Guitar Start Guide
Both of these are subscription services. If you would rather buy a course once, Jamorama is about $97, paid once, with 60 days to get your money back, and it is the option we recommend most for adult beginners.
Gibson’s own Learn & Play app: an expert-designed path from your first chords to full songs, with interactive lessons and real-time feedback.
Try the Gibson App →Fender Play vs Guitar Tricks pits two of the biggest video lesson platforms against each other, and they solve the beginner problem in genuinely different ways. Fender Play is slick, song-first, and quick to a win; Guitar Tricks is deeper, more structured, and built to take you further. This straight comparison lays out where each shines so you can back the one that fits how you like to learn.
The short answer
Choose Fender Play if you want to play recognisable songs fast and enjoy a clean, uncluttered interface. Choose Guitar Tricks if you want a thorough, well-sequenced foundation and a huge library to grow into. Both are good — it comes down to speed-to-song versus depth.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Fender Play | Guitar Tricks |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Song-first, short lessons | Structured Core Learning System |
| Library size | Focused, curated | Very large, thousands of lessons |
| Best for | Fast wins & motivation | Depth & long-term progress |
| Interface | Clean and modern | Functional, content-heavy |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Approx. price | Around $10/mo | Around $20/mo |
Both are subscriptions, so you keep paying every month you keep learning. If you’d rather pay once and own a full course for life, Jamorama is our overall pick — a one-time payment, lifetime access and a 60-day money-back guarantee (see what’s inside →).
Learning approach: songs first vs foundations first
Fender Play is designed around motivation. It gets you playing riffs and songs quickly through short, focused video lessons, betting that early wins keep you practising. Guitar Tricks takes the long view with its Core Learning System — a carefully ordered path through fundamentals before you tackle full songs. If you’ve quit before because progress felt slow, Fender Play’s quick wins help; if you’ve been burned by gaps in your basics, Guitar Tricks fills them.
Depth and library
This is where Guitar Tricks pulls ahead. It has been building its catalogue for over two decades, so beyond the beginner path there are thousands of song tutorials and style lessons covering blues, rock, country and more. Fender Play’s library is more curated and beginner-focused, which keeps it approachable but means you may outgrow it sooner.
Interface and experience
Fender Play feels modern and effortless — clean menus, tidy lesson pages, and a friendly onboarding that suits phone and tablet use. Guitar Tricks is more functional and content-dense; there’s simply more to navigate. Neither is hard to use, but Fender Play wins on polish while Guitar Tricks wins on substance.
Price and value
Fender Play typically costs around $10 a month at the time of writing, while Guitar Tricks sits closer to $20, with annual plans reducing both. Guitar Tricks costs more but delivers far more content, so value-per-lesson favours it — provided you’ll actually use the depth. If you just want to strum a few songs, Fender Play is the cheaper, quicker route.
Which should you choose?
Go with Fender Play for fast, motivating, song-led learning on a budget. Go with Guitar Tricks for a deeper, more complete education you can grow into for years. Both offer free trials, so you can test-drive the feel before committing. For the wider field, our best online guitar lessons ranking puts them in context.
Bottom line for beginners: Either platform can teach you, but between the two we’d nudge a complete newcomer toward the structured lessons in Jamorama to sidestep the decision fatigue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fender Play or Guitar Tricks better for complete beginners?
Both are beginner-friendly. Fender Play gets you playing songs faster, which helps motivation, while Guitar Tricks builds a more thorough foundation. If quick wins keep you going, choose Fender Play; if you want solid fundamentals, choose Guitar Tricks.
Do I need a Fender guitar to use Fender Play?
No. Despite the name, Fender Play works with any acoustic or electric guitar. You don’t need to own a Fender to follow the lessons.
Which is better value for money?
Guitar Tricks costs more but includes far more content, so it’s better value if you’ll use the depth. Fender Play is cheaper and ideal if you mainly want to learn songs quickly without a large library.
Can I try both before paying?
Yes. Both platforms offer free trials, so you can sample the teaching style and interface. Trying each for a few days is the best way to decide which clicks for you.
What to read next
Prefer one structured course you own for life over renting an app? Jamorama is our top recommendation — a 10-part video course, pay once, with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
See what’s inside Jamorama → Read our reviewHow we reviewed this (updated 16 October 2026): this page is based on the vendor’s official information, pricing and policies and on public user feedback. We have not hands-on tested the products listed.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend what we genuinely rate.