Capo is the strongest ear-training tool of the group: it detects chords, key and tempo, draws chord diagrams, generates a tab view and can print a lead sheet. Since version 4.0 it is a subscription — Capo Pro at $39.99 a year, Platinum at $49.99 a year on the Mac — and the free edition cannot save your edits. JamCrate takes the opposite position: free, no account, no renewal, a plain folder of files you own. It does not detect chords at all.
What Capo is good at
Capo is the most ambitious of the ear-training tools: it detects chords, key and tempo automatically, draws chord diagrams for guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, banjo and piano, generates a tablature view from what it hears, and since version 4.7 can print a PDF lead sheet. It has a Neptune engine that can solo or mute an instrument or vocal, it supports foot-pedal mapping, it syncs projects through iCloud, and it runs on macOS 14+ and iOS 17+.
If what you want is the app to tell you what the chords are, Capo does that and JamCrate does not — that is the honest headline of this page.
Where it stops fitting
Capo moved from a one-time purchase to a subscription at version 4.0, and the free edition cannot save your edits: the current tiers are Capo Pro at $39.99 a year and Capo Platinum at $49.99 a year on the Mac, with $19.99 and $49.99 a year for the iOS version. So a tool that is genuinely good at analysis is rented rather than owned, and the free tier is a demo rather than a product.
Its speed range is 25%–150%, which is narrower than the other tools on this list, and there is no Windows, Android or web version. It also cannot load DRM-protected Apple Music or Spotify streams.
What JamCrate does instead
- No subscription and no account: you download it, it works, and there is nothing to renew. Every feature is available from the first launch.
- Your library is a folder of ordinary files, not a project database: audio, tab, markers and notes per song, readable without the app and portable to another Mac or a USB stick.
- A phone player with no second purchase and no app store — the set opens in the phone's browser, and can be kept offline on the device.
- Automatic loudness matching across the whole library, so practising through a set does not mean riding the volume.
And what JamCrate does not do: it does not detect chords, key or tempo, it does not generate tablature, it has no lead-sheet export, and its tempo range is 0.5×–1.0×. For learning a song by ear, Capo is the stronger tool.
Side by side
| Capo | JamCrate | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | subscription: Capo Pro $39.99/yr, Platinum $49.99/yr on Mac; free tier cannot save edits | free beta, no subscription |
| Platforms | macOS 14+, iOS 17+ — no Windows or Android | macOS 14+, phone via browser |
| Speed range | 25%–150% | 50%–100%, pitch preserved |
| Chord / key detection | yes, with chord diagrams and a tab view | no |
| Lead-sheet / tab export | printable PDF lead sheets since 4.7 | no |
| Instrument isolation | Neptune engine, solo or mute a part | no |
| Library and loudness | projects synced via iCloud | plain folder, every track loudness-matched |
| Account | subscription billed through your Apple ID | none |
Facts about the other tools come from their own sites: Capo for Mac · Capo on the App Store · Capo 4.7 release notes
Which should you pick?
Pick Capo if you are learning songs by ear and want the app to name the chords, draw the diagrams and print a lead sheet — and if a yearly subscription is an acceptable way to pay for that. It is genuinely good at it.
Pick JamCrate if you already know the songs and want to play them: a free library of files you own, tabs on screen, solo loops, matched loudness, and a phone player for the practice room. It will not tell you what the chords are.
Questions
Does JamCrate detect chords like Capo?
No. Capo's chord, key and tempo detection — and the tablature and lead sheets it generates from them — have no equivalent in JamCrate. JamCrate shows the tab, chart or PDF you already have and scrolls it in time with the audio.
Why is Capo a subscription?
The vendor changed Capo to a subscription model at version 4.0 in November 2020. Current tiers on the Mac are Capo Pro at $39.99 a year and Capo Platinum at $49.99 a year, and the free edition cannot save edits. That is the vendor's pricing, quoted from their own App Store listing.
Can JamCrate show a PDF or a chord chart next to the song?
Yes — PDF, txt, chordpro and Guitar Pro files are all stored with the song and shown beside the transport, scrolling with playback. You supply the chart; JamCrate keeps it in the right place and in time.
Try it on a track you already own
JamCrate is a free beta for macOS 14+. Import a folder, mark the hard bars, take the tempo down to 0.5× and keep the key.
Download for Mac Try the player in your browser
About 20 MB · Universal build · signed and notarized by Apple · no account, nothing leaves your Mac.
Prefer Homebrew? brew install --cask vitas/jamcrate/jamcrate