# Functional Ear Trainer vs Otonic

The clearest difference is update cadence: Otonic at every 5 days against Functional Ear Trainer's every 7 months. Otonic also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Functional Ear Trainer's advantage is review sentiment (96% vs 67%) and ratings volume (3.7K vs 4). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Otonic sells 3 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 5.0 for Otonic. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.7K ratings behind it against 4, 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 67% of Otonic's.

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Otonic every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Functional Ear Trainer | Otonic |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews) | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/otonic/id6740495154/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.7K** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | **96.2% of reviews** | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 41 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) | [Alexander Blackwell](https://appshunter.io/developer/1790247519) |

## 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


### Otonic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/otonic/id6740495154)

Enhance your musical abilities with a comprehensive ear training application. Features a level editor for personalized learning experiences and progression tracking.

**Highlights:** Fully featured ear training, Level editor, Progression editor, Personalized learning, Music skill enhancement

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Otonic Pro | $6.99 | one-time |
| Otonic Essential | $19.99 | one-time |
| Otonic Pro | $39.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Functional Ear Trainer free?

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

### Is Otonic free?

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

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

Otonic is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Otonic averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.

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

Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Otonic shows ads.

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

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Otonic every 5 days. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on September 28, 2026 and Otonic on June 4, 2026.

---

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