LumaFretsTuxGuitar Alternatives for Mac, Windows and Linux
Published 11 November 2026. Details of other products were checked on their own sites on 11 November 2026.
TuxGuitar is a free tab editor and player. Many players use it to open a Guitar Pro file and hear it. Some want a different editor. Others want to play the tab over the real recording instead of a synth. This page sets out what each option does, so you can choose.
What TuxGuitar Does
TuxGuitar edits and plays multi-track guitar tabs. It opens Guitar Pro, Power Tab Editor, TablEdit and MIDI files. It's free and open source, under the GNU LGPL, and it has packages for Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD and Android (TuxGuitar).
Its site gives two warnings. The packages aren't officially signed, so on macOS you have to turn off Gatekeeper to install it, and on Windows allow installs from unknown sources. Files saved by version 2.0.0 and later use a new format that older versions can't read, though you can still export in the old one (TuxGuitar).
TuxGuitar plays a tab with a synth. You don't hear the band.
What to Look For in an Alternative
- Whether you want to write and edit tabs, or play along with them.
- Whether you hear the real recording or a synth playback.
- Which tab files it opens.
- Which computers it runs on, and how it installs.
- How you pay: free, a licence, or a subscription.
The Alternatives
Guitar Pro
Guitar Pro is a tab editor and player for Windows and macOS. It edits tabs and scores for guitar, bass, ukulele, banjo, drums and more. It has a metronome, chord and scale libraries, a tuner and virtual instruments, and you can loop sections and raise the tempo bit by bit. Guitar Pro 8 can add an audio track to a score. It's paid software, and its mySongBook library sells tabs (Guitar Pro). It doesn't list a Linux version.
MuseScore Studio
MuseScore Studio is free, open-source notation software. It writes music for guitar and many other instruments, and moves scores to and from other programs with MusicXML and MIDI (MuseScore). It's a full score editor, so it suits players who also read and write standard notation.
LumaFrets
LumaFrets is a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux. It isn't an editor. It plays a tab as a 3D note highway in time with the real song, from a YouTube video or your own audio file. It opens TuxGuitar, Guitar Pro (3 to 7) and MusicXML files, so the tabs you already have in TuxGuitar open in it.
You can slow the song from 25% to 100% with the pitch kept, loop a section, and use the speed trainer, which plays the loop a little faster each time round. There's a built-in amp with cabinets and pedals, a tuner that follows the tab's tuning, a count-in and click, and scoring.
LumaFrets is free. Pro is a one-time $39, with no subscription. Pro splits a song into vocals, guitar, bass, drums and piano, so you can solo the guitar, or mute it and play the part yourself. It also plays your own VST3 and Audio Unit plugins, amp captures and impulse responses. Songs are separated on your computer, and nothing is uploaded.
It can't write or edit a tab. Keep TuxGuitar or Guitar Pro for that.
Questions
Is There a TuxGuitar Alternative for Mac?
Yes. Guitar Pro, MuseScore Studio and LumaFrets all run on a Mac. TuxGuitar also has a macOS package, but it isn't signed, so you have to turn off Gatekeeper to install it.
Is There a TuxGuitar Alternative for Linux?
LumaFrets runs on Linux and opens TuxGuitar files. MuseScore Studio is another free, open-source option. Guitar Pro doesn't list a Linux version.
Can I Play a TuxGuitar File Over the Real Song?
Yes, in LumaFrets. Open the file, pick a YouTube video or your own audio file of the song, and the tab plays in time with it.
Is LumaFrets Free?
Yes. Pro is a one-time $39 and adds splitting songs into parts and your own plugins.
Which One Fits
- You want to write or fix a tab for free: stay with TuxGuitar.
- You want a paid editor with a tab store, on Windows or Mac: Guitar Pro.
- You write in standard notation as well as tab: MuseScore Studio.
- You have tabs and want to play them over the real song, with the amp in the same app, on Mac, Windows or Linux: LumaFrets.
See also Guitar Pro alternatives and free guitar tab players.