Comparison

SideBand vs BlueKeyDetect

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

Head to head
About

SideBand

This app helps musicians learn songs by ear. It allows users to slow down music, loop sections, and change the key to match their voice or instrument. Import music from various sources like the Music app or iCloud.

Highlights
  • Adjust tempo
  • Transpose key
  • Change tuning
  • Loop sections
  • Import unprotected music
  • Supports iPhone and iPad
Features
Read full description

Learn tunes by ear - slow down and loop sections of a tune. Change the key to fit your voice or instrument. Import any unprotected music from the Music app, from the iCloud Files application or drag tunes from your desktop. Support for all iPhone screen sizes as well as iPad. Use slide-over while listening to your Music files to quickly import on iPad Use split screen to listen while viewing music • Adjust tempo - change the speed from half-speed to double speed • Transpose - change the key by semi-tones up to an octave higher or lower • Change the tuning - Adjust the pitch of an out-of-tune recording • Import from any other app that can export an audio file - wav, mp3 and AAC files are supported.

About

BlueKeyDetect

Instantly identify the musical key and tempo of songs by recording short audio clips. Ideal for musicians in jam sessions needing quick key information.

Highlights
  • Record audio clips
  • Detect musical key
  • Display beats per minute (BPM)
  • Supports guitar and bass jam sessions
  • Multiple recording options for accuracy
Read full description

If you are part of a jam sessions with guitar or bass, you should know the key in which the others are playing. The pros among you may be able to hear that, but I either need the information from the chord sheet or someone knows the key ... As a programmer, I quickly have an app in mind simply recording a piece of a song and then recognizing the key via my iPhone. The result is the BlueKeyDetect app: One touch on the display plus a short piece of recording and the beats per minute with the key of the song are displayed. You should record short pieces several times or a slightly longer one to get the correct key displayed. There are limits, since the key in the song can also change and depending on the song, the recognition can be difficult anyway, but in practice it still works quite well if you take a few things into account: ① Find places in the song where there is a lot of sound. Drums and percussion don't do much to recognize the key. ② The longer you record the song, the greater the chances of recognizing the correct key. Alternatively, you can record short phrases several times and then choose the most detected key. ③ Background noise makes detection difficult, so if possible record only the song and not at a low level.

Screenshots

SideBand4 screens
BlueKeyDetect4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BlueKeyDetect at 5.0 against SideBand's 4.0. BlueKeyDetect also leads on update cadence (every 8 months vs every 22 months) and price ($0.99 vs $2.99). SideBand's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

SideBand costs $2.99 and BlueKeyDetect $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BlueKeyDetect holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SideBand has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SideBand ships an update every 22 months, BlueKeyDetect every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
SideBand versus BlueKeyDetect: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSideBandBlueKeyDetect
Price$2.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsEvery 8 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWil MacaulayStefan Arnhold

Customer experience

SideBand

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

BlueKeyDetect

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SideBand

No in-app purchases

None

BlueKeyDetect

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SideBand free?
SideBand costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is BlueKeyDetect free?
BlueKeyDetect costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SideBand or BlueKeyDetect?
BlueKeyDetect is rated higher. SideBand averages 4.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while BlueKeyDetect averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do SideBand or BlueKeyDetect have ads?
Neither SideBand nor BlueKeyDetect shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SideBand or BlueKeyDetect?
SideBand ships an update every 22 months, and BlueKeyDetect every 8 months. Most recently, SideBand was updated on October 8, 2026 and BlueKeyDetect on September 27, 2026.

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