Last updated: June 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.
QUICK VERDICT
Bottom line: Simply Guitar is a strong beginner app from the makers of Simply Piano. It listens to you play a real acoustic or electric guitar, helps you tune up, and has you strumming real songs within days. The honest caveats are the same as its piano sibling: it is light on technique and theory, leans on backing tracks, and committed players will outgrow it. As a fun, guided first few months of guitar, though, it is one of the best. Our rating: 4.0 / 5.
- Best for: absolute beginners and kids who want to play songs fast
- Pricing: dynamic subscription, roughly $120–$150/year; 7-day free trial
- Skip if: you want serious technique, theory, or lead/advanced playing
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SIMPLY GUITAR AT A GLANCE
- Listens to you play a real guitar via your device’s microphone and gives instant feedback. Source: hellosimply.com.
- Works with acoustic or electric guitar, and helps you tune before you start.
- Teaches chords, strumming, riffs, and songs step by step, with a 7-day free trial.
What is Simply Guitar?
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Simply Guitar is a guitar-learning app from Simply Ltd., the team behind Simply Piano. It uses the same core idea: you play a real guitar — acoustic or electric — while the app listens through your device’s microphone and gives immediate feedback on whether you nailed the chord or note. It is aimed at total beginners who want a guided, gamified way to learn without a teacher, built around interactive lessons and playing real songs from the start.
How Simply Guitar works
After helping you tune up, Simply Guitar walks you through bite-sized lessons crafted by professional musicians: how to hold the guitar, your first chords, switching between them, strumming patterns, and simple riffs. Short videos teach each skill, then interactive exercises have you play while the app listens and corrects you in real time. You learn by playing songs you actually recognize, with tabs and chord progressions, and progress is tracked as you go. Like its piano sibling, it makes you play a section correctly before advancing — great for building clean habits, less great if you want to jump ahead.
Simply Guitar pricing
Simply Guitar is a subscription with a 7-day free trial, priced on the same dynamic model as Simply Piano — it varies by region and current promotion. In practice the annual plan tends to land in the region of $120–$150 a year, with shorter three- and six-month plans available at a higher effective monthly rate. As always with dynamic pricing, start the free trial and confirm the live price before you are billed. As a self-study option it is inexpensive next to in-person lessons; the question is whether the app’s method clicks for you.
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What we like and don’t
What we like:
- Real-time feedback on an actual guitar — motivating and effective for beginners.
- Gets you playing recognizable songs quickly, which keeps you practicing.
- Works with acoustic and electric, and helps with tuning.
- Structured, beginner-friendly, and kid-friendly.
What we don’t:
- Light on technique — it can’t see your fretting hand or fix bad habits.
- Thin on theory and limited for lead/advanced playing.
- Song-based with backing tracks, and you can’t skip ahead.
- Mic detection can struggle in noisy rooms or with some electric tones.
Who it’s for, and the alternatives
Simply Guitar is ideal if you are starting from scratch and want a friendly, structured way to play songs — or you are buying for a child. If you want to go deeper into technique and theory, you will eventually want a teacher or a more advanced platform; many beginners use Simply Guitar to fall in love with the instrument first, then add lessons. Learning piano too? Its sibling Simply Piano uses the identical approach. For the full picture, see our roundup of the best apps to learn guitar.
Tips to get the most out of Simply Guitar
A few things make the app work better — and make up for its blind spots:
- Play in a quiet room. The mic does the grading, so background noise — or an unamplified electric — can cause missed notes. A quiet space makes feedback far more reliable.
- Watch your hands yourself. Since the app can’t see you, film a quick clip of your fretting and strumming hands occasionally and check your form against a free technique video.
- Practice in short, daily sessions. Ten to fifteen minutes a day beats one long weekly slog — and builds the calluses and muscle memory guitar needs.
- Use the free trial to test detection. Before paying, make sure the app reliably hears your specific guitar in your space; that is the one thing worth confirming up front.
Frequently asked questions
Is Simply Guitar worth it?
For beginners and kids, yes — it is an affordable, motivating way to start playing real songs with instant feedback. As with any app, it won’t teach proper technique or deep theory, so serious players eventually add a teacher or a more advanced tool.
How much does Simply Guitar cost?
It is a dynamic-priced subscription, typically around $120–$150 a year with shorter plans available, and a 7-day free trial to start. Confirm the live price during the trial, since it varies by region and promotion.
Does Simply Guitar work with electric guitar?
Yes, it works with both acoustic and electric guitars. It listens through your device’s microphone, so a quiet room helps the note detection work reliably, especially with an unamplified electric.
RELATED GUIDES
- Simply Piano review — the same approach for piano
- Best apps to learn guitar — all your options compared
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