# Functional Ear Trainer vs Music Calculator

The clearest difference is rating: Functional Ear Trainer at 4.9 against Music Calculator's 4.0. Functional Ear Trainer also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and review sentiment (96% vs 67%). Music Calculator's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 7 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Music Calculator sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 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 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.8K ratings behind it against 2, 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 67% of Music Calculator's.

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Music Calculator every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Functional Ear Trainer | Music Calculator |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews)** | [4.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/music-calculator-notation/id1615462763/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.8K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | **96.2% of reviews** | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Size | 41 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) | [JET Powered Apps Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/507429865) |

## 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


### Music Calculator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/music-calculator-notation/id1615462763)

This app allows musicians to input musical notation and instantly hear it played back with accurate pitch and timing. It's designed for practicing difficult passages, improving sight-reading, and building musical confidence through features like slowing down playback and looping sections.

**Highlights:** Input and play back musical notation, Accurate pitch, timing, and tempo playback, Slow down and loop passages for practice, Calculator-style interface for intuitive input, Supports complex rhythms and tuplets, 25 realistic instrument sounds, Save and load musical passages

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Annual | $19.99 | per year |
| Music Calculator Pro | $49.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Functional Ear Trainer free?

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

### Is Music Calculator free?

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

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

Functional Ear Trainer is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings, while Music Calculator averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Functional Ear Trainer or Music Calculator have ads?

Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Music Calculator shows ads.

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

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Music Calculator every 10 days. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on October 26, 2026 and Music Calculator on October 25, 2026.

---

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