Simply Guitar is built around real-time mic feedback. Place a phone in front of you, strum, and the app tells you whether you nailed the chord. That part works. The friction starts at the subscription. The free tier covers a sliver of the curriculum, the yearly plan renews quietly, and the song catalogue stays thin compared to the apps musicians actually live in. If you want richer lessons, a bigger song library, or a way to learn that does not require a recurring fee, the Simply Guitar alternatives below cover the gaps.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Pricing | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yousician | Structured guitar lessons with feedback | Limited | Subscription | Multi-instrument coverage |
| Fender Play | Genre-led courses from a real guitar brand | Trial | Subscription | Song-first learning paths |
| Justin Guitar | The most respected free curriculum on the web | Full course | Optional paid songs | Decade of beginner-to-advanced lessons |
| Ultimate Guitar | The largest tab and chord library | Yes, ads | One-off and subscription tiers | Auto-scroll tab player |
| GuitarTuna | Tuning, chord library, basic lessons | Generous | Optional upgrades | Best-in-class tuner |
| Songsterr | Synced multi-track tabs at any tempo | Limited | Subscription | Slow-down practice mode |
| Coach Guitar | Visual, no-music-theory learning | Sample songs | Subscription | Colour-coded fretboard overlays |
Why people leave Simply Guitar
The free tier is mostly a demo. Without the subscription you get a handful of starter lessons and a tour of the interface. The curriculum that actually teaches you to play sits behind the paywall, which is a hard sell for someone unsure they will stick with the instrument.
The song catalogue is small for the price. Once you are paying, the library feels narrow next to Ultimate Guitar or Songsterr. Many users in guitar forums report exhausting the songs they wanted to learn within a few months.
The lesson pace can feel slow. Simply's pedagogy is gentle by design, which suits brand-new beginners. Intermediate players who already know basic chords report the early levels move too slowly and the late levels stop short of soloing, theory, and intermediate technique.
Renewal handling. Some users report the annual subscription auto-renews without prominent reminders, leading to friction when they only wanted a single year. Cancelling is straightforward in the app store but only if you remember to do it in time.
One instrument, one device focus. Simply ties your progress to a single account on a single device. If you also want piano or want to switch between phone and tablet without losing your place, the experience is rougher than the competition.
The best Simply Guitar alternatives
Yousician — best overall guitar-learning app with live feedback
Yousician is the most direct competitor to Simply Guitar and the alternative most experienced players move to. The mic-based scoring engine is more forgiving on real acoustic tone, the curriculum stretches into intermediate technique like fingerpicking and barre chords, and a single subscription covers guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, and voice. The song library is bigger than Simply's and refreshes regularly with licensed tracks.
Where it falls short: The yearly subscription is in the upper range for music apps, and lower tiers cap how many songs you can play per day. Mic feedback still struggles with very noisy rooms.
Pricing:
- Free: a few lessons per day, time-limited
- Paid: monthly and annual subscriptions, with multi-instrument plans
- vs Simply Guitar: comparable price, larger catalogue, more instruments
Switching from Simply Guitar: No data import, but the placement test gets you past the early lessons quickly if you already know basic chords.
Bottom line: Pick Yousician if you want Simply Guitar's mic-feedback approach with a deeper curriculum and broader instrument coverage.
Justin Guitar — best free curriculum, no subscription needed
Justin Guitar is the gold-standard free curriculum on the internet, taught by Justin Sandercoe and trusted by hundreds of thousands of self-taught guitarists. The official app organises his beginner-to-intermediate courses into a clean, structured path, with practice routines, chord trainers, and progress tracking. The lessons are detailed, the explanations are patient, and the entire foundation course is free.
Where it falls short: No real-time mic feedback, so you cannot tell if the app thinks you played a chord cleanly. Song lessons are sold individually through a companion app rather than bundled.
Pricing:
- Free: full beginner-to-intermediate course, chord library, practice tools
- Paid: optional song packs and a small premium tier for deeper features
- vs Simply Guitar: dramatically cheaper for the same level of structured learning
Switching from Simply Guitar: Take the placement quiz and jump into the grade that matches what Simply taught you. Most ex-Simply users land in Grade 1 or 2.
Bottom line: Pick Justin Guitar if a recurring subscription feels wrong for an instrument and you trust a teacher over a feedback engine.
Ultimate Guitar: Chords & Tabs — best for songs and tabs at any skill level
Ultimate Guitar is the song library every working guitarist uses. The catalogue covers over 1.6 million chord sheets and tabs submitted and rated by the community, with an auto-scrolling player, transpose tool, and metronome built in. Pro tabs unlock multi-track playback at variable speed, which doubles as a practice tool for tricky riffs.
Where it falls short: It is a song library first and a lesson platform second. The Pro tier paywall hides the most useful playback features, and free use comes with ads.
Pricing:
- Free: full chord and tab library with ads, basic playback
- Paid: a Pro tier for Tab Pro, official tabs, and ad-free use
- vs Simply Guitar: not a head-to-head replacement, but pairs well with any lesson app
Switching from Simply Guitar: Open the app, search a song you already know, and you have what you need. There is nothing to migrate.
Bottom line: Pick Ultimate Guitar as the song side of your practice when a structured course teaches you the technique.
GuitarTuna — best free toolbox for tuning, chords, and starter lessons
GuitarTuna started as the most accurate guitar tuner on mobile and grew into a chord library, simple games, and structured beginner lessons. The free tier is genuinely useful — tuner, chord trainer, basic exercises — and the paid upgrade unlocks more lesson content if you want it. For someone who is not sure they will stick with the instrument, it is the lowest-commitment way to get started.
Where it falls short: The lesson side is shallower than Simply Guitar or Yousician. The chord library covers what beginners need but stops short of jazz voicings or complex extensions.
Pricing:
- Free: tuner, chord library, basic lessons, simple games
- Paid: optional upgrade for deeper lessons and ad-free use
- vs Simply Guitar: free side covers more than Simply's free tier
Switching from Simply Guitar: Install, tune up, and start the chord trainer. You will not need a separate tuner app again.
Bottom line: Pick GuitarTuna if you want a free tuner-plus-chord-library and dip into lessons later.
Fender Play — best for genre-led learning from a real guitar brand
Fender Play takes a song-first approach: pick a genre, learn the chords and techniques inside actual songs, and build a small repertoire while you learn the fundamentals. The lessons are filmed in studio quality, the instructors include working musicians, and the platform covers electric, acoustic, bass, and ukulele under one subscription.
Where it falls short: Less of the gamified, real-time scoring that Simply Guitar leans on. The Android app trails the iOS and web versions on polish.
Pricing:
- Free: a short trial
- Paid: monthly or annual subscription with frequent promotions
- vs Simply Guitar: similar price band, more genre depth, less instant feedback
Switching from Simply Guitar: No migration. Take the genre placement quiz and start with the path that matches the music you actually want to play.
Bottom line: Pick Fender Play if you learn faster by playing songs in a style you love than by drilling exercises in isolation.
Songsterr — best for slow-practice tabs and synced backing tracks
Songsterr displays guitar tabs in sync with the original recording and lets you scroll through at any tempo. Drop the speed to 50 percent to learn a fast lick, isolate individual tracks (rhythm guitar, lead, bass) to focus practice, and loop a single bar until it sticks. It is the closest thing on mobile to having a transcription teacher walk through a song with you.
Where it falls short: Free use is limited to a few songs a day. Tabs are community-submitted, so accuracy varies and the most niche covers may not exist.
Pricing:
- Free: a daily allowance of songs with synced playback
- Paid: a subscription for unlimited songs and offline mode
- vs Simply Guitar: a different category of tool, often used alongside lessons
Switching from Simply Guitar: No migration. Search a song you want to learn next and start with the rhythm-only track at 70 percent speed.
Bottom line: Pick Songsterr when you learn best by working through real songs at your own tempo.
Coach Guitar — best for visual learners who skip music theory
Coach Guitar takes a different angle: instead of standard notation or tabs, it overlays coloured dots on a fretboard view so you can see exactly where each finger goes. For someone who finds tabs intimidating and just wants to play favourite songs, this approach lowers the barrier dramatically. Lessons are organised by song, and beginner songs unlock immediately.
Where it falls short: The colour-coded system does not transfer to other learning resources, so a Coach Guitar habit can feel siloed. The song catalogue is smaller than Ultimate Guitar or Songsterr.
Pricing:
- Free: a handful of unlocked songs and intro lessons
- Paid: a subscription for full song library access
- vs Simply Guitar: similar price, very different teaching approach
Switching from Simply Guitar: No migration. Browse the song library, pick three you actually love, and let the colour overlays guide your fingers.
Bottom line: Pick Coach Guitar if you struggle with tabs and standard notation but still want to play recognisable songs.
How to choose
Start free if you can. Justin Guitar covers the same beginner ground Simply teaches without a subscription, and GuitarTuna handles the tuner and chord trainer side at no cost. Together they cover most of what a new guitarist needs for the first year.
If real-time feedback is the feature you actually use, Yousician is the obvious upgrade. Bigger catalogue, deeper curriculum, multi-instrument support. If you learn faster from songs than exercises, Fender Play wraps the lessons around real tracks.
If you already know the basics and your bottleneck is songs, pair a tab library with a tempo control. Ultimate Guitar gives you the largest catalogue, and Songsterr gives you the synced slow-down. Most working players use both.
If standard notation and tabs leave you cold, Coach Guitar is the visual outlier worth trying before giving up.
Stay on Simply Guitar if the mic-feedback experience is the thing that keeps you practicing and the song catalogue covers the music you want. The pedagogy is gentle for a reason and it works for many people. The other apps exist for everyone else.
FAQ
Is Yousician better than Simply Guitar? Yousician has a deeper curriculum, a larger song library, and covers more instruments under one subscription. Simply Guitar has a gentler beginner ramp and a cleaner single-purpose interface. For most learners past the absolute beginner stage, Yousician is the better long-term home.
Can I learn guitar for free? Yes. Justin Guitar's full beginner-to-intermediate curriculum is free, GuitarTuna covers tuning and chord training at no cost, and Ultimate Guitar's free tier gives you access to over a million tabs with ads. Combined, these three apps take a new player through the first year without a subscription.
What is the best Simply Guitar alternative for total beginners? Justin Guitar is the most-recommended beginner option because the curriculum is structured, the teaching is patient, and the whole foundation course is free. Yousician is the closest match in feel if you want real-time feedback like Simply offers.
Does Simply Guitar work with electric guitar? Yes, Simply Guitar accepts both acoustic and electric input through the phone's microphone. For best results with electric, lower the amp volume and place the phone close to the speaker so the mic gets a clean signal.
What do guitar teachers recommend over Simply Guitar? Many independent teachers point students toward Justin Guitar for the curriculum, Ultimate Guitar for the song catalogue, and Songsterr for practice at slowed tempo. Yousician comes up most often as the structured alternative for self-taught learners who want feedback.
Is there a free version of Simply Guitar? Simply Guitar offers a free tier, but it is limited to a small portion of the curriculum and a sample of songs. The full lesson path and song library require an annual subscription.
