), - Ukulele 1. Soprano Standard, 2. Soprano C, 3. Sopranino Standard, 4. Sopranino New, 5. Tenor Low G, 6. Tenor New, 7. Baritone Standard, 8. Baritone Canadian, 9. Open A, 10. Open B, 11. Open C, 12. Open D, 13. Open E, 14. Open F, 15. Open G, - Mandolin 1. Mandolin Standard, 2. Mandola Standard, 3. Mandocello Standard, - Banjo 1. Open G (5 String), 2. Standard C (5 String), 3. Open D (5 String), 4. Old-Time D (5 String), 5. Open A (5 String), 6. Plectrum (4 String), 7. Chicago (4 String), 8. Tenor (4 String), - Balalaika 1. Academic 2. Traditional Note: The Lite Version offers the chords for 4 key notes. If you need the chords for the complete note set, upgrade to the Full Version!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chords Compass Lite at none against Chordology's 1. Chords Compass Lite also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 66%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). Chordology's advantage is ratings volume (231 vs 7). On price, rating, ads and monetization model 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. Chordology sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chords Compass Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Chordology against 4.3 for Chords Compass Lite. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chordology has 231 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of Chordology's written reviews are positive against 75% of Chords Compass Lite's.
| Parameter | Chordology | Chords Compass Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (231 ratings) — better | 4.3 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 65.8% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 231 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 142 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Greg Raine | Max Schlee |
Customer experience
Chordology
Chords Compass Lite
Bugs and requests
Chordology
Reported bugs
12 issues- Voicing displayed doesn't match played voicing
- Played chord is an octave higher than displayed
- Shows minor chords as major and vice-versa
- iPad version is a stretched iPhone UI
- Options screen is non-functional
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- App crashes immediately
- Swiping on iPad to see different chord variations doesn't work
- Tapping on left/right of dots to see variations is bizarre UI
- iPad version only shows first chord variation
- Fret changer swiping doesn't slide display
- Constant rating requests
- Common ways to play chords are deeper in options
Requested features
16 requests- Ability to hear chords as displayed
- Toggle between numbers and note names
- Color scheme customization
- Add five-string banjo
- Add baritone ukulele
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- Display chord notes
- Display note scale degrees
- MIDI chord detection
- Ability to store a series of chords
- Change tuning options
- Add capo position
- Audio previews for chords
- Scales for stringed instruments
- Support split screen mode
- Center interface and allow 180-degree rotation
- More tunings for banjo
Chords Compass Lite
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chordology
- Chordology Pro$5.99
Chords Compass Lite
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chordology free?
Is Chords Compass Lite free?
Which has better reviews, Chordology or Chords Compass Lite?
Do Chordology or Chords Compass Lite have ads?
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