# Functional Ear Trainer vs Complete Music Reading Trainer

The clearest difference is rating: Functional Ear Trainer at 4.9 against Complete Music Reading Trainer's 4.4. Functional Ear Trainer also leads on ratings volume (3.8K vs 65) and review sentiment (96% vs 79%). Complete Music Reading Trainer's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 7 months). On price, ads, 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 Complete Music Reading Trainer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Functional Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.8K ratings behind it against 65, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 79% of Complete Music Reading Trainer's.

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Complete Music Reading Trainer every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Functional Ear Trainer | Complete Music Reading Trainer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews)** | [4.4 (65 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/complete-music-reading-trainer/id1550798715/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.8K** | 65 |
| Positive reviews | **96.2% of reviews** | 79.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 41 MB | 75 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) | [Binary Guilt](https://appshunter.io/developer/1012455470) |

## 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


### Complete Music Reading Trainer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/complete-music-reading-trainer/id1550798715)

Master sheet music reading and sight-reading skills with this gamified music trainer. It offers progressive drills for all seven clefs, customizable practice, and multiple input methods. Learn at your own pace, track progress, and improve your musical literacy.

**Highlights:** 270 progressive drills for all seven clefs, Instrument-specific learning paths, Practice key signatures and mixed clefs, Arcade mode and custom drills, Multiple note input methods (MIDI, microphone), Gamified progression with star scoring, Cloud sync and leaderboards

**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 | $5.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Functional Ear Trainer free?

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

### Is Complete Music Reading Trainer free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Functional Ear Trainer or Complete Music Reading Trainer?

Functional Ear Trainer is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings, while Complete Music Reading Trainer averages 4.4 from 65 ratings.

### Do Functional Ear Trainer or Complete Music Reading Trainer have ads?

Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Complete Music Reading Trainer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Functional Ear Trainer or Complete Music Reading Trainer?

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Complete Music Reading Trainer every 8 days. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on October 26, 2026 and Complete Music Reading Trainer on October 27, 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.*