Chord Lens
Compare · 04 of 07
CHORD AI ALTERNATIVE: CHORD LENS VS CHORD AI. phone app or the video
The verdict
Pick Chord ai if you want a phone app that hears a song in the room through the microphone, with advanced chords and alternate tunings on Pro. Pick Chord Lens if you learn from YouTube on a computer: chords right on the video, six stems to mute your part, and key, capo and speed free. Both start free.
On this page · 6 sections
01 / 06 · SIDE BY SIDE
What each one does.
Both work the chords out from the audio and play them in time with the song, bar by bar. Where they part is where you use them: Chord ai is an app for your phone or tablet that also listens through the microphone, and Chord Lens works on the YouTube video you have open, in Chrome or the Studio, with the song split into its parts.
Read from each one’s own pages on the date above. Where a feature needs a paid plan or has a free limit, the cell says so; where Chord ai’s pages name a feature but not its plan, the cell just says it has it. Chord ai’s plans are the free app and Pro; Chord Lens’s are Free, Premium and Pro.
| Capability | Chord Lens | Chord ai |
|---|---|---|
| Chords in time with the song | Yes. | Yes. Bars and beats |
| Chords from a YouTube video | Yes. On the video or in the Studio | Yes. |
| Chords from the microphone | No. Never records your mic | Yes. |
| Chords for your own audio files | Yes. MP3, WAV, M4A | Yes. |
| Free plan | With a catch. 20 new songs a month | With a catch. Common chord types |
| Chord shapes for | Yes. Guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, piano | Yes. Six, guitar to banjo |
| Digital capo | Yes. | With a catch. Pro: smart capo |
| Change the key | Yes. Up to 12 semitones | Yes. Pitch shift |
| Slow down, same pitch | Yes. Half to double speed | Yes. |
| Loop a part | Yes. Free saves 3 per song | Yes. |
| Split into stems | With a catch. Six; free: 2-minute part, 5 a day | Yes. Four, WAV export |
| Lyrics with the chords | Yes. Where the song has lyrics | Yes. Transcribed by AI |
| MIDI export | No. | Yes. Midify |
| On the YouTube video, in Chrome | Yes. Chrome extension | No. Not on its pages |
| Works in a web browser | Yes. | No. Store apps |
| Phone apps in the stores | No. Mobile web app | Yes. iOS, Android |
- Yes
- With a catch, named in the cell
- No
02 / 06 · SWITCHING
Coming from Chord ai: what maps across.
Most of what you do in Chord ai has a place in Chord Lens. Load a song from YouTube: paste the link into the Studio, or press Chords under the video with the Chrome extension. Load an audio file: drop your MP3, WAV or M4A into the Chord Finder. The chord diagrams come for guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin or piano, with the key, the tempo and the sections.
Key, capo and speed are on Chord Lens’s Free plan: move the key up to 12 semitones in the Studio, set a capo on guitar, ukulele or mandolin, and play from half speed to double with the pitch left where it is. A loop holds the bar you keep missing; Free saves 3 loops per song.
What doesn’t carry over: Chord Lens never listens through your microphone, so a song playing in the room needs a YouTube link or a file. There are no store apps, no banjo shapes, no alternate tunings and no MIDI export, and your Chord ai songs don’t import.
What is new: six stems instead of four, with piano and guitar on their own, so you can mute your part and play it yourself while the chords run, and the chords right on the YouTube video on a computer. On Free you split a 2-minute part of the song you choose, 5 times a day; splitting needs a computer.
Open one song you already know in Chord ai, paste the same YouTube link into the Studio, and compare the two charts by ear before you decide.
03 / 06 · WHO IT’S FOR
Who each one is for.
Neither is better for everyone. Chord ai answers “what is the band in this room playing?” and Chord Lens answers “how do I play my part over this video?”
Chord Lens
- You learn from YouTube on a computer and want the chords right on the video.
- You want to mute your part and play with the band, with piano and guitar as stems of their own.
- You want key, capo and speed without paying.
Chord ai
- You want the chords of a song playing around you, through the microphone.
- You mostly play on your phone or tablet and want an app from the store.
- You want advanced chords, banjo, alternate tunings or MIDI files.
04 / 06 · HOW WE CHECKED
How we checked.
We read Chord ai’s own home and feature pages and its App Store listing on 3 November 2026, signed out, and linked each one below. Its FAQ answers sit behind links we didn’t follow, and its prices change by store and country, so we quote no prices: see the App Store or Google Play for yours.
We make Chord Lens. Every Chord Lens row comes from the Studio’s Upgrade page, its plan limits and our tool pages the same day.
We ran no tests and print no scores: how well either one hears your song is for your own ears. If a page changes, the date at the top tells you how old this is.
05 / 06 · Try it on your song
AI YouTube to Chords
Paste any YouTube link and get its chords in time, with the band behind you. Free, no card.
01Is Chord Lens a free Chord ai alternative?
Yes. On the Free plan you get chords in time on any YouTube video, the shapes for your instrument, the words where the song has them, and key, capo and speed, with no ads. Chord ai’s free app covers the common chord types; advanced chords, the smart capo and alternate tunings are on Pro.
02Can Chord Lens hear a song through my microphone like Chord ai?
No. Chord Lens never records your microphone. It reads the YouTube video you name or the audio file you bring, which keeps the chords in time with that recording. For a song playing in the room, Chord ai is the one that listens.
03Is there a Chord Lens app for my phone?
Not in the app stores. On a phone, the Chord Lens Studio installs to your home screen as a mobile web app, with the chords, the words and the sections. Splitting stems needs a computer. Chord ai has apps for iOS and Android.
04Which one splits more stems?
Chord Lens splits a song into six stems: vocals, drums, bass, piano, guitar and other. Chord ai’s own page lists four: bass, vocals, drums and other, each exportable as a WAV file.
05Does Chord Lens work on a computer?
Yes, that is where it does the most. In Chrome the extension puts the chords right on the YouTube video, and the Studio runs in any computer browser, with the Chord Lens app for Mac on Apple silicon. Chord ai’s pages name apps on the App Store and Google Play, not a web version.
06Can I use both?
Yes. Many players use Chord ai to catch the chords of a song they hear and open the YouTube video in Chord Lens to learn their part with the stems. Both start free, so trying each costs nothing.