Chord ai vs Hookpad

Chord ai is a mobile app that recognizes chords and beats in songs, helping listeners follow music or learn to play it. Songs can be loaded from YouTube, SoundCloud, audio files, or a device microphone. The app detects chords, tracks beats and downbeats, displays tempo and song structure, and infers a song's key; it also shows guitar, piano, and ukulele chord diagrams. Microphone input can identify chords in real time. The maker describes on-device deep learning, with audio files and microphone input analyzed on the phone. The free plan provides basic features with unlimited free use. Chord ai Pro adds recognition of more than 700 chords, voicing and position suggestions, unlimited saved songs, PDF transcription export, score editing, and WAV export of bass, drums, vocals, and other stems. Other Pro tools include pitch shifting, alternate tunings, smart capo suggestions, and processing audio or video up to one hour at once. Pro costs $9 a month or $69 a year, with prices depending on App Store country. The app is available on Android and iOS, and the maker does not provide API access to its technology.

Hookpad is browser-based songwriting software for composing chord progressions, melodies and songs with integrated music theory tools. Its chord suggestions draw on music theory and data from 75,000 songs. The free plan includes Smart Guides, transposition, tempo and looping, piano playback and cloud saving; advanced chord palettes and search are limited to one-minute previews. Standard adds more than 500 instruments, 11 band templates, up to four melody voices, lyrics, mixing, recording and MIDI input, along with MIDI and MP3 export. Users can also export sheet music, guitar tablature and lead sheets. MIDI exports can be imported into digital audio workstations such as GarageBand, Logic and Pro Tools. Audio import supports WAV and MP3; MIDI input requires a browser with Web MIDI API support. Optional Aria can suggest chords, melodies or both. Hookpad works in a browser and offers tablet touch mode, but is not suitable for smartphone editing. Standard costs $7.99 a month, billed monthly; the optional Aria add-on costs $14.99 a month, billed monthly.