Comparison

Complete Ear Trainer vs ChordIQ

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Complete Ear Trainer

Enhance your musical abilities with comprehensive ear training exercises. Master intervals, chords, and scales through gamified lessons and custom programs. Ideal for musicians seeking to improve improvisation, composition, and performance.

Highlights
  • 150+ progressive drills
  • 11 drill types
  • Customizable drills and programs
  • Gamified learning with star system
  • Multiple sound banks
  • Theory cards for concept introduction
  • Cloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

The ultimate ear training app for musicians. Develop your relative pitch to the full by improving your aural skills and your music theory knowledge. This will better many aspects of your life as a musician, be it regarding improvisation, composition, arrangement, interpretation, singing, or playing in a band. Designed like a video game and with strong pedagogical concepts in mind, this app will make you truly master each interval, chord, scale, etc. before taking you to the next one. Features • 150+ progressive drills arranged over 4 levels / 28 chapters • 11 drill types, 24 intervals, 36 chord types, chord inversions, 28 scale types, melodic dictations, chord progressions • Easy mode: 50+ progressive drills arranged over 12 chapters especially designed for beginners • Play a selection of 21 drills in arcade mode • 5 octaves of actual recorded grand piano sounds • 7 additional sound banks are available, all with actual recorded sounds: vintage piano, Rhodes piano, electric guitar, harpsichord, concert harp, strings and pizzicato strings • In each chapter, a theory card will introduce you to the concepts you will need to know • No need to know how to read music on a staff • Designed like a video game: earn 3 stars in each drill of a chapter to unlock the next one. Or will you be able to obtain perfect 5-star scores? • Don't want to follow the preestablished path of progression? Create and save your own custom drills and rehearse them at your own convenience • Create full custom training programs and invite friends or students to join them. If for example you're a teacher you can create custom programs for your students, add drills every week and view their scores on private leaderboards • Never lose any progress: cloud sync across your various devices • 25 achievements to unlock • Worldwide leaderboards (global, per level, per chapter, easy mode, arcade mode) • Global statistics to track your progress • Nice and clean user interface with 2 display themes: light and dark • Designed by a musician and music teacher with a Royal Conservatory master's degree Full Version • Download the app and try out the first chapter of each mode for free • One-time in-app purchase to unlock the full version on all your devices Having a problem? Got a suggestion? You can reach us at hello@completeeartrainer.com Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ChordIQ

Learn to read music notes, chords, scales, and theory through engaging games. Features ear training, rhythm practice, and pitch matching for piano, guitar, ukulele, and bass. Track your progress globally and improve your musical skills.

Highlights
  • Note reading on treble and bass clef
  • Chord and scale recognition
  • Music theory games (Circle of Fifths, Cadences)
  • Ear training for notes and intervals
  • Rhythm and pitch matching exercises
  • Instrument-specific note finders
  • Global progress tracking
Features
Read full description

ChordIQ is the fun way to learn to read music notes on the staff. Master treble clef, bass clef and key signatures, then keep going with chords, scales, theory, rhythm, ear training and singing across more than 35 fast-paced games on piano, guitar, ukulele or bass. STAFF & SIGHT READING Guess Note on treble, bass, alto and grand staff. Marathon, Survival Mode, Note Values, Rests, Intervals on the Staff, plus chords and scales read straight from notation. CHORDS Two Chords, Major or Minor, Major Chords, Minor Chords. Guess Chord and Play Chord over any chord set you choose, plus Inversions on the piano. SCALES Guess Scale and Play Scale: major, natural and melodic minor, pentatonic, blues and the modes. MUSIC THEORY Key Signature, Circle of Fifths on an interactive wheel, Chord Progressions in Roman numerals, Cadences (authentic, plagal, half, deceptive), Build the Chord and Transposition. INSTRUMENT Note Finder: find any named note on the keyboard or the fretboard against the clock. EAR TRAINING Guess Note by Ear, Intervals by Ear, Chords by Ear, Chord Qualities (m7, maj7, m7b5, sus4, 9), Solfège, Melodic Dictation and Perfect Pitch. SINGING & PITCH Sing or Play: sing the note on screen and the microphone scores your pitch. Match the Pitch keeps you on target with a live cents meter. RHYTHM Rhythm Trainer: read a notated rhythm and tap it in time, ten levels of difficulty. Echo plays a pattern for you to tap back. NEW Rhythm games, singing and pitch matching with the microphone, Perfect Pitch, Melodic Dictation, Chord Progressions, Cadences and the Circle of Fifths. INSTRUMENTS, MIDI & MICROPHONE Piano and keyboard, guitar, ukulele and bass. Connect a MIDI keyboard and play your answers on real keys. The singing modes listen through the microphone. WORLD CHART Every game feeds the World Chart, so you can track your progress among fellow ChordIQ players from all over the world. Are you the music master? Then download ChordIQ today and prove it! CHORDIQ PRO ChordIQ is free to download and most of the games are free to play. Pro removes the ads and unlocks the custom practice configurators (your own note, chord, scale and rhythm sets), Inversions, saved libraries and the daily plan reroll. ChordIQ PRO PRICING & TERMS ChordIQ Pro is offered as a yearly subscription (with a 3-day free trial where the store offers one), a weekly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Prices are set per country and shown in your local currency before you confirm. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, and the cost of the renewal will be provided. Subscriptions may be managed by the user. Auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. Terms of Use: https://www.songtive.com/pages/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.songtive.com/pages/privacy Web: http://chordiq.info Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/ChordIQ/ Community: http://forums.songtive.com Email: support@songtive.com

Screenshots

Complete Ear Trainer4 screens
ChordIQ4 screens

Verdict

The call

Complete Ear Trainer and ChordIQ both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of Complete Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 64% of ChordIQ's. ChordIQ's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.5). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Complete Ear Trainer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and ChordIQ sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Complete Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 203 and 223 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Complete Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 64% of ChordIQ's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Complete Ear Trainer ships an update every 2 weeks, ChordIQ every 8 days. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Complete Ear Trainer versus ChordIQ: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComplete Ear TrainerChordIQ
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (203 ratings) — better4.5 (223 ratings)
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews — better64.3% of reviews
Number of ratings203223 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB288 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBinary GuiltSongtive

Customer experience

Complete Ear Trainer

All ratings203 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews174 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral7.5%
Negative7.5%

ChordIQ

All ratings223 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative28.6%

Bugs and requests

Complete Ear Trainer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

ChordIQ

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes on open
  • Ukulele chord guessing game incorrect
  • Ukulele games show six-string fingerboard
  • Ads interrupt and lock up the app
  • Intervals are incorrect, sometimes playing unselectable intervals
Show 1 more
  • Chord play mode only shows seventh chords

Requested features

7 requests
  • Option to remove sharps and flats
  • Ability to switch back from note name to piano keys
  • More advanced learning courses
  • Option to replay sound
  • Ability to skip questions
Show 2 more
  • Fix for chord play mode to include more chord types
  • Training for third octave and small octave notes in treble clef

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Complete Ear Trainer

Subscriptions2
  • Cloud Sync and Web access$0.991 Month
  • Cloud Sync and Web access$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Full Version$6.99
4 purchases

ChordIQ

Subscriptions3
  • One Week PRO$3.997 Days
  • 1 Month Pro3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • 1 Year Pro3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Complete Ear Trainer free?
Complete Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChordIQ free?
ChordIQ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Complete Ear Trainer or ChordIQ?
Complete Ear Trainer is rated higher. Complete Ear Trainer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 203 ratings, while ChordIQ averages 4.5 from 223 ratings.
Do Complete Ear Trainer or ChordIQ have ads?
Neither Complete Ear Trainer nor ChordIQ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Complete Ear Trainer or ChordIQ?
Complete Ear Trainer ships an update every 2 weeks, and ChordIQ every 8 days. Most recently, Complete Ear Trainer was updated on November 11, 2026 and ChordIQ on November 11, 2026.

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