Free Online Guitar Tuner (Microphone, Chromatic, No Download)
Free browser-based chromatic guitar tuner. Uses your microphone, no download needed. Tune to standard E-A-D-G-B-E in under a minute.
Click Start microphone above, allow access, then play one string at a time. The tuner shows the detected note, how many cents you’re off, and a needle that lands in the middle when you’re in tune. Aim for the center and within three cents.
How to use it
Sit in a quiet room, hold the guitar near your laptop or phone, and pluck one string. Wait a moment for the pitch to settle, then watch the needle. If you’re flat, tune up slowly. If you’re sharp, loosen slightly past the target and come back up to it. Strings hold tune better when you approach from below.
Standard tuning, low to high, is E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, E4. The two outer strings are both E, two octaves apart. If your high E sounds nothing like your low E, you’ve probably crossed an octave.
When the tuner can’t find a note
Three usual culprits. The string is so out of tune that the pitch is ambiguous (drop down to a fret 5 reference, or use a clip-on tuner instead). The mic is too far or the room is noisy. Or the string is dead and won’t hold a stable pitch — old strings drift sharp the moment you stop holding the peg.
For more on tuning by ear when the tuner is unavailable, see our walkthrough on how to tune a guitar.
After you’re in tune
Open chords sound right when the guitar is right. If you’re still building your chord vocabulary, our first chords guide covers the five that unlock most beginner songs.
FAQ
- Does this tuner work with acoustic and electric guitars?
- Yes. As long as the sound reaches your microphone clearly, both work. For electric, plug into an amp at low volume or play unplugged near the mic.
- What tuning does it support?
- It detects any pitch in the guitar range, so you can use it for standard (E A D G B E), drop D, half-step down, open G, DADGAD, and more. The tuner shows the closest note name and how many cents off you are.
- Why does the note keep flickering?
- Strings naturally bloom and decay. Pluck once, give it a beat to settle, then read the meter. If the room is noisy or the mic level is hot, the reading will jitter more.