Articles / Hookpad alternatives (2026)
Hookpad alternatives (2026)
Hookpad color-codes every chord by function and backs it with TheoryTab's eighty thousand analyzed songs. Look past it for a sung melody, a DAW plugin, an export on the free tier, or a single payment. One alternative per reason, prices checked September 26, 2026. Mozarella is ours.
What Hookpad does, and where it stops
Hookpad, from Hooktheory, shows every chord and melody note by its function, color-coded, backed by TheoryTab's eighty thousand analyzed songs. Standard is $7.99 a month or $199 for life. The Aria AI assistant is a $14.99 a month add-on, with a few free uses a day. The free tier plays piano only, gives one melody voice, and locks lyrics, borrowed chords, and every export (MIDI, PDF, MP3) behind Standard; saving a free project resets the band to default. It runs only in the browser, with no plugin and no sung vocals. In 2026 it added mic recording, audio import, version history, and Aria V2. Head to head: Mozarella vs Hookpad.
Pick by reason
- Hear the melody sung with your lyrics: Mozarella
- Chords and melody inside your DAW: Scaler 3
- Roman numerals and a one-time price: Song Cage
- AI chord suggestions in the browser: ChordChord
- Function-labeled chords on iPhone and iPad: Suggester 2
- Free, with every export: MuseScore Studio
- Lyrics, chords, and a co-writer on one page: Songcraft
- A free plugin that plays chords from single keys: Ripchord
1. Mozarella (ours)
Browser. Free to compose; vocals and studio export from $19 a month.
You pick a key, drop chord and section blocks, write or reroll the melody, choose instruments, and hear the arrangement at once. Progressions show as Roman numerals. AI vocals sing the melody with your lyrics, and studio export hands over MIDI and stems. Hookpad has the analyzed-song library, lead sheets, and lessons. Try it free.
2. Scaler 3
Mac and Windows plugin or standalone; separate iPad app. $99 one time. Free trial with an account.
The DAW-side answer. Detects chords from audio or MIDI, suggests progressions from over a thousand chord sets, generates melody, bass, and arpeggio lines with Motions, and since v3.3 (July 2026) lays it all out on an Arrange timeline with fifty built-in sounds. Missing: the browser, a real-song database, and function-colored notation. Scaler shows chord names and scales, so you get the chords without the why.
3. Song Cage
Mac, Windows, web, iOS, Android, plus an AU and VST3 plugin since July 2026. $99 one time. Free web tier for one song.
The 2026 newcomer closest to Hookpad's idea: an in-key chord palette labeled with Roman numeral functions, melody detection, lyric tools, MIDI and PDF export, sold once, no AI. Its own blog ranks it first in every comparison it publishes, so read someone else's review too.
4. ChordChord
Browser. 30-day Pro trial for $9.99, then $27 a month per its own pricing page. Older third-party prices are out of date.
Chord Studio with templates, AI prompts for progressions, stem separation, and export to MIDI, WAV stems, MP3, and chord charts. Chords first: the melody tools are thin next to Hookpad, and there is no function-based theory view or song library.
5. Suggester 2
iPhone, iPad, Mac, AUv3. Free with in-app purchases: $5.99 a month, $24.99 for iOS, $44.99 for every platform.
The closest thing to Hookpad's theory view on a phone: Roman numerals, a chord builder organized by harmonic function, scale suggestions, a chord detector, playback, and MIDI export with chord symbols. Version 6 shipped in September 2026. No melody track, no song database, nothing for Windows.
6. Captain Plugins Epic 7
Mac and Windows, VST and AU. $99 one time, $39 upgrade.
Mixed In Key's suite: Chords, Melody, Deep for bass, Beat, and Play, inside the DAW and paid once. Built for producers who want a progression and a topline in minutes. Chord names rather than functions, no song analysis, no browser. Odesi, from the same company, is still sold at $49 and reads as legacy.
7. MuseScore Studio
Windows, macOS, Linux. Free and open source. Version 4.7.5, September 2026.
For the writer who wants the theory on paper. Full notation, Roman numeral analysis and Nashville numbers as text, chord symbols with playback, and MIDI, PDF, and MusicXML export. No chord palette, no suggestions, no browser. The free way out of Hookpad's export lock.
8. Songcraft
Browser. Free up to five songs; Pro $5 a month.
Lyrics, chord charts, tabs, and rough recordings on one page, with AI key and chord suggestions, a rhyming dictionary, and live collaboration. It has no melody editor and no band playback.
9. Ripchord
Mac AU and VST3, Windows VST3. Free.
One key triggers a whole chord from a preset, with strum and humanize; import a MIDI file and it becomes a preset. No theory labels, no sound of its own, no browser. It puts chords under fingers that cannot play them, for nothing.
Seen on other lists
Cthulhu ($39), InstaChord 2 ($89), Chord Prism 2 ($49.99), and Melody Sauce 3 ($99, March 2026) are DAW plugins that generate chords or melodies without teaching anything. Orb Producer Suite is discontinued; it became LANDR Composer, from $8.25 a month inside LANDR Studio. Chordbot was last updated in 2022. Chordify and Chord AI analyze recordings; they do not write. Chrome Music Lab's Chords plays a chord in the browser.
Side by side
| Runs | Theory shown | Price | Free tier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hookpad | Browser | Functions, colors, TheoryTab | $7.99 a month or $199 | Piano only, no export |
| Mozarella | Browser | Roman numerals | From $19 a month | Compose and preview |
| Scaler 3 | Plugin | Chord names, scales | $99 | Trial |
| Song Cage | Desktop, web, plugin | Roman numerals | $99 | One song on web |
| ChordChord | Browser | Chord names | $27 a month | 30-day trial, $9.99 |
| Suggester 2 | iOS, Mac | Roman numerals, functions | $5.99 a month or $44.99 | Yes, limited |
| Captain Plugins | Plugin | Chord names | $99 | None |
| MuseScore Studio | Desktop | Analysis as text | Free | Everything |
| Songcraft | Browser | Chord names | $5 a month | Five songs |
| Ripchord | Plugin | None | Free | Everything |
Keep Hookpad for the lessons. Pick the alternative by the one thing Hookpad will not do.
Common questions
Is there a free Hookpad alternative?
MuseScore Studio is free with every export. Ripchord is a free chord plugin. Mozarella composes and previews free. Suggester 2 and Song Cage have free tiers with limits. Hookpad's own free tier plays piano only and cannot export.
Does anything else have TheoryTab?
No. Eighty thousand analyzed real songs, browsable by progression, is Hookpad's unique asset. Chordify and Chord AI analyze a recording you hand them and show chord names, without the function view.
Which alternative shows theory the way Hookpad does?
Suggester 2 and Song Cage label chords by Roman numeral and function. Mozarella shows progressions as Roman numerals. Scaler and Captain show chord names and scales, so you get the chords without the why.
Can I take my Hookpad projects with me?
On Standard, yes: MIDI, PDF score, lead sheet, and MP3 export. The free tier cannot export at all. MIDI opens in any DAW and in the plugins on this page.
Is Hookpad's $199 lifetime plan worth it?
If you will use TheoryTab and the band sounds for more than two years, it beats monthly. The Aria AI assistant is a separate $14.99 a month add-on either way.
The wider field, by job: Best tools for writing a song from scratch.
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Mozarella is a song sketch pad in the browser, free to start. Open the app or read the FAQ.