Updated by Bobby
Recently updated on March 15th, 2022
Updated screenshots and added compare buttons for each program.
Guitar Tricks VS Jusinguitar
Comparison Verdict
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Parent article: Guitar Tricks Review
In this article I'm setting up a Guitar Tricks VS Justinguitar comparison using 34 points of quality. Since Justinguitar is one of the most widely-used and largest online guitar lesson websites that's also completely free, I thought it would be helpful to see how it holds up against Guitar Tricks, which is one of the largest and most widely-used paid options.
I'll look at some broad numbers, video player page quality, song lesson section, organizational standards, and much more.
Each table I've built covers a single category with multiple comparison points. It's a simple win, lose, or draw for each point. This comparison is meant to help you decide if Justinguitar is enough for what you want to accomplish or if the investment in a larger program like Guitar Tricks is worth it, in your situation.
If you have questions about either program, feel free to leave those in the comments section below this article.
Compare Similar Programs
PROGRAM | DETAILS | RATING | TRY |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Guitar Tricks
| 92.8 RATING Detail | |
 | JamPlay
| 88.7 RATING Detail | |
 | Guitargate
| 87.7 RATING Detail | |
 | Justinguitar
| 85.1 RATING Detail | |
 | Yousician
| 72.3 RATING Detail |
Guitar Tricks vs JustinGuitar: A Direct Side-by-Side Comparison
First, we'll cover the FAQ-type questions like price, membership count, and other front-line specs that help you evaluate the programs from a high-level view.
| | |
|---|---|---|
Membership count as of 2021 | 3 million | 502,127 |
Free Trial Period | 14 days | Forever |
Total Number of Lessons | 11,000 + | 1246 |
Styles (Genres) Covered | 12 total | n/a |
Instructors | 20 + | 1 |
Monthly (non-promo) Price | $20 | Free |
Yearly Price | $180 | Free |
The Guitar Tricks home page as of June 2022
Justinguitar home page as of June 2022.
Guitar Tricks has a wide edge in popularity and membership count, partially because Justinguitar has only had a membership component to their site for a few years. Guitar Tricks also boasts more material and instructors, though Justinguitar is the clear winner in pricing comparison since Sandercoe charges zero.
Skill Level, Depth, and Challenge
Both programs focus on beginner-level content and cover that area effectively. However, as difficulty levels increase, Justinguitar falls off in value compared to Guitar Tricks which has a much stronger profile at intermediate and advanced levels.
| | |
|---|---|---|
Beginner Lessons | A | A- |
Intermediate Lessons | A- | B- |
Advanced Lessons | B | C- |
Topical Order | A | A |
Sandercoe produces intermediate and advanced lessons as well, but with limited effectiveness simply because advanced guitar playing often revolves around specific styles. This means having only one instructor to address multiple styles gets you less focus on each one, especially styles that Sandercoe himself is less interested in.
Guitar Tricks primary category navigation for logged in users.
Justinguitar beginner section navigation elements.
Site Structure, Design and User Experience
Justinguitar's entire website got a design and interface update back in 2018 and it's a vast improvement over the previous iteration. This also included some significant updates to Justinguitar's course navigation and topical ordering, which is nearly as good as Guitar Tricks.
Overall, both programs are comparable in this area.
| | |
|---|---|---|
Home Page (logged out) | A | C- |
User Dashboard | A | n/a |
Course Navigation | A | A |
Interior Course Navigation | A- | A- |
Main Menu | A | B |
Modern Aesthetic | A- | C |
Sandercoe's redesign was long overdue, so I'd like to see another overhaul in the near future so that he doesn't get as far behind as he did before 2018.
Navigation elements around the Guitar Tricks video player.
Amin chord lesson on Justinguitar.
Video Player Quality and Features
Guitar Tricks uses Wistia's paid hosting and backend, which is extremely crisp and robust. I've never had issues with buffering or downtime when using Guitar Tricks on this hosting platform. Justinguitar just uses YouTube which is friendly and familiar for users, though feels a little "cheap" and not as clean as the Wistia embeds.
| | |
|---|---|---|
Slow Down/Speed Up | B | B |
HD Options | Yes | Sometimes |
Section Looping | Yes | No |
Full Screen Quality and Pixelation | B- | C |
Backend (Server) | Wistia | YouTube |
Social Features | n/a | B+ |
Justinguitar's videos also have a really wide date range, going back as far as 2005 in some cases. This means that the older videos do not have an HD option, and can drop their resolution to as low as 240p in some cases. Sandercoe's newer videos are all in 1080p and 4k.
Supplemental Material
Both programs are great with adding supplemental material to their lessons. Sheet music, chord diagrams, and audio samples are common in both.
| | |
|---|---|---|
Tabs and Notation | A | A |
Chord Diagrams | B+ | B+ |
Audio Files | A- | A |
Instructor Interaction | C | B |
Guitar Pro Files | No | No |
Printing Option | New Window | No |
Justinguitar uses a Soundcloud embed for jam tracks, backing tracks, and other audio samples. And while Sandercoe doesn't include as much tablature as Guitar Tricks, he does a great job of including chord diagrams where they're helpful.
Guitar Tricks supplemental material on one of Anders Mouridsen's lessons.
Justinguitar's supplemental material usually focuses on a textual explanation and chord diagrams.
Song Lessons Section
Guitar Tricks has an edge in the quality of their song lessons by way of volume and licensing (all their song lessons and tabs are fully licensed). They also have each section of every song they cover broken up into individual videos, making it easy to progress through a song slowly, thus the better "Navigation" grade.
| | |
|---|---|---|
Songs | 1000+ | 549 |
Song Coverage (completeness) | A | A |
Navigation | A | B+ |
Instructors | A | A |
Easy Song Versions | Somtimes | Sometimes |
Concluding the Guitar Tricks vs Justinguitar Comparison
Justinguitar and Guitar Tricks both have similar strengths. However, the scope of Justinguitar is much smaller, simply because it's only one person behind the educational voice of the site. Having multiple instructors and covering more styles thoroughly gives Guitar Tricks a big advantage and a considerable boost in value, even when going up against a free resource.
As for which one has the better value, I'd give Guitar Tricks the edge in anything above basic beginner material. A lot of folks will use Justinguitar for early learning, then move to Guitar Tricks or another paid program once they start wanting to focus on a style.
Yet, overall, both programs are extremely good and well-organized.
They're both worth checking out.
If you're looking for more details on these, or other programs, here are a few reviews I've done that might be helpful:
Questions about the Programs
If you have questions about either of these programs, feel free to drop me a line in the comments section below. I've worked for Guitar Tricks before, have used their program for years, and have also spent a lot of time on Justin Sandercoe's site, so I'm happy to offer whatever help I can.
Credits, References and Article Info
- Guitar Tricks Contact: Ben Martin
- Products tested on: Lenovo Desktop with Widescreen Monitor and Apple 27" iMac
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Written by Bobby on Lessons and Comparisons
Written by Bobby on Lessons and Comparisons
A very fair comparison! Well done – and given me food for thought on things to work on!
I have some killer updates just released too… check out My Practice Assistant on the dashboard and killer new beginner course launching Dec 21 2019!
🙂 Cheers, J.
Hey Justin – thanks much for the comment. I try to be as objective as possible when I do these comparisons and reviews. You’ve got a great program. One of the best.
I’ll be sure and check out your new content. Keep the fire alive.
But you are an affiliate for GuitarTricks, which makes me questions the real fairness of the reviews….
Read it for what it is. Wanting to support the ourselves (i.e., make money) isn’t inherently bad and it doesn’t mean that we can’t be objective. I give an extremely fair and unbiased look at both of these programs. In a lot of cases I even recommend trying JG first because it’s free.
Fiat comparison. So better than the first result on these two sites. To be honest, with the new site layout the navigation for Justinguitar is much better. Music Theory as an example. Easier to find and go in a sequential order. Guitar tricks has got that part very convoluted. Also guitar tricks has made their videos too short. Having said that Guitar tricks too have great Teachers. I am trying both (am intermediate level) and like them both but would ask people to really really try Justin guitar !!!