OpenFret Guitar Tuner: Free App for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch

I got tired of tuner apps that want my email, show me ads between strings, or take 400MB of storage for something that should weigh nothing. So we made one that doesn't do any of that.

OpenFret Guitar Tuner is a native app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It's free. No account, no sign-up screen, no pop-ups asking you to rate it, no ads, no in-app purchases. You open it and it's ready. That's it.

Small on purpose

The app is tiny. It does one thing: tune your guitar. No chord libraries wedged in, no metronome nobody asked for, no lesson tab trying to upsell you. I wanted something I could open mid-rehearsal without waiting for it to load, and that meant keeping it stripped down. It launches fast because there's almost nothing to load.

It's built native, not wrapped in a web view. That matters for latency. The pitch detection runs on-device with no network calls, so it works in airplane mode, in a basement with no signal, wherever.

Accuracy you'd pay $20-30 for

I've compared it side-by-side with clip-on tuners in the $20-30 range. The results are the same. Chromatic detection, cent-accurate readout, picks up the note fast. Works on 6-string, 7-string, 8-string. Any tuning. Drop D, open G, DADGAD, whatever you use. The app doesn't need to know your tuning in advance because it just reads the pitch.

Acoustic guitars work great through the built-in mic. For electrics, plug into an interface or put the phone near your amp. Same accuracy either way.

Apple Watch

This is the part that surprised me. I put the Watch version in because it seemed like a good idea, and now it's the version I reach for first. Your phone can be in your case or across the room. Just raise your wrist, pluck a string, and the Watch tells you where you are. The built-in mic picks up acoustic guitar without any issues.

Most tuner apps that bother with a Watch version charge extra for it or lock it behind a subscription. This one is included. Free means free.

No sign-up, no accounts, no data

You download it and use it. There's no account creation, no email field, no “continue with Google” screen. The app doesn't collect anything. It listens to your mic, shows you the note, and that's the end of it. I find it genuinely strange how many tuner apps ask for your email. To tune a guitar.

Where everything else lives

If you want practice tools, fretboard training, backing tracks, or the RPG game mode, those are all on openfret.com. The app is just the tuner. We also have a web-based tuner if you're on Android or desktop.

Get it

App Store link. Free. iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch. No catch.