SlowBird vs Capo
Capo is a polished learning app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. It works out a song’s chords, beats and key for you, slows it down, loops the tricky parts, and has a tabbing view for writing out solos note by note. If you play guitar on Apple devices and want the chords handed to you, it is a strong choice.
The first difference is simple: Capo does not run on Windows, and its developer says there are no plans for it to. SlowBird runs on Windows 10 or later and on macOS 14 or later, and one licence covers both. The second is how you pay and what you keep. SlowBird is one payment, and every passage you are learning is a named, coloured note pinned to the recording, gathered across your whole library in the notes viewer. Capo’s full version is a subscription, and without one it stops saving your edits to regions and markers.
| SlowBird | Capo | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £19.99 / $25 one-time, Mac and Windows on one licence, 7-day free trial | Free edition; Pro for Mac $39.99 a year, Platinum (all Apple devices) $49.99 a year; or Capo Pro 4 for Mac, $99 one-time from retailers |
| Platforms | macOS 14+ and Windows 10+ | macOS 14.6+, iPhone and iPad. No Windows or Android |
| Slow down without pitch change | Yes, 25% to 200% | Yes |
| Pitch | Semitones, plus a ±100-cent fine trim | Transpose to another key |
| Looping | Drag on the waveform; the seam is measured to be click-free | Looping regions, with a call and response mode |
| Saved passages | Named, coloured notes pinned to the track, with free-text tags, all on one searchable canvas in the notes viewer | Regions, markers and sections in each project; edits are saved only with an active subscription |
| Chords and notes | No chord detection; a pitch heat map over a reference keyboard shows the notes sounding | Detects chords, beats and key; a spectrogram tabbing view; MIDI and lead sheet export |
| Record what the computer is playing | Yes, straight into the library, no extra software | Works with music you own; cannot open tracks from Apple Music, Spotify and other streaming services |
| Separating parts | Isolates one channel of an old two-track recording | Isolates instruments and vocals |
| On your phone | No, desktop only, and none planned | Yes, iPhone and iPad |
Which one should you choose?
Capo, if you want the chords, beats and key worked out for you, a tab or MIDI file at the end, or the same projects on your iPhone and iPad. For a guitarist strumming along to songs, that is a lot of work done for you.
SlowBird, if you are on Windows, or on both Windows and a Mac, if you would rather pay once than subscribe, or if you learn by ear and keep coming back to the same records, with every passage you are working on saved by name in one searchable library.
Questions
Is there a Windows version of Capo?
No. Capo runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad, and its developer says there are no plans to build it for Windows or Android. SlowBird runs on Windows 10 or later as well as macOS 14 or later.
How much do SlowBird and Capo cost?
SlowBird is £19.99 / $25 one-time, Mac and Windows on one licence, 7-day free trial. Capo has a free edition; Capo Pro for Mac is $39.99 a year (or $5.99 a month), Capo Platinum for every Apple device is $49.99 a year, and a one-time Capo Pro 4 for Mac is $99 from music retailers.
Should I choose SlowBird or Capo?
Capo, if you want chords, beats and key detected for you, tab and MIDI export, or the same projects on your iPhone and iPad. SlowBird, if you are on Windows, if you would rather pay once, or if you want every passage you are learning saved by name in one searchable library.
There are also comparisons with Transcribe!, Amazing Slow Downer and Anytune, the other tools people weigh SlowBird against.
Free 7-day trial · macOS 14 or later · Windows 10 or later · £19.99 once, both platforms