# Functional Ear Trainer vs ScoreSkills

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Functional Ear Trainer at 96% against ScoreSkills's 60%. Functional Ear Trainer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). ScoreSkills's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 7 months). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ScoreSkills sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Functional Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.8K and 2K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 60% of ScoreSkills's.

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, ScoreSkills fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Functional Ear Trainer | ScoreSkills |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews)** | [4.6 (2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scoreskills-learn-music-notes/id1439046224/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.8K** | 2K |
| Positive reviews | **96.2% of reviews** | 59.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 41 MB | 122 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) | [Compoze Music Solutions](https://appshunter.io/developer/963581962) |

## What reviewers say

### Functional Ear Trainer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926)

Develop your musical ear by learning to recognize tones within the context of a specific musical key. This app helps you understand the function of each note, improving your ability to transcribe, improvise, and play music by ear. Suitable for all ages and skill levels, with just 10 minutes of daily practice.

**Highlights:** Recognize tones in musical key context, Understand note function, Improve transcription skills, Enhance improvisation, Develop perfect pitch, Daily 10-minute practice

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Functional Ear Trainer Plus | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Effective ear training
- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 💡 Customizable exercises
- 🎉 Noticeable improvement with regular practice
- 🎨 Visually appealing design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional audio glitches
- 💡 Lack of support for other instruments besides piano
- 💡 Desire for more advanced features (e.g. chord recognition)

**Reported bugs**

- Keyboard display issues when selecting all chromatic notes
- Inconsistent note resolutions in some exercises

**Requested features**

- Add support for multiple notes/chords at once
- Implement a mode for training key recognition
- Provide more customization options for exercises
- Include voice input to play the notes
- Add support for German/Norwegian key names


### ScoreSkills

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scoreskills-learn-music-notes/id1439046224)

Learn music theory, ear training, and sight-reading through fun, step-by-step games and challenges. This app helps users of all levels compose their own music and improve cognitive skills like focus and memory.

**Highlights:** Ear training exercises, Sight-reading practice, Music theory lessons, Compose your own music, Step-by-step rewarding games, Instant performance feedback

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $14.99 | per month |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $14.99 | per month |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $28.99 | per 3 months |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $29.99 | per 3 months |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $37.99 | per 6 months |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $39.99 | per year |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $44.99 | per 6 months |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $59.99 | per year |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $59.99 | per year |
| ScoreSkills Pro | $59.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Engaging and gamified learning
- 👍 Helpful for beginners
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 👍 Great for practicing music theory

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔒 Too much content locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 🐛 Buggy note-writing feature
- 💡 Lack of explanations for new concepts

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently
- Note-writing feature not working properly
- Progress not saved between sessions
- Lessons not unlocking as expected

**Requested features**

- Allow creating multiple user profiles
- Add more detailed music theory lessons
- Improve note-writing functionality
- Provide better feedback on mistakes
- Introduce a free version with ads


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Functional Ear Trainer free?

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

### Is ScoreSkills free?

ScoreSkills is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Functional Ear Trainer or ScoreSkills?

Functional Ear Trainer is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings, while ScoreSkills averages 4.6 from 2K ratings.

### Do Functional Ear Trainer or ScoreSkills have ads?

ScoreSkills shows ads; Functional Ear Trainer does not.

### Which is updated more often, Functional Ear Trainer or ScoreSkills?

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and ScoreSkills fortnightly. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on October 29, 2026 and ScoreSkills on October 29, 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.*