Let's be precise, because this page exists to be precise: Playsoloist apps do offer a subscription. It's called Soloist Pro, it's optional, and you never need it to play. There is no ad-supported “free” tier that grinds you toward a paywall, no account gate, and nothing tracking you. You download the app, you play, and the app tells you the truth about how it went.
Here is exactly what that means.
What “free” genuinely includes
Free tiers differ per app — each one is built around its instrument — but they are real practice tools, not demos. Two itemized examples, straight from the apps:
Soloist Ukulele keeps free, with no ads: the four-tuning tuner (High G, Low G, Baritone, D Tuning), the full chord library, 13 opening lessons, 46 playable works, and three private imports each month.
Soloist Trumpet keeps free: the tuner, the valve-and-partial chart, the room check, the first three course units, the Practice Coach, and 26 playable melodies and original studies.
Soloist Piano gives you a full-screen, multi-touch keyboard with sampled sound, free forever — no banners, no interruptions. Soloist Guitar lets you learn and play for free.
Soloist Ocarina keeps the chromatic tuner, the complete 12-hole Alto C fingering reference including both sub-holes, the opening graded course lessons, and private MusicXML import and play-along free. Pro unlocks the full course, the remaining original and public-domain catalog, and grading for imported pieces.
The same pattern holds across all 18 apps, from kalimba to harmonica to tabla: the tools you need to actually practise stay available without paying.
And free means the same honest grading as Pro. The app doesn't grade you more generously because you haven't paid, and it doesn't nag you because you haven't paid either.
What Pro costs, plainly
Soloist Pro unlocks the full catalog and unlimited drills in each app. In the United States it is US$9.99/month or US$59.99/year; prices vary by region, and the App Store shows your exact price before you buy. Eligible new subscribers may see a 7-day free trial on the plan shown by Apple; offer coverage varies by app and plan. Subscriptions are per app. Apple handles billing, cancellation, and refunds, and you cancel any time in iOS Settings.
That's the entire pricing story. No tiers of tiers, no “limited-time” countdown banners, no price that changes depending on how you found the page.
Why no ads, no account, no trackers
This isn't a marketing posture; it falls directly out of how the apps are built.
The audio never leaves your device. Listening, transcription, and per-note grading run entirely on-device. Our backend has no audio endpoints at all — there is no server that could receive your playing, which is a stronger guarantee than a promise not to listen.
Core practice needs no account. There is nothing to sign up for, so there is no profile to build, enrich, or sell. No ads and no third-party tracking SDKs, ever — an app with ads has to watch you to price you, and we'd rather not watch you.
The business model is the honest one. We sell an optional subscription to people who want the full catalog. That's it. When the product is the thing you pay for, you are the customer — not the inventory.
How to check any music app, including ours
Before you commit evenings to any learning app, three checks:
- Open the App Store privacy label. “Data Not Collected” or on-device processing is what you want to see.
- Look for what's playable before payment. A real free tier has lessons and songs you can finish, not a locked shelf with one sample.
- See whether the feedback can say “no.” An app that only ever praises you isn't teaching; it's retaining. Ours reports “Heard 14 of 16 notes” when that's what happened, and leaves an unclear take ungraded rather than guessing.
We built the apps to pass all three. Pick your instrument — ukulele, piano, trumpet, guitar, kalimba, or any of the other twelve — and play free for as long as you like.