# Complete Ear Trainer vs Active Ear

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Active Ear at none against Complete Ear Trainer's 3. Active Ear also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 85%) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.5). Complete Ear Trainer's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly) and ratings volume (195 vs 50). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Complete Ear Trainer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Active Ear asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Complete Ear Trainer against 4.7 for Active Ear. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 195 and 50 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Complete Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 94% of Active Ear's.

Complete Ear Trainer ships an update fortnightly, Active Ear monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Complete Ear Trainer | Active Ear |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (195 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/complete-ear-trainer/id1012455471/reviews) | [4.7 (50 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/active-ear-ear-trainer/id1541508221/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **195** | 50 |
| Positive reviews | 85.1% of reviews | **93.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 59 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Binary Guilt](https://appshunter.io/developer/1012455470) | [MCPHERSON'S MUSIC LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1541508223) |

## What reviewers say

### Complete Ear Trainer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/complete-ear-trainer/id1012455471)

Develop your musical ear and music theory knowledge with this comprehensive training app. It offers progressive drills, various sound options, and a gamified learning experience to improve improvisation, composition, and performance skills.

**Highlights:** 150+ progressive drills, 11 drill types, 24 intervals, 36 chord types, Melodic dictations and chord progressions, Gamified learning with star system, Custom drill and program creation, Cloud sync across devices

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cloud Sync and Web access | $0.99 | per month |
| Cloud Sync and Web access | $9.99 | per year |
| Full Version | $6.99 | one-time |


### Active Ear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/active-ear-ear-trainer/id1541508221)

Develop your musical ear with a comprehensive ear training app. It offers various exercises to help musicians identify pitches, intervals, chords, and progressions. Customize your learning with practice modes and test your knowledge with quizzes.

**Highlights:** Pitch Recognition, Interval Training, Chord Quality Identification, Bassline Training, Progression Training, Chord Inversions, Customizable Practice Mode, Quiz Mode

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Complete Ear Trainer free?

Complete Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Active Ear free?

Active Ear is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Complete Ear Trainer or Active Ear?

Complete Ear Trainer and Active Ear are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 195 and 50 ratings respectively.

### Do Complete Ear Trainer or Active Ear have ads?

Neither Complete Ear Trainer nor Active Ear shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Complete Ear Trainer or Active Ear?

Complete Ear Trainer ships an update fortnightly, and Active Ear monthly. Most recently, Complete Ear Trainer was updated on September 26, 2026 and Active Ear on June 10, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*