Pitch Perfect. Play Perfect.

There's a free in-browser version at chromtuner.com/tune — it runs the same YIN pitch-detection engine in your browser, no signup, no download. The native macOS app is a one-time $6.99 purchase that adds Core Audio (sub-50 ms vs 12–60 ms in the browser), 15 instrument presets, 8 historical temperaments, capo, transpose, menu-bar mode, and offline use. No subscription, no trial-then-charge.

$6.99 one-time, paid through Stripe. That includes lifetime updates on the 1.x line — every bug fix, new tuning, new instrument preset, and performance improvement is free for life. No subscription, no recurring charges, no upsells. A future major version (2.0) would be a separate purchase, with a loyalty discount for existing 1.x customers.

macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Universal binary — runs natively on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and Intel Macs. No additional hardware required; the built-in microphone works out of the box. Any USB audio interface or Aggregate Device that macOS recognizes (Focusrite, Universal Audio, MOTU, RME, etc.) is also supported via Core Audio at full sample rate.

Yes. Chromatic Tuner runs entirely offline — no audio, telemetry, or account ever leaves your Mac. The app makes zero outbound network connections, and pitch detection runs locally on the CPU.

No. Chromatic Tuner uses your Mac's built-in microphone by default, and works with any USB audio interface or Aggregate Device that macOS recognizes.

Chromatic Tuner runs natively on Core Audio with sub-50 ms latency, ±1¢ YIN accuracy, no ads, no telemetry, and no account. Free tuners typically run in a browser tab (12–60 ms of WebAudio jitter) or hand the signal to a phone's built-in mic — auto-gain and noise suppression baked in before the tuner ever sees it. The $6.99 buys lifetime 1.x updates and direct email support.

Sub-50 ms perceived. Chromatic Tuner reads your interface at full sample rate via Core Audio, so the meter responds the moment you pluck. Browser-based tuners typically add 12–60 ms of WebAudio jitter on top.

Yes. Chromatic Tuner uses Core Audio at full sample rate with any USB interface or Aggregate Device macOS recognizes — Focusrite, Universal Audio, MOTU, RME, and others. Set your input device in System Settings → Sound and the app picks it up.

Any pitched instrument in the human-audible range — guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin, violin, brass, woodwind, voice. The eight presets target guitar and bass; chromatic mode covers everything else.

Chromatic Tuner is accurate to ±0.14 cents on pure sine tones and ±1 cent in real-world use. The in-tune zone (green) opens at ±5 cents, which is what most studio engineers consider perfect intonation. Detection uses the YIN time-domain algorithm with a 4096-sample window, octave-error correction for plucked strings, and median-of-5 + exponential smoothing for stable readings at ~22 Hz.

Yes — both. Chromatic Tuner is a universal binary that runs natively on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and Intel Macs. macOS 14 Sonoma or later required.

There's a free browser-based version at chromtuner.com/tune that runs the same YIN engine — try it before you buy the Mac app. The desktop app adds Core Audio (sub-50 ms vs 12–60 ms in the browser), 15 instrument presets, 8 historical temperaments, capo / transpose, menu-bar mode, and offline use. If you're still on the fence after the browser version, email support@chromtuner.com for a direct reply, usually within a few hours.

If Chromatic Tuner doesn't run on your supported Mac or doesn't do what we advertise, email support@chromtuner.com and we'll fix it or refund you — no forms, no support tickets. EU law requires the disclosure that digital downloads waive the standard 14-day right of withdrawal once delivery starts. That disclosure is about consumer policy; a build that refuses to launch on Sonoma or later is on us regardless. Honest mistake purchases inside 24 hours are also refundable, just ask.

Yes. Every 1.x update is included for life with your purchase — bug fixes, new tunings, performance work, additional instrument presets. Updates ship through the in-app updater (a daily check that surfaces a Download button when something new is available) so you don't have to keep an eye on the changelog manually.

Your 1.x copy keeps working forever — no kill switch, no subscription expiry, no online check. A future major version (2.0) would be a separate purchase, with a loyalty discount for existing 1.x customers. Until then, every bug fix, new tuning, and performance improvement on the 1.x line is included free. There's no roadmap commitment for when 2.0 ships; the priority is making 1.x as good as it can be first.

Yes. Enable Menu Bar mode in preferences and a 360 px popover appears next to your other menu-bar icons. The main window can stay hidden.

Yes. Chromatic Tuner ships with 15 instrument presets: guitar (Standard, Drop D, DADGAD, Open G, Half-step Down, 7-string), bass (4-string EADG, 5-string BEADG), bowed strings (violin, viola, cello, double bass), folk (ukulele, mandolin, 5-string banjo), and pure chromatic. Capo position (off through fret 11), A4 reference, and ±11-semitone transpose are all adjustable.

Historical temperaments are alternative tuning systems used before equal temperament became dominant — each gives every key its own colour. Chromatic Tuner ships eight: Equal (modern default), Just Intonation (pure 5:4 thirds), Pythagorean (pure fifths), ¼-comma Meantone (Renaissance / early-Baroque), Werckmeister III (1691), Kirnberger III (1779), Vallotti (1779), and Young II (1799). All non-equal systems support a movable tonic from C through B.

Yes. Toggle between two display modes: a 31-LED horizontal bar with hardware-accurate ticks and a Knight-Rider intro sweep, or a true Peterson-style rotating-band strobe with smoothstep speed curve and a hard ±0.5¢ deadband (so 'in tune' is genuinely stationary). Both modes show the 7-segment note + octave + cents readout.

Yes. Chromatic Tuner has dedicated presets for violin, viola, cello, double bass, ukulele, mandolin, and 5-string banjo (open G), in addition to guitar and bass tunings. The full pitch range (A0 to C8) covers everything from 5-string bass through piccolo. Chromatic mode handles anything else.

Yes. Transpose is adjustable ±11 semitones — B♭ instruments, A clarinets, and capo'd guitars all read in concert pitch on the meter while you stay on familiar fingerings. Combine with the custom A4 reference (349.0–499.9 Hz, including 415 / 440 / 442 presets) for period-instrument or orchestral tunings.

Nothing leaves your Mac. The microphone stream is processed in memory and discarded — Chromatic Tuner doesn't record, save, transmit, or analyze your audio beyond pitch detection.

Every tuner needs to hear your instrument, so macOS prompts for microphone access on first launch — the same prompt any audio app shows. Chromatic Tuner uses the input stream only for pitch detection in memory: nothing is recorded, saved, transmitted, or written to disk. If you click Don't Allow by accident, you can grant access later in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone → Chromatic Tuner. The app is sandboxed under macOS App Sandbox + Hardened Runtime so it physically cannot access anything else on your Mac.

It works well with any clean signal — a piezo pickup, instrument out → audio interface, or built-in microphone in a reasonably quiet room. Stages and full-band rehearsals are noisier than YIN handles cleanly; the most reliable setup there is a wired pickup straight to your Mac or an audio interface DI input. If you see the 31-LED meter visibly hunting between octaves, the room signal is dominated by drum bleed or another instrument — switch to a pickup rather than the room mic and the readout locks in immediately.