7 Best Guitar Tuner Apps of 2024

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If you play guitar, bass, or ukulele, then you already know that playing with an out-of-tune instrument can be agonizing – for you and the audience!

Back in the day, you had to buy a clip-on tuner or rely on any onboard tuners your amp or instrument may have had. And if you found yourself without a tuner, you'd be stuck tuning by ear (which can be a real death sentence for many players).

These days, however, we're fortunate enough to have access to hundreds of different tuner apps right on our phones. Believe it or not, they work just about as well as any other tuners out there!

To save you the effort of downloading all ten thousand guitar tuner apps available to see which one you like best, we've put together a list of the 7 best tuner apps available today.

The number one spot goes to GuitarTuna, a tried and true app that has helped thousands of players tune up with perfect accuracy for over 10 years.

Read on to find out how our other hand-picked tuner apps stack up against GuitarTuna. Then stick around for a buyers guide and FAQ list, so you'll know everything there is to know about staying in tune.

Best Guitar Tuner Apps

SPECS

• Free to download
• Made by Yousician Ltd

Guitar Tuna isn't just a fun app with a cheeky name. It's one of the most popular and highly rated tuner apps ever made, and for good reason.

Guitar Tuna is compatible with Android and iOS, and it doesn't take up much data so it will run smoothly on any device. It has several options including a chromatic tuner, as well as presets for the most common tunings.

Beginners and pros alike will be satisfied with Guitar Tuna because it works accurately and quickly. You know exactly what you're getting.

For the more adventurous guitar players out there, it even offers a chord library and a personalized "song path" feature. You tell it your experience level and preferred genres, and it generates some songs to teach you so you can improve your chops.

One thing to note is that you'll have to X out a pop-up in the top left when you first open the app. This pop-up prompts you to subscribe to unlock pro-level features. You can do that if you want to of course, but the app is totally serviceable without a paid subscription.

SPECS

• Chromatic tuner
• Input volume meter
• Free or paid options

Intermediate and advanced musicians will absolutely love insTuner. As its name suggests, it starts working instantly when you open the app.

While many guitar tuner apps make you choose between common tunings like standard or drop D, insTuner opens up straight to a chromatic tuner. This makes it the best guitar tuner app for anyone who loves alternate tunings.

You don't have to waste any time telling the app what tuning you're in. Simply strum your notes and tune up. Fast and accurate guitar tuning in any situation is what makes this such a great tuner app.

We should mention that if you're an absolute beginner, you might be better off with a different app that reminds you what tuning you're in. If you're still memorizing the six notes of standard tuning, for example, then an app like Guitar Tuna will help remind you what notes to tune to.

insTuner is great, however, if you're past the learning stage and just want a fast and accurate tuner. If the band wants to tune down to drop D for the next song, you'll be all set to do that with insTuner the moment you open the app.

SPECS

• Chord visualizer
• Includes presets of the most common tunings
• Paid app that offers a free trial

Is Tuner Pro the best guitar tuner app out there? Well no, not specifically. But it is more of an all-around great app for playing and learning guitar. It's packed with tools, one of them being a tuner.

If a tuner is really all you need, then we would recommend one of the first two entries on this list. But if what you're after is a powerful toolbox of resources to improve your playing, then Tuner Pro just might be the perfect app for you.

Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way: Unlike most of its competitors, the app is not free. It does, however, offer a free trial period of one week so you can see if you like all the features it offers. After that, the app charges you a subscription fee of about $8 a week.

So is this price worth it? For self-disciplined learners, we think so. The premium features this app offers are the type of thing that rockers of the 70s and 80s could only dream of having.

There's a chord library with visualizers that show finger placement. There's a metronome for practicing at any tempo. There's even an AI feature that will tell you the chords behind any song you sing.

But what about the tuner itself? Well, there's pretty much nothing to complain about here. It's accurate and beautifully designed, and it has presets for common tunings and instruments.

If you can spare an extra $30 a month or so, and you would like to improve your technique and expand your song repertoire without the help of a teacher, then Tuner Pro is definitely a solid option for you.

SPECS

• Completely free
• 5000 chord diagrams
• Drum loops & metronome included

Let's be honest: there are tons of equally valid guitar tuner apps out there that all do basically the same thing. The best guitar tuner app for you might just come down to preference.

So for those of us who value brand reputation highly, why not download the free tuner app from the world's largest guitar brand?

Fender Guitar Tuner earned its spot on this list for being an all-around great app with the gravitas of the Fender name behind it. That alone probably makes it the most widely appealing app on the list.

Fender Guitar Tuner performs well, fast, and accurately, and it's more than just a tuner app. It's also a great collection of resources for practicing. We love the metronome and 65 built-in drum loops that help you improve your chops at any tempo.

Thanks to its massive library of chord diagrams, you'll also be able to flex your creative muscles more freely and become an overall better guitar player.

SPECS

• Offers free and paid versions
• Multiple different visualizers
• Over 5 million downloads

n-Track Tuner is a beautifully designed app that actually makes tuning fun! With a sleek interface and an abundance of features, this app is hands-down the most visually enthralling tuner app we've ever seen.

One of the things that sets it apart from the pack is its spectrum analyzer, which responsively shows you the peaks and valleys of anything it hears on the audio spectrum. This allows you to take things a step further than just tuning since you can tell which frequencies in your sound are more pronounced than others.

Let's say you have a bass guitar and you want it to fill up the low end of your mix, but not interfere with the high-mids where the guitar should be. The spectrum analyzer will help you fine-tune your tone to do just that.

Other features musicians will love about the n-Track Tuner include its 2d and 3d sonograms, and its ability to change temperament to get really specific with your tunings.

There's not much more to say about this tuning app; it performs just like you need it to and looks great doing it.

SPECS

• Includes a bank of over 10,000 songs & lessons
• Responds to timing and pitch of your instrument and gives instant feedback
• Over 10 million downloads

Yousician has carved out a name for themselves as one of the most user-friendly apps for newer players to teach themselves guitar, bass, or singing.

Yousician offers a free trial period and then becomes available for a subscription of about $12 a month.

Take one look at the app and its screenshots, and there's no question that a lot of work has been put into its design, interface, and branding. But now comes the million-dollar question: Is it actually worth it?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes for a lot of people. If you're anything like us, then you're automatically weary of subscription-based apps that claim to help you learn to play music. After all, everyone has a different learning style, so how could an app possibly teach you in the way that's most effective for you?

Well, Yousician is different because it doesn't teach you to play, it presents you with engaging games that enable you to teach yourself to play. Think of it like Guitar Hero on your phone, except you're using an actual guitar to play it.

Combine this with the library of over 10,000 songs and lessons, and you've actually got a valuable resource for newer players.

Oh and of course, it has a perfectly usable built-in tuner.

SPECS

• Has versions designed for iPhone and iPad
• Subscription-based app with a free trial
• Variable speed backing tracks

Here's a guitar tuner app that does so much more than just tune guitar and other string instruments. Like Yousician, ChordBank is designed to help players improve their capabilities.

Whereas Yousician is largely aimed at folks who are just picking up a guitar for the first time, ChordBank is better suited as a resource for more advanced or intermediate players.

Rather than hammering home the fundamentals, ChordBank is more geared toward aspiring songwriters or cover artists who want to be able to write or learn songs more quickly and creatively.

The AI-powered songwriting assistant is the standout feature here. It can suggest lyrics and chords that will accompany what you've already written, which is a very unique offering in today's market.

ChordBank uses your device's microphone to come up with all sorts of songwriting suggestions that make it easier to learn and play. Additionally, the app has a very robust and responsive interface with chord diagrams and other useful resources.

Best Guitar Tuner Apps Buyer's Guide

Here is a list of features to look out for when searching for the best guitar tuner app. Whether you play acoustic guitars, basses, or one of the more obscure stringed instruments out there, this list will point you in the right direction.

Price

Price will be the first consideration for many players, but that's okay because there are so many great free tuning apps out there.

If all you need is a tuner, then a free option will be the best app for you. That said, some of the subscription-based apps can be a great resource for those looking to learn or expand their creative chops.

Compatibility

This one is simple but easy to overlook. Make sure the tuner app you're looking at is compatible with your device. Some apps are only compatible with iPhones, while others are only compatible with Androids.

Fortunately, most of the popular free tuners are available on any platform.

User Interface

The user interface determines the look and feel of the app, as well as how easy it is to use. Generally, the simple interfaces are better because they allow you to tune up more quickly.

Guitar Tuna and insTuner, for example, both have fast and simple interfaces. n-Track Tuner, on the other hand, has a more complicated interface, but it looks amazing and feels rewarding to use. It all comes down to which interface you prefer.

Ratings & Reviews

When in doubt, it's never a bad idea to trust the ratings. Look for the apps with the highest number of positive reviews.

A large number of reviews is more indicative of a good app than a small number of reviews, even if the overall rating is higher for the less popular app.

For example, we would recommend an app with 5,000 reviews and an average rating for 4.5 stars, rather than an app with 5 reviews and an average rating of 5 stars.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do guitar tuner apps work?

Tuner apps are certainly an impressive piece of technology. They work by using your device's microphone to capture the sound of your guitar string and then determining the note's pitch by analyzing the frequency of the sound wave.

The app then compares the input pitch to a reference pitch and tells you how close your pitch is to the reference pitch (often with a visual display).

What tuning modes are the most useful?

Certain tuning options are more useful in more scenarios than others. Standard tuning is of course the most common tuning, so it will be the most useful mode for many players.

The chromatic scale has the widest array of applications, however, because it includes every note that can be played in equal temperament music.

You can use your tuner's chromatic mode for any tuning you choose so long as you know which notes comprise that tuning.

Why is tuning important?

Tuning is one of the most important things to do before you play any stringed instrument. If your guitar is not in tune, then the notes you intend to play will be slightly off, which will cause all sorts of unwanted dissonance.

The audience will instantly be able to tell something is off, and probably so will you.

An accurate tuner is especially important for recording your tracks. Pro-level tracks use tuners with professional accuracy; it's just that simple. So make sure you're in tune before you play!

What are some other ways to tune your instrument?

Apps are not the only way to tune your instrument.

Some of the most popular options are tuner pedals, clip-on tuners, or tuners that are built into your amp or instrument.

In reality, none of these options is better than any others. Just use what is most convenient for you.

In Conclusion

We hope you've enjoyed this discussion of the best tuner apps available today.

If you have one of these on your phone, then you'll never have to endure a slightly out-of-tune instrument ever again. What a relief!

GuitarTuna takes the cake as our top choice because of its ease of use and its time-tested reliability. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

So download one of these apps, tune up, and get jamming!