# Functional Ear Trainer vs Absolute Ear

The clearest difference is update cadence: Absolute Ear at every 3 days against Functional Ear Trainer's every 7 months. Functional Ear Trainer's advantage is ratings volume (3.7K vs 7). 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 Absolute Ear sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. 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 Absolute Ear. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.7K ratings behind it against 7, 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 100% of Absolute Ear's.

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Absolute Ear every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Functional Ear Trainer | Absolute Ear |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews) | **[5.0 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/absolute-ear-ear-training/id6758640410/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.7K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 96.1% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 41 MB | 117 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) | [David Ashworth](https://appshunter.io/developer/1787750006) |

## 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


### Absolute Ear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/absolute-ear-ear-training/id6758640410)

Master note recognition, melodic dictation, and interval training with a structured course. Progress at your own pace through over 60 units, with intelligent practice focusing on your weakest areas. Supports multiple instrument timbres and detailed statistics.

**Highlights:** Note recognition, Melodic dictation, Interval training, Intelligent practice, Multiple instrument timbres, Detailed statistics, Session history and streak tracking

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $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 Absolute Ear free?

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

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

Absolute Ear is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Absolute Ear averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.

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

Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Absolute Ear shows ads.

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

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Absolute Ear every 3 days. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on October 16, 2026 and Absolute Ear on October 2, 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.*