Guitar Start Guide
Simply Guitar is properly well made and it is very good at the first few weeks, which happens to be the part where most people give up. The cost is where it gets uncomfortable: around $20 a month, or roughly $120 a year, charged for as long as the account stays open.
The other issue is the ceiling. Once you are past the first chords and strumming patterns, plenty of learners find they are paying every month to repeat the same kind of exercise. Jamorama is $97 once against a $287 list price: ten courses in order from Mark McKenzie, jam tracks to play over, and it carries on well past the beginner stage. It will not hear you play and the production looks dated, which is worth weighing honestly.
See why we recommend Jamorama →
Song-based lessons that listen to your playing and give instant feedback — a low-pressure way for beginners to start.
Try Simply Guitar free →If you’re weighing up an app to get you playing, the first honest question is the Simply Guitar cost — what you actually pay once the shiny free bit ends. Simply Guitar (made by Simply, the team behind Simply Piano) is a beginner-friendly app that listens to your playing through your phone’s mic and guides you song by song. Below we break down the free version, the subscription price at the time of writing, and whether it’s worth it for you.
Is there a free version of Simply Guitar?
Yes — sort of. Simply Guitar is freemium, which means you can download it and try the opening lessons for nothing. You’ll get a taste of how it works: it tunes your guitar, teaches your first chords, and gives you real-time feedback as you play. That trial slice is genuinely useful for deciding whether the app’s style clicks with you. What you don’t get for free is the full lesson path — after a handful of lessons you’ll hit a paywall and need a subscription to keep progressing.
Simply Guitar subscription price
Like most learning apps, Simply Guitar pushes you toward an annual plan because the monthly option is deliberately pricey. At the time of writing, expect roughly the following. Prices change often and vary by country, currency and whatever promotion is running when you sign up, so treat these as ballpark figures rather than gospel.
| Plan | Approx. price | Effective monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free (limited lessons) | $0 | $0 |
| Monthly plan (simplyguitar.com) | $9.99/month on the subscribe page, checked 30 Sep 2026 | $9.99 |
| Annual plan | Listed as “save 20%”; we did not read the price | Check the official page |
| Family plan / app-store pricing | Not verified; check the store or official page | n/a |
Notice a pattern? Every plan above is a subscription — you keep paying for as long as you use the app. If you’d rather pay once and own your lessons for life, Jamorama is our top pick: a one-time payment, lifetime access and a 60-day money-back guarantee (see what’s inside →).
The annual plan is far better value per month, but only if you’ll actually stick with it. A month-to-month subscription is the safer bet if you’re not yet sure guitar will become a habit. Watch out for free-trial periods that auto-renew into a paid year — set a reminder to cancel before it bills if you’re only testing the waters.
What you get for the money
- Step-by-step lessons that start from zero — no prior knowledge needed.
- Real-time feedback: the app hears whether you played the right notes and in time.
- A song-based path, so you’re playing recognisable tunes early rather than dry drills.
- Built-in tuner and a gentle, encouraging pace that suits nervous beginners.
Where it’s thinner: Simply Guitar is fantastic for absolute beginners but the path is relatively short. Once you can strum a handful of songs, you may outgrow it and want deeper material on theory, technique and lead playing. If you’d like the full picture of strengths and limits before paying, read our Simply Guitar review.
How the cost compares to alternatives
Simply Guitar sits in the same price bracket as most app-based competitors. Its closest rival is Yousician, which is more gamified and covers several instruments — see how much Yousician costs for a side-by-side sense of value, and our Yousician review for the full rundown. If you prefer a structured course over an app that grades you as you go, a one-off or subscription video course can work out cheaper over time. Browse our reviews and comparisons to see the field.
Is Simply Guitar worth it?
For a true beginner who wants low-friction, guided practice and instant feedback, yes — the annual price works out to a few dollars a week, cheaper than a single in-person lesson. If you’re disciplined, already know a few chords, or want to go deep into theory and technique, you may get more from a full course. Try the free lessons first; if you find yourself opening the app most days, the subscription pays for itself.
Where we’d start: Once you’ve weighed up what Simply Guitar actually costs, it’s worth putting it next to a full course like Jamorama, which folds structured lessons and a song library into one predictable price.
Paying once instead of monthly: where Jamorama fits
Simply Guitar is billed as a subscription, so the total depends on how long you stay subscribed. If you would rather pay a single price, Jamorama is a video course with a one-time cost — $97 on the vendor’s own page when we checked on 30 September 2026 — and no auto-renewal.
- Choose Simply Guitar if you want an app that hears you play and guides you step by step, especially if you are a nervous first-timer.
- Choose Jamorama if you would rather follow a structured course taught by one instructor and own it, and you are comfortable without real-time feedback.
What to know about Jamorama before you buy: it does not listen to your playing, its song library is smaller than an app’s, its material is not refreshed often, and some 2023–2025 Trustpilot reviews report problems with account access and support. We cover this in What to check before you buy.
Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you. See what’s inside Jamorama →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Simply Guitar completely free?
You can use the first few lessons and the tuner for free, but the full lesson path is locked behind a subscription. It’s enough to decide whether you like the app, not enough to learn the instrument end to end.
How do I cancel Simply Guitar before I’m charged?
Because you usually subscribe through the App Store or Google Play, you cancel in your device’s subscription settings rather than in the app. Cancel before the free trial ends to avoid being billed for a full year.
Is the annual plan better value than monthly?
Per month, yes — the annual plan can be roughly half the monthly rate. But it only saves money if you keep playing. If you’re unsure, start monthly and upgrade once guitar is a genuine habit.
Do I need a real guitar to use it?
Yes. The app listens to an acoustic or electric guitar through your device’s microphone, so you need a real instrument that’s roughly in tune — the app will help you tune it.
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 Simply Guitar.
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.
Related: is Simply Guitar free (and how to cancel) and is Simply Guitar worth it.