# Functional Ear Trainer vs Aural Skills Training

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Aural Skills Training at none against Functional Ear Trainer's 1. Aural Skills Training also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months). Functional Ear Trainer's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (3.8K vs 2). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Aural Skills Training asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Functional Ear Trainer against 5.0 for Aural Skills Training. 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.

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Aural Skills Training every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Functional Ear Trainer | Aural Skills Training |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aural-skills-training/id6741116724/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.8K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 96.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 41 MB | 134 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) | [Nathan Foxley](https://appshunter.io/developer/1793174343) |

## 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


### Aural Skills Training

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aural-skills-training/id6741116724)

Enhance your musical understanding with this ear training application. It covers intervals, chords, scales, melodic dictation, and rhythm, offering practice quizzes with immediate feedback and musical examples. Difficulty settings allow for personalized learning paths.

**Highlights:** Interval, chord, and scale training, Melodic dictation practice, Rhythm exercises, Musical examples for context, Quiz mode with immediate feedback, Adjustable difficulty settings

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Functional Ear Trainer free?

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

### Is Aural Skills Training free?

Aural Skills Training is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Functional Ear Trainer or Aural Skills Training?

Aural Skills Training is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings, while Aural Skills Training averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Functional Ear Trainer or Aural Skills Training have ads?

Aural Skills Training shows ads; Functional Ear Trainer does not.

### Which is updated more often, Functional Ear Trainer or Aural Skills Training?

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Aural Skills Training every 3 weeks. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on October 29, 2026 and Aural Skills Training on October 7, 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.*