Disclosure: We are a professional review site that receives compensation from the companies whose products we review.
By the KYI Team. Last compared 7 November 2026; prices and trial terms were checked on both platforms’ own sites that day.
Quick verdict
| Guitar Tricks | Yousician | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Video course platform with real instructors | App that listens through your microphone and scores your playing, game-style |
| Price | $29.95 a month or $179 a year ($143.20 with SAVE20) | Premium+ (all instruments) $29.99 a month or $139.99 a year on yousician.com; a single-instrument plan is $19.99 a month or $119.99 a year in the app stores, where the Premium+ annual price is also higher |
| Trial | 14 days, plus a 60-day money-back guarantee | 7 days, plus a limited free tier |
| Instruments | Guitar | Guitar, bass, piano, ukulele and singing |
| Feedback | Human: weekly Q&A video and instructor video feedback included | Automatic: real-time note detection and scoring |
| Our pick | Anyone who wants to play real songs properly | Kids, and adults who need a daily-habit game |
They are different products
Yousician is a practice game. You play along, the app hears you, you get points and move up levels. It is genuinely motivating, and for a child or for someone who has never kept a practice habit it can be the thing that works. Guitar Tricks is a course: an instructor teaches, you watch, you practise, you move on. Nobody listens to you unless you submit a video to the Feedback System.
Price
For guitar alone, Yousician’s single-instrument plan is cheaper than Guitar Tricks month to month ($19.99 against $29.95). The all-instrument Premium+ plan costs about the same as Guitar Tricks monthly and less annually ($139.99 against $179, or $143.20 with SAVE20). Yousician’s free tier caps how long you can play each day. Guitar Tricks sells a year for $99 a few times a year, including right now for Black Friday 2026. Guitar Tricks pricing in full.
Learning to play well: Guitar Tricks
The app’s note detection rewards hitting the right note on time. It does not see your fretting hand, cannot correct your picking, and tends to produce players who can follow a scrolling line but cannot play without it. Guitar Tricks’ multi-camera lessons show you the hands, the tab is there to read, and the song lessons teach the arrangement, not just the notes. If you want to play with other people, that matters.
Building a habit: Yousician
Daily streaks, levels, instant scoring. If you have bought courses before and not opened them, Yousician’s design will get you to pick up the guitar more days than a video course will. Guitar Tricks now has Practice Streaks and progress tracking, but it is not a game.
Songs
Yousician has a large licensed library in play-along form. Guitar Tricks teaches more than 1,000 songs, each in depth, with parts, solos, single-guitar arrangements and jam tracks.
Beyond the beginner stage
Guitar Tricks has four style courses, Artist Studies and a technique library. Yousician’s levels run out of teaching and become practice. Theory is light on both.
Other instruments
Yousician: guitar, bass, piano, ukulele and singing in one Premium+ subscription. Guitar Tricks: guitar only.
Who should pick which
- Child or teenager: Yousician.
- Adult who wants to play songs as recorded and understand what they are doing: Guitar Tricks.
- Never kept a practice habit: Yousician first, Guitar Tricks when the habit exists.
- Want human feedback: Guitar Tricks.
- Want piano or ukulele too: Yousician.
Frequently asked questions
Does Yousician actually teach you guitar?
It teaches you to hit notes on time. It is weak on technique and on playing without the app.
Is Guitar Tricks interactive?
The lessons are not; the Feedback System and the forum are.
Which is cheaper?
Yousician’s single-instrument plan for guitar alone. Premium+ and Guitar Tricks are similar month to month; Premium+ is cheaper for a year at list.
Can a beginner use Guitar Tricks without an app that listens?
Yes; that is how guitar was learned before 2010. The multi-camera video and tab replace the microphone.
Last compared 7 November 2026. Guitar Tricks review · Guitar Tricks vs JamPlay, TrueFire, Fender Play, JustinGuitar and Pickup Music.
