# Functional Ear Trainer vs Sonofield Ear Trainer

The clearest difference is update cadence: Sonofield Ear Trainer at every 9 days against Functional Ear Trainer's every 7 months. Sonofield Ear Trainer also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Functional Ear Trainer's advantage is ratings volume (3.7K vs 376). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sonofield Ear Trainer sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Functional Ear Trainer against 4.9 for Sonofield Ear Trainer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.7K ratings behind it against 376, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 89% of Sonofield Ear Trainer's.

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Sonofield Ear Trainer every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Functional Ear Trainer | Sonofield Ear Trainer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews) | [4.9 (376 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sonofield-ear-trainer/id6740409139/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **3.7K** | 376 |
| Positive reviews | **96.2% of reviews** | 88.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 41 MB | 105 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) | [Sonofield Ear Trainer Education Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1789801335) |

## 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


### Sonofield Ear Trainer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sonofield-ear-trainer/id6740409139)

This app helps musicians develop their ear by focusing on the feeling of individual notes within a key, rather than traditional interval training. It uses sustained drones and offers various modes like identifying scale degrees, melodies, and singing exercises. The app adapts to your skill level with an intuitive interface and progression path.

**Highlights:** Feeling-based note recognition, Scale degree identification, Melody recognition training, Singing exercises, Hands-free training mode, Interactive exploration instrument

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime Pro | $14.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Pro | $17.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Pro | $19.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Pro | $24.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent ear training tool
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly design
- 🎶 Effective for improving relative pitch
- 💡 Innovative use of drone and scale degrees
- 🎯 Helpful for aural skills development

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤔 Challenging for true beginners
- 💭 Desire for more customization options

**Reported bugs**

- None reported

**Requested features**

- Option to switch between 12TET and just intonation
- Ability to reduce octave range
- Incorporate more timbre options for drone and notes
- Tracking and visualization of progress and learned skills
- Add interactive tutorial for level 1


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Functional Ear Trainer free?

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

### Is Sonofield Ear Trainer free?

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

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

Functional Ear Trainer and Sonofield Ear Trainer are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3.7K and 376 ratings respectively.

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

Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Sonofield Ear Trainer shows ads.

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

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Sonofield Ear Trainer every 9 days. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on September 22, 2026 and Sonofield Ear Trainer on September 24, 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.*