How we chose
To be on this list, an app has to write a guitar tab from audio you give it. That leaves out tab libraries that only show what people wrote, and chord apps such as Chordify, which give you chord names rather than frets. The order below is not a ranking. Each app is best at something different.
Songsterr AI
Best for: people who also want a big library of tabs, in one subscription.
- Takes a YouTube link or an audio file.
- Songsterr Plus is $9.99/month in the US App Store and includes 50 complete AI tabs a month.
- Rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass, drums and more. MIDI, Guitar Pro, MP3 and WAV downloads.
- Its library claims over a million tabs and chords.
Weak spot: its pages don't state a free AI limit or say how uploaded audio is handled.
Klangio Guitar2Tabs
Best for: guitarists who want to edit and export.
- Takes an audio file or a YouTube link, with a free demo of the first 20 seconds and no sign-up.
- US App Store: Pro $9.99/month or $99.99/year, Universe $24.99/month, or tickets from $2.99 for one.
- PDF, MIDI, MusicXML and Guitar Pro. A note editor for subscribers.
Weak spot: its messages differ. The website says it isolates guitar from other instruments, while the iOS listing says mixed recordings give poor results.
Songscription
Best for: musicians who play more than guitar, or want sheet music.
- Takes files, a recording in the browser, and YouTube links.
- Free: the first 30 seconds of each song, with no exports. Plus: 60 minutes a month. Pro: 300 minutes.
- Guitar Pro, PDF, MIDI and MusicXML on paid plans.
- MusicRadar reported £7.99 and £22.99 a month. Dollar prices weren't visible when we read the pricing page.
Weak spot: its guitar tabs are standard tuning only, and its guitar page shows piano and flute examples, not guitar.
Note2Tabs
Best for: trying a smaller tool with a browser editor.
- Takes files or YouTube links, and opens the result in a tab editor.
- A SaaSHub listing shows premium at $5.99/month, and warns the details may be out of date.
Weak spot: we found little independent information about it, and no stated limits.
BeatMap (ours)
Best for: trying your own files with no upload and no account, and practicing with slow-down and loop.
- Takes MP3, WAV and M4A. The AI runs in your browser, so audio never leaves your device.
- Free: 3 tries a day, showing tempo, key and the first 2 bars.
- From $5/month or $48/year, up to the plans below.
- Plays the tab back at 25% to 150% speed, loops any bars, exports PDF, and MIDI on Pro and Master.
Weak spot: no note editor, no direct Guitar Pro or MusicXML file, no bends or slides in the tab. It's weak on full band mixes, and YouTube works only through your mic.
BeatMap's plans
Starter
$5/month
or $48/year
- 5 tabs a month
- Songs up to 4 minutes
- PDF export
- Tabs saved 30 days
Pro
$9/month
or $86/year
- 15 tabs a month
- Songs up to 8 minutes
- PDF and MIDI export
- Tabs saved for good
Master
$19/month
or $182/year
- 40 tabs a month
- Songs up to 15 minutes
- PDF and MIDI export
- Tabs saved for good
What we measured on our own engine
No other app we looked at publishes a test like this, so we can't compare. We can only show ours.
| Clean file, 64 known notes | Found | Written in total |
|---|---|---|
| Solo guitar | 63 | 150 |
| Full band | 24 | 174 |
How to pick in 5 minutes
- Choose one song you know well, and a clean version of it.
- Run the same 20 seconds through two free tiers.
- Play both results on your guitar. The one with fewer wrong notes and frets you can reach is the better one for your music.
Want a closer look? See BeatMap vs Klangio or BeatMap vs Songsterr, or try the converter.