Let's be precise, because this page exists to be precise: Playsoloist apps do sell something. It's called Soloist Pro, it's optional, you never need it to play, and in many apps you can pay for it once instead of subscribing. 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. If you want the rest, Soloist Trumpet Pro is a one-time Lifetime purchase (US$19.99 in the US), with no subscription.
Soloist Piano keeps free, with no ads: the full 88-key keyboard with sampled piano sound, the metronome and scales, Unit 1 (seven lessons from middle C), 51 catalog items, three imports a month and the on-device practice coach. If you want the rest, Soloist Piano Pro is a one-time Lifetime purchase (US$19.99 in the US), with no subscription. Soloist Guitar lets you learn and play for free.
Ocarina Studio keeps free the chromatic tuner, the 12-hole C and G fingering charts including both sub-holes, the first 3 of 12 course lessons, 12 songs with graded takes, the long-tone coach, and unlimited private MusicXML import and play-along. Its Pro tier is pay once, with no subscription: Ocarina Studio Pro Lifetime is US$9.99 in the United States and never renews. Pro unlocks the full course, the rest of the public-domain song library, Wait Mode, and grading for imported pieces.
Session Whistle keeps First notes, reference notes in all nine whistle keys, the first-tune course and the 3,000-tune Irish book free, offline and without ads. If you want the rest, Session Whistle Pro Lifetime is a one-time US$6.99 in the United States with nothing to renew; subscriptions remain for people who also want typed technique answers.
The same pattern holds across all 20 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. You can buy it two ways.
Pay once. Many Playsoloist apps sell Pro as a one-time Lifetime purchase that never renews. In the United States: Kalimba, Bansuri and Session Whistle US$6.99; Handpan, Ocarina, Tabla and Harmonium US$9.99; Piano, Guitar, Ukulele, Violin, Cello and Trumpet US$19.99. In each of these, Lifetime unlocks the same lessons, songs and tools as a subscription, and more apps are adding it. In the apps with an AI coach (Session Whistle, Guitar, Ukulele, Violin and Cello), Lifetime keeps the free coach allowance; a monthly or yearly plan is what raises it.
Or subscribe. Most apps also offer monthly and yearly plans, typically US$9.99/month or US$59.99/year in the United States. Eligible plans may include an introductory offer; eligibility and the exact offer are determined and displayed by the App Store, not by us.
Purchases are per app, prices vary by region, and the App Store shows your exact price before you buy. Apple handles billing, cancellation, and refunds: you cancel a subscription any time in iOS Settings, and Restore Purchases brings a Lifetime unlock back on a new phone.
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 optional Pro, once or by 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.