• Ultimate Guitar

Ultimate Guitar

Overview

Ultimate Guitar has a rating of 1.2 stars from 95 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Ultimate Guitar most frequently mention free trial, credit card, and customer service problems. Ultimate Guitar ranks 94th among Guitars sites.

  • Service
    51
  • Value
    49
  • Shipping
    19
  • Returns
    37
  • Quality
    45

This company responds to reviews on average within 11 days

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 3.3%
Positive
1
Neutral
0
Negative
29
12
See all photos

What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

No positive highlights yet

Critical highlights

  • Their customer service is rude and disrespectful, they don't want to give you the time of day.
How would you rate Ultimate Guitar?
Top Positive Review

“Problem with sign-in”

Ian C.
8/23/23

Emma in Customer Service solved my problem in a couple of days. Customer service was excellent. I paid full price but absolutely worth it! Certainly recommend the features of this site……. Ian Coombe Brockville, Canada.

Top Critical Review

“Theives - BUYER BEWARE”

BIll M.
1/15/24

I cancelled within an hour of signing up. They are refusing a full refund and only offering a small fraction of a refund which is unacceptable. Now, after researching their service (TrustPilot, Sitejabber et.al) I find they have a lengthy history of such abuse. I also found after logging into my Paypal account the auto renew is still active even after they claimed they would not rebill me (another common complaint). I was able to cancel future billing within the Paypal app for this "service". BUYER BEWARE of this scam outfit.

Reviews (95)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (16)
Thumbnail of user billmoffatt
1 review
3 helpful votes
January 15th, 2024

I cancelled within an hour of signing up. They are refusing a full refund and only offering a small fraction of a refund which is unacceptable. Now, after researching their service (TrustPilot, Sitejabber et.al) I find they have a lengthy history of such abuse. I also found after logging into my Paypal account the auto renew is still active even after they claimed they would not rebill me (another common complaint). I was able to cancel future billing within the Paypal app for this "service". BUYER BEWARE of this scam outfit.

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user krism315
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
March 11th, 2024

I cancelled my subscription 2 months ago and even though it says cancelled in my iTunes account, they still billed me because they said I didn't complete the subscription completely. They don't tell you how to complete the subscription completely so I had to cancel my Credit Card with my bank to resolve the problem. See images below

Very unethical company - stay away

Products used:
Ultimate Guitar Lessons

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Value
Shipping
Returns
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Thumbnail of user christopherc3195
1 review
2 helpful votes
February 10th, 2024

Paid for annual membership/subscription. After 4 months I was no longer able to access account and requested to pay for new subscription. Reported to Attorney General and BBB. Should have been suspicious considering there is no way to contact company directly for any grievance. Save your money and use YouTube instruction for free.

Products used:
Not a product. Online service

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user ivanlisin49
1 review
1 helpful vote
April 23rd, 2024

I wanted to use the trial version and I didn't like it. I canceled my subscription, but either I did something wrong or it didn't cancel correctly. They charged me $100. I reached out to customer support for a refund, and they offered to refund only $75 due to their policy. I'm quite disappointed and will never recommend this service to anyone

Service
Thumbnail of user lloydj81
1 review
2 helpful votes
December 22nd, 2023

Its very expensive to join, and the membership is just not worth it. The official tabs are only available via an internet browser, which has less than half the functionality of something like GuitarPro, and they sound absolutely dreadful, like some cheap midi file.

So essentially all you get for your money is a very poor add free experience. Don't pay and have the adds is the smart choice.

I really feal upset by this company and I feel like they have falsely implied stuff in the advertising. I feel ripped off.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Hello Lloyd, Thank you very much for your feedback. UG Official tabs are interactive tabs created by the UG team and powered by UG technology.
We want UG to be the only place where you can access these tabs and we don't want them to be distributed over the internet for free.
Please try the 'Listen backing track' feature on the official tab. It will significantly improve the sound.

Thumbnail of user necrosapiens
1 review
2 helpful votes
December 20th, 2023

I wanted to get a trial with the christmas sale but I got scammed and forced to pay $70.

Be very careful to read every single lines during the ordering process.
They propose 3 different plans, but only one has a trial period.
You'll get charged immediately for the other two, that's being really dishonest with customers.

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Value
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Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Hello Juan, Thanks for your feedback, Yes, we have a plan with a 7-day free trial period. This plan was pre-selected. As you can see in your screenshot, only the first plan has a '7-days free trial' in the description. The other plans do not contain this information.

Thumbnail of user kennethba77
1 review
2 helpful votes
December 22nd, 2023

Unprompted renewal with their TOS stating they get to keep $30 of it regardless. That's a scam and should be illegal. Will never recommend to anyone.

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Value
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Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Hello Kenny, Thanks for your feedback. Auto-renewal occurs not arbitrarily, but according to the plan for which you sign up for subscriptions. Yes, unfortunately, a full refund is not possible due to licensing reasons, but refunds are provided in accordance with our return policy: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/about/tos.htm

Thumbnail of user hojoszen2
1 review
2 helpful votes
February 18th, 2024

When you open UG app the first thing it does is try to sell you another app over and over. It's Not ok!

Thumbnail of user jjh66
1 review
1 helpful vote
March 2nd, 2024

Signed up for 1 year of service, but they have a systematic auto renew and wouldn't provide a full refund when requested. Read the fine print as these folks are out for your money anyway they can get it. Big rip-off scammers imo. Do NOT give these scammers your credit card info!

Tip for consumers:
Signed up for 1 year of service, but they have a systematic auto renew and wouldn't provide a full refund when requested. Read the fine print as these folks are out for your money anyway they can get it. Big rip-off scammers imo.

Products used:
Guitar lessons.

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user neveruseultinateguitarawefulw
1 review
3 helpful votes
January 8th, 2024

I'd rate them a zero if I could. Nearly impossible to close account. Phone number that noone answers or returns calls. They will bill you forever. Don't use them. Run away.

Tip for consumers:
Never use this site. Save your money. Can't cancel, noone answers phone. Horrible, greedy, unethical and dishonest

Products used:
Ultimate Guitar. They will bill you forever. Don't sign up. Aweful. Unethical and fraudulent billing practices

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user rielyvan
1 review
0 helpful votes
March 12th, 2024

If I could give it no stars I would. I've been a member for years. The app and web site were simple to use. Now I try to search for tabs but when I click search nothing happens. It took me a long time to be able to find the R. E. M. Tab that I had written to discover that I can no longer play it. There's simply no play button. Instead it keeps popping ads and questionnaires for irrelevant information to get me to subscribe to things I don't need. Don't even bother replying to this with sorry excuses. I am no longer interested.

Thumbnail of user karenk3068
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
May 6th, 2023

I won't be renewing my subscription and will be using the free version instead. I signed up via the website for a $64.99/yr subscription to "Pro." I wanted to use UG on my mobile phone, too, so I downloaded the app on my phone (UG is supposedly cross-platform). I tried to login with my website password and I couldn't. I ended up giving my credit card info again, thinking that the app version needed that info, too (as proof of subscription), in order for me to log in. I ended up subscribing — again — to "Pro + Courses" for $59.99/yr.

I contacted support about accidentally subscribing twice, and they said they'd fix it, but they never did. So I've had 2 subscriptions to Pro for some months now. In my website account, I can see the $64.99/yr subscription, along with the renewal date, but *I can't cancel auto-renew.* There's no way to do that, zero. I had to contact support to do that and it was a huge convoluted email conversation with two different support people who really did *not* get what I was asking for (or didn't *want* to get what I was asking for).

These are all red flags to me, and I won't be renewing my subscription, I'll find another way to get tabs or use their free version. Why are companies slimy like this? Just be honest & transparent & give your customers control to renew or not. People will like you better and your service will be more popular and successful. Just treat people right, it makes everything better, for both the company and their subscribers (and the poor support people who are trained in a culture of slime and encouraged to treat subscribers with suspicion and contempt; what a miserable work-life).

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user alaraa2
1 review
3 helpful votes
November 18th, 2023

AVOID, AVOID! SCAM COMPANY WHO STEAL YOUR MONEY.
AVOID, AVOID, AVOID! I was charged £69.99 for a "7 day free trail" - the money was taken instantly from my bank account and Ultimate Guitar are refusing to refund me. I spoke to our company legal and decided to take legal action - me and my husband are deeply passionate about consumer rights and very active advocates of "ethical commerce". We can see this company has been getting away with this for too long based on all their reviews.

Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Hello Alara. Thanks for your report. Please contact us at support@ultimate-guitar.com and mention the word "sitejabber" and your name in the body of the email. We will try to review your case.

Thumbnail of user davidm10359
1 review
2 helpful votes
November 11th, 2023

After signing up for a 90% off discount I was unable to log in. Site claims my card was out of date after I received an email that they charged my account. Tried and tried to get tabs but couldn't. After the asked a million questions they than wanted 39$ for a 80% off discount for a membership. I just paid for one. So I tried to cancel my account but still billed me. I'm a senior and found the site hard to navigate and a rip off.

Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Hello David. Thanks for your report. Please contact us at support@ultimate-guitar.com and mention the word "sitejabber" and your name in the body of the email. We will try to review your case.

Thumbnail of user timothyl958
1 review
1 helpful vote
February 20th, 2024
• Updated review

Ultimate guitar sent me a basic message that they send everybody trying to make them look right but their scammers. They told me they didn't have a 30.99 trial run. The thing is the $30.99 was in the same square box that other prices where for trials
but I checked the $30.99 box so their liars. And just to say if it wasn't there why did the still take $30.99 out of my bank account THEIR LIARS. Glad I paid through pay pal. I contacted pay pal they reviewed my case and confirmed I won my case and received my money back. So you tell me who the liar is. In ultimate guitar reply to me they said you can still get the guitar pro tabs for free, but it's not true you still have to sign up with your credit card to get a free trial to receive the few tabs they have. Ultimate guitar are legal scammers because they have their loop holes around the law. If their so good and right all the time of what they say why on this website and others there are so many complaints from so many people complaining about the same thing, REALLY. Do not use this ULTIMATE GUITAR WEBSITE. Take care consumer's watch all websites and watch your trust. Remember they just want your Money. 1 star cause I had to to send this message or I would give notting

Got ripped off by Ultimate guitar
December 22nd, 2023
• Previous review

I live in Canada, thought I"d try their free trial for 1 month for $30.99 now! Since about 2006 you had to pay for the structure of guitar pro 5 the songs we're free then, now the mighty dollar has taken over. It's been years when I used to go on and get guitar pro tabs songs for free I must have 70 of them still on the old guitar pro. So getting back to this subscription stuff I went to down load the Guitar Pro 5 song Dust on the Bottle 20 minutes after I sighed up it said file not found Abort, it said. I go to another song same thing happened. So I e-mailed and got an email from Emma she said" I sighed up for a year for $124.99 and there was no trial run for 30 days at $30.99. So anyways as you all know we all pressed the button we wanted.
And not for a year subscription as they say. The way they set up their free subscription are developed to suck us all in and then it's a Hassel to get through to them and their lies. They come on line to say their sorry and go to our web site we'll try and help but they won't help they just say that in the reviews to make people think their gonna help, but believe it they won't help they'll just lie and lie and lie these are why their scammers and try to bill you every month, let me say that one more time pay every month. So call pay pal your bank or what ever you used to sigh up with them if not they'll rip you off. Believe this please. And I will also say I gave her some choice words for lying to me but I loved it, for that's all I could do but they won't get a second month from me. Its the 30.99 a little bit that bugs me but It's sadder when you give trust snd then you find out they had no trust to begin with. Take care all be safe and watch your trust. And for the people that put five stars on each level good for you but you are only very few, very few.

Products used:
Nothing but scammed and ripped off and I'm not making this up

Thumbnail of user mattr765
1 review
2 helpful votes
January 28th, 2024

Just like everyone else, I was charged after I had tried to cancel my subscription, and was only offered a partial refund, I've had to cancel my card now as a precaution. Do not ever use this website and definitely don't give them you card details.

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Thumbnail of user yurev.ks
1 review
2 helpful votes
December 13th, 2023

This is terrible service. I took a yearly subscription because I saw an advertisement on the site that they had a video on how to play the song I wanted. After I paid, the video disappeared, and support sent me to the course page and no longer contacts me. As well as return my money.

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Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Hello Konstantin, Thank you for your feedback. The screenshot you've provided us with demonstrates that we offer a video for a specific tab but not a Lesson video on how to play the exact tab. So, it allows you to follow along with the original song and play the instrument.
If you open this tab and hit the "Video" button, you will see the linked videos.

Thumbnail of user bvermeer18
1 review
2 helpful votes
November 27th, 2023

I have been a member for years, but recently was hit with a Ultimate Guitar home page that I found impossible to exit without inadvertently signing up for a monthly $25 premium subscription. I attempted to cancel the subscription, but was only given additional "offers" at a reduced price. I have asked that they credit me the $25 charge for the service I didn't know I was requesting, but no luck there either. I don't want to hassle with monthly credit card charge disputes, but Ultimate Guitar doesn't seem interested in my troubles, they just want my money. Done with them.

Tip for consumers:
Ultimate Guitar has credited my account for the $25 Pro subscription I didn’t realize I was ordering. Won’t know if the recurring charge has been cancel until next billing cycle I guess, but this is a good start

Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Hello Brent. Thanks for your report. Thank you for your feedback. In fact, it's quite simple to cancel the subscription on the website or you can send a cancellation request to Support team at support@ultimate-guitar.com. You don't have to accept the discount offer if it's not of interest to you. This FAQ article can assist with that: https://help.ultimate-guitar.com/en/articles/6741667. Please contact us at support@ultimate-guitar.com and mention the word "sitejabber" and your name in the body of the email. We will try to review your case.

Thumbnail of user jayh728
2 reviews
7 helpful votes
July 13th, 2021

Take advantage of the free tabs, they're overwhelmingly good, but don't pay or try to participate in the site, it's dominated by a few bullies and the site administrator does nothing to discourage them.

Thumbnail of user drandrewshaw.tutor
1 review
2 helpful votes
January 2nd, 2024

Conned me with a "free trial". Stole my £59.99. I hope they all enjoy that money in hell. Despicable garbage humans.

Tip for consumers:
These people are common thieves.

Products used:
None. It's pure garbage.

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Value
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Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Hello Andrew. Thanks for your feedback. I can see that you started a free trial using the Google Play billing system with an annual subscription and didn't cancel it before the end of the free trial period. So you were charged for a 1-year subscription as advertised.
For refunds, you need to contact Google Play support: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7205930 If you cannot find the purchase in your Google Play account, it's likely that you have multiple Google Play accounts. You need to use the exact Google Play account that was used at the time of the subscription to process a refund.

Thumbnail of user ronniec229
1 review
1 helpful vote
August 16th, 2023

Expected to receive instructions, but that cost EXTRA, so USELESS. E-mailed immediately and was tolled eh. Maybe you can get HALF! What I'm talking 5 mins I found out it was wrong package told no matter Half is most we can do! I thought there was a 3 day rule or something to protect the buyer. They may have figured how to get around that so they ca RIP-OFF innocent guitar enthusiasts. The reviews are true but 1st music related rip off so I got burnt...

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Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Thank you for your feedback. If you have purchased a plan different from the one you intended, you can always contact technical support at support@ultimate-guitar.com, and we will help you change the type of subscription. Refunds are also provided in accordance with our return policy: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/about/tos.htm

Thumbnail of user keredl
2 reviews
14 helpful votes
April 29th, 2023

If you're here because you're commiserating with everyone else who got ripped off, then you know. If you're wondering if maybe you should plop down your hard-earned for this service, don't. Once they have your credit card number, they will perpetually take your money. Google "better business bureau ultimate guitar" and you'll see what I mean.

Products used:
Ultimate Guitar and their stupid set of courses

Service
Value
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Quality
Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Thank you for your feedback. We cannot charge you without your prior authorization. If your subscription auto-renewal is active and you do not wish to use it, you can always cancel it. You can always reach out to us for assistance at support@ultimate-guitar.com, and we will respond within 24 hours.

Thumbnail of user billb1998
1 review
4 helpful votes
January 5th, 2023

Signed up for 1 month for 8.99, they charged me 99. Looks like these guys are scammers. This may be the new way to scam. Luckily I used paypal and got at least a 75 dollar refund but it was a huge pain in the $#*! to get that. $#*! these $#*!s. Dont sign up for anything, should have check reviews before I signed up.

Tip for consumers:
DONT

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Thumbnail of user le.roux.darryl
1 review
2 helpful votes
April 29th, 2023

Ultimate Guitar should be ashamed of themselves.
They say there is a 7 day trial when signing up. Again they state that there is a 7 day trial as an H1, only to then place the option as a p tag that it is only included in a year sub.
With two other options of year and month, that conveniently leave it out of the paragraph section, but have the massive 7 day free trial option as an H1.
Your practices are vulgar, and prey on so many people. I was denied a refund from support. And I could understand this if it was done properly, but tracing my steps again, I can see how so many, including myself were ripped off.

Tip for consumers:
The internet has protocols for UX / UI design, and they have abolished any semblance of thoughtful design to ensure the trappings of the $24 monthly subscription.
Despicable service with the support agent stating, "We need your username!". No thank you, or we will try and assist etc. That was the entire body of the email, "We need your username!".
Vile practices.

Products used:
1 song from their entire collection

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Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

Thank you for your feedback. We offer a 7-day free trial exclusively for the annual plan. This information is not hidden. Also, during the subscription process, the plan with the free trial is pre-selected. Other plans do not include a free trial, as stated in the information about the plans. We sincerely apologize if our support agent's response came across as too concise and lacking empathy. You did not respond to our request for your username, and the support agent believed this was the best way to obtain the required information about your account. Unfortunately, without this information, we cannot access your account and, consequently, resolve the situation. Our team values your experience and we are committed to ensuring that all your interactions with us are supportive and understanding.

Thumbnail of user jennifer.h
1 review
2 helpful votes
June 29th, 2023

STOP TELLING PEOPLE TO CONTACT support@ ultimate-guitar.com WHEN THAT MAILBOX IS FULL AND BOUNCING BACK MESSAGES! (spaces added because this review site won't let me add an email address). There is also no other way on the site either to reach a freaking human being! There is no customer support number and despite what your website says, there is NO CHAT OPTION IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER! This is such a rip off and you all should be ashamed for taking people's hard-earned money and food out of their children's mouths. The 7 day trial is a bunch of crap and even if the site was halfway decent, $99.99/yr is ridiculous for the service offered, especially to have no way to contact support.

Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S. – Ultimate Guitar Rep

We apologize for this issue. The problem has been resolved as quickly as possible. You can always reach out to us for assistance at support@ultimate-guitar.com and we will respond within 24 hours.

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Thumbnail of user sergeyl39
Ultimate Guitar S.
Typically responds within 11 days

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