If you're reading this review, you likely already know that the 2 main players in the premium online guitar lesson space are GuitarTricks and JamPlay. As a member of both websites, and with 10+ years of guitar teaching experience, I will outline for you the good, the bad and the ugly of both services. Who will win in the Jamplay vs GuitarTricks battle? Let's find out.
Updated: 1/15/21
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With the large number of guitar lesson websites available, it can be difficult to choose which one is best. To be quite blunt about it, some of them straight up suck and are a waste of money. However, 2 that don’t suck are GuitarTricks and Jamplay. These 2 companies have both been in business for over 15 years and for good reason.
Both have their own unique approach to online guitar lessons, and a fairly different library of lessons. With this comprehensive comparison review I hope to help you make a more informed decision about which service will get you to the next level of your guitar playing the fastest.
GuitarTricks
Though GuitarTricks doesn’t have as sleek or fancy of an interface as JamPlay, the quality is just as high, if not higher at times. This may be pointless to some, but one of the key factors I found favoring GuitarTricks is that you can navigate to previous pages easily. With JamPlay if you hit the ‘back’ button, you get a white, ‘confirm form re-submission’ screen that you have to hit refresh to rid of. Additionally, GuitarTricks takes great pride in being the original online guitar lesson provider, founded even before YouTube.
JamPlay
JamPlay puts virtually all of its focus on quality material for the learning guitarist. With thousands of HD lessons, available in several formats including mobile, as well as a very active and supportive forum, this site is sure to bring you to the next level of your guitar playing. I would also like to note that JamPlay features supplemental TABs and resources for virtually all lessons where GuitarTricks does not always follow suit.
Read Full Jamplay Review
Compare with a side by side comparison of JamPlay and GuitarTricks below:
GuitarTricks Features
$
19.95
/mo
JamPlay Features
$
20
/mo
Video Review/Walkthrough
Coming Soon!
Frequently Asked Questions
GuitarTricks has a 60 Day Money Back Guarantee. Simply contact them within that window via eMail or phone call if you are not satisfied, and you will be refunded in full.
Yes. GuitarTricks features over 100 popular songs of varying difficulty.
Yes. GuitarTricks does not offer the same live and webcam support as JamPlay, however my experience has always been positive. Questions are often answered promptly and are always very helpful.
Yes. GuitarTricks features a “Progress” bar that saves your progress in each video/lesson.
Yes! We found a 2 week free trial to GuitarTricks.com. Click the link for more details.
Video Review/Walkthrough
Coming Soon!
Frequently Asked Questions
Full refunds are as simple as eMailing or calling JamPlay within 7 days of your sign up. After that you may cancel at any time with the push of a button to stop all billing.
Yes. JamPlay features hundreds of step-by-step lessons teaching you your favorite songs with TAB often included.
Absolutely! JamPlay features 50+ professional guitar instructors and over 10,000 members in it’s ever-expanding community. All willing to help you reach your guitar playing goals.
Yes. Every lesson features a “Progress” bar that saves where you left off in the lesson.
Yes! We found a coupon code for 25% off your first month’s membership. Click Here to activate this coupon!
Would I Choose JamPlay or GuitarTricks?
After trying both services I believe a complete beginner would be successful with either GuitarTricks or JamPlay. Both websites offer very high quality lessons that will get you where you want to be. As long as you are serious about learning guitar, either will
Having said that, I believe JamPlay will serve a beginning guitar player better in the long run. Reason being that after going through dozens of their lessons (they’re great lessons, too!), a small detail really stood out: JamPlay cares about your ears! In addition to the Ear Training lesson series, the early lessons in virtually every other series puts a heavy focus on ear training. Additionally, learning the fretboard and overall music theory are rightfully treated with equal importance. If you saw my post on Ear Training for Guitar, then you know how important I believe this is.
In the end, both will teach you any and all of the skills you need to know to become and excellent guitarist.
If I have left any questions unanswered, please feel free to leave any questions or comments in the box below.
Interested in second opinions? Check out a few reviews by my peers below:
Hi Deven,
thanks for this detailed comparison of programs for the guitar. It is great that you put FAQ and that you said your opinion about this at the end. I see in about section that you started early and that you are passionate about this, so I was actually looking for your opinion, the option (program) you would choose.
I know only two songs, I played guitar years ago and I would like to start again, but I have to change strings cause they corroded and to find time to practice it.
Now that I know that both of these programs are great, I might buy one and start playing again 🙂
Thank you for recommending them.
Best wishes,
Susan
Hi Susan!
Thank you for the comment. Having tried both I personally recommend JamPlay as it has a much greater number of tools available. However this is not a one-size-fits-all situation. While I prefer and tend to recommend Jamplay over GuitarTricks, it is very possible that GuitarTricks will suite someone much better than Jamplay. So the question becomes, based on this review, which service do you feel would best serve you? Thanks again for the comment!
Thanks for the comparison review!
I’m assuming that both JamPlay and GuitarTricks allow you to cancel any time?
I read your article on ear training, and based on that alone I would agree that JamPlay is worth a few dollars more a month. I’ve had a guitar for over 30 years, but never really learned to play and for sure never trained my ears! I’m finally at a point in my life where I can dedicate the time to learn. I think I’ll take your advice and go with JamPlay!
Thanks again for the review. Very helpful.
-Kim
Hi Kim, thanks for the comment!
GuitarTricks offers a full refund if you cancel within 60 days of signing up.
Jamplay offers a full refund if you cancel within 30 days of signing up.
For both sites, if you cancel outside of that time frame (whether 30 or 60 days) they will simply turn off the auto renew and you will continue to have access until the end of the membership which you’ve paid for.
I am happy to hear you are going to start dedicating some time to learning and joining Jamplay. Should you have any questions or roadblocks along the way please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Cheers!
Thank you for writing this article and review on both online guitar lessons membership sites.
I had recently started to pick up my guitar lessons again, which I had stopped almost 30 years ago.
Now, my amazing teacher is moving away and I have no interests to drive twice a week to her which would be a 2 hours drive, one way.
She told me to look online and actually has mentioned JamPlay. Reading your reviews on both sites and seeing the comparison chart I do feel that JamPlay might be the right choice for me.
Thanks for sharing all the information, appreciated. 🙂
Hi Sylvia,
I am happy to hear you’ve decided the pick the guitar back up again. I think you’ll find it all comes back to you much faster the second time than when you were originally learning. I hope you enjoy your JamPlay Membership! Please feel free to stop by any time and reach out if you have any questions or road blocks along the way!
I like the idea of online guitar lessons vs going to a teacher and doing in studio lessons. Not to mention you can save a bunch on teaching fees. No doubt a live teacher has its benefits but for me and what I want out of guitar playing the online lessons do just fine. I have been subscribed to a different service than the 2 you mention in your article and been paying a bit more for what looks like less features. Going to seriously considering a switch. Thanks for this info. Cheers.
Hi Myles, you are very right. An in-person teacher can do wonders. I have found that Jamplay’s live Q&A sessions, as well as their live chat feature really help bridge the gap between online lessons and in person lessons. Thanks for the comment, I’m glad you found the review helpful!
I am with jamplay since 2011. I didn´t know how to hold a guitar when I found jamplay. Now, I can play and I am writing my own songs. Thanks to jamplay. The teachers and the jammers are very supportive. I will stick to jamplay It did teach me to play, and I am learning the bass too.
Hi Buffy! I’m so happy to hear of your success using Jamplay! They really do an excellent job of helping learning guitar players build a strong foundation to work off of. How are you liking their bass lessons? I’ve yet to try those.
Hey Dev, I read this and your lesson on how to practice. I have been considering each site and looked around at both. I appreciate that jamplay has a brand new beginner option and a self taught. Anyway, my question is: does either site give you guidance on how to learn from them? Do you watch one lesson at a time and then practice until you are proficient at that one lesson? Do you watch warmup, skill, song, etc. lessons like your recommended structure and then spend the next few days practicing those lessons? Are the lessons intended for you to play along/practice as you watch? I hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance!
Hi there! Thanks for the comment! Both sites do offer some guidance as to how to best learn from the lessons. Often times the teachers will give you tips and tricks on how to best utilize what they are teaching in the lessons. Additionally, both sites have “stages” to help you best choose where you should start based on your current skill level. As for how I incorporate the lessons into my practice schedule, I usually insert the Jamplay or GuitarTricks lesson into the appropriate section of my guitar practice routine. For example, if I am watching a Jamplay lesson on warm up exercises, I will play along with that lesson and count it as part of my warm up. Hope that helps!
I tried out GuitarTricks and Jamplay both, I think that Jamplay fits better with intermediate guitar players, while GuitarTricks would be good for beginners. Another thing: on Jamplay you can’t download the lessons, while on GuitarTricks you can and watch them off-line…consider the quality of your internet connection before make the choice 😀
Hi Gianca, thank you so much for the comment! I will have to add that to my review! I had never tried downloading a lesson from either so I was unaware of this small yet powerful feature. Thank you again for bringing it to my attention & the great feedback!
FYI. The copy right song lessons are not downloadable.
Hi Tim! Which lessons are you referring to? Do I need to update some content on my site? Thanks for the heads up!
I am a yearly member of Jamplay and am thinking of switching to Guitar Tricks when my year is up. First off I didn’t connect with any of Jamplays teachers, they are kind of weird or strange in both their styles and personality’s. Second they have so many teachers and I have tried most of them but after a couple of their lessons they don’t seem to go in any set path, i.e. instead of going from open chords to beginner Barre chords, power chords they all drift off into these weird chords with impossible stretches and fingerings etc. Their is no direct path in any of their options. It looks like they have a path by showing 40 lessons from this instructor or 80 from the next, but they jump around so much it seems they are following their own path not the students. I liked Hawkeye and he has a great style but the stretches soon had me moving on. Another teacher hand wrote these charts it was impossible to pay attention etc. Another thing is why can’t they have a option to slow down there video’s! They do supply the tab for all video’s but most of them are not the same as the video’s, who ever they use for transposing is not good, so you are forced to try to watch the video’s but they only run at full speed making it difficult to see. Also they have a few hundred songs but not to many that I want to learn and some of the teachers are horrible and should never be in front of a camera.
Again I have never tried Guitar Tricks but their path seems more defined, they just started a Rock Course (Today) that starts from open chords on up by playing Classic Rock etc, this interests me and the teacher seems half human, though I must admit the guy interviewing him and the salesman of guitar tricks has the worst hair style I have ever seen. I don’t like that you need to put down a credit card for their 2 week trial and that has stopped me from trying them out.
Hi Roger,
I’ve been using http://www.guitarbyjimi.com for a while now and am really happy. This guy is the best teacher I’ve ever had – even if it is online! You should check him out, he’s got a lot of stuff on his site. Good luck.
Paul
I visited the site and I have to be honest, it is one of the worst websites on Guitar that I have ever visited. His style is unorthodox and really out-there. I would in no way recommend anyone going to this website. He offers only 2 free lessons, one on practice which he rambles on for 17 minutes + about practicing on the worst/cheapest acoustic guitar you can find because then you’ll sound great when you get to a good guitar, Suggesting that you use .13 strings. etc.I didn’t have the stomach to watch the only other free lesson on sound. His video’s are really poor, I wouldn’t even give this guy the time I have spent to reply but only did it because Paulrockguitar put the link under my name. Don’t waste your time like I did.
Hello Roger,
Thank you very much for your excellent comment. I apologize it has taken me some time to respond. Life’s gotten very hectic at work the past few weeks.
I certainly understand what you mean in regards to JamPlay’s curriculum. There really isn’t a defined path for you to follow. If you’d like I can help formulate one for your. But as you also mentioned you didn’t connect very well with their instructors, which is critical in learning to play guitar. Quickly, in terms of returning to your lesson: there (should be) a link in the top section of your user dashboard with your 5 most recent lessons.
While I do believe that GuitarTricks has a more defined path for their students to follow, I have to say the actual learning tools JamPlay offers wins by a landslide.
As for the GuitarTricks free trial, they only require this in case you don’t cancel in 2 weeks they will just add you to the monthly billing cycle. Luckily (and I’ve tested this) canceling your free trial is as easy as going to Account Settings -> Cancel Billing. Should you do so within 2 weeks, you will not be charged. I believe there is now also an option to join the free trial through PayPal. Something worth checking out.
Again thank you very much for your feedback and please let me know if there is anything else I can help you out with.
Good luck!
Regards,
Dev
I have a quick question. Will any of these sites train in a genre of music? I’m thinking about getting a guitar and im into power metal / metal in general. Does any of these sort of have “genre training”?
Hi, thanks for the question. Yes, both JamPlay and GuitarTricks cover different genres. However you say you’re into metal? I would definitely suggest JamPlay if that is the case. JamPlay has many guitar teachers from REAL metal bands such as Darkest Hour, GWAR, Daath and more. If you would like to check out a sample lesson, I have a guitar finger exercise lesson on here where I put a JamPlay lesson by Darkest Hour guitarist Kris Norris onto the page. If you’d like to sample the lesson you can view my Guitar Finger Exercises post here. Hope this helped out!
My pick at JamPlay. Recently they released many great lessons, which let you see the big picture. Purely technical stuff+ ear training+ singing+ all the useful music theory series+ performing series+ all the artist series who share really useful tips and tricks. If you are smart about it, with JamPlay you can learn not just mechanically play guitar (robot like), but you can see how everything is connected and really understand what’s going on, musically wise. In the long run this is much more satisfying and really is what a “bedroom guitarist” needs to “get out of the bedroom” and to feel comfortable with his instrument.
The live sessions are another great tool, that is massively underrated. Yes, not all teachers are great, but you can have at least few sessions a week with performing artists. And what the people don’t understand is that the live sessions are not teaching sessions, but place to discuss your questions and problems regarding not just guitar but music in general.
In my experience GuitarTricks can’t teach you more than the technical aspect of the guitar (which is absolutely not enough outside your bedroom), while if you’re smart with JamPlay you can begin to understand how music works and incorporate that into your playing. (I even had moments, when I played with keyboard players and I could tell whats going on on their instruments better than them, progressions, arpeggios, patterns etc.)
(I’ve been using JamPlay for over two years and I tried to get the best I could of GuitarTricks for 1 month.)
Hi Todd, first off- thanks for the excellent comment. Very thorough and I agree with you all the way. After having tried several different online guitar lesson services, the JamPlay lesson features alone beats out the overall quality of most other websites in general.
Between the interactive games (HIGHLY recommended to all skill levels of guitar player) and the chord/scale/song lesson library- it is very possible, and fairly simple, to make incredible progress in a months time with JamPlay. They absolutely get you where you need to be not only in skill level, but musicianship as well. That’s the bottom line and absolutely what I love about my JamPlay membership. (And yes, I use a JamPlay membership myself!)
Thanks again for the great comment!
The information you bring to your site about guitars never ends to inspire your readers…your doing an amazing job! keep it up 🙂
Hi Lawrence, thank you for the comment! I really appreciate the kind words.
Wow I really enjoyed this review! Alot of good info.
Hi Sarah,
I’m glad you found the review useful! I hope it has made the decision process easier for ya!
Good luck!
Dev
For a raw beginner, never played before, would you recomend one over the other?
Hey James, I’m glad you asked! I’ll have to add this in to the summary of the post. After trying both services I believe a complete beginner would be successful with either website. They both hold a tremendous deal of value in their lessons, both in quality and quantity.
However, I must say I believe that JamPlay will serve a beginner better in the long run. The reason I say this is that after going through dozens of lessons (they’re great lessons, too!) I noticed something: JamPlay cares about your ears! Not only are there lessons devoted to Ear Training, but also the early lessons in virtually every series put a heavy focus on ear training, learning the fretboard and overall music theory. If you saw my post on Ear Training for Guitar, then you know how important I believe this is.
In the end, both services will teach you any and all of the skills you need to know to become and excellent guitarist. I just believe you will be much happier with your decision by going with JP. Whatever you should decide though, I wish you the best of luck and am sure you’ll be happy with your choice.
Best,
Dev
Great review. Nice website. 🙂
Hey Zac,
Thank you very much for the kind words. I’m glad you liked my review and enjoy the site!
Best,
Dev
Nice review! Thanks for making it!
Hey Shawn,
Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad you found the review helpful. Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions!
Good luck!
Dev
Thanks for the information on both products, the video, and the FAQs. It helped getting to see everything in one place.
Hey marc,
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found thew reviews helpful. Good luck with your decision. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!
This has been very helpful! Thank you for the great review, Dev! I tried both last night for the first time and have to admit that Jam Play truly seems like a much more interactive and overall better choice (for myself). While both sites seem to really bring a lot to the table in terms of online lessons, Jam Play is going to be what I go with. Again, excellent review!
Hi Dave,
Thanks so much for the comment. I'm glad you found the review helpful. I'm happy to hear you went with JamPlay! That was my choice as well after testing out both sites. What's better is JamPlay is actually the cheaper, more affordable option!