Comparison

Functional Ear Trainer vs Earonman

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Functional Ear Trainer

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
Read full description

Have you (or maybe one of your friends) ever wanted to learn to transcribe or play music by ear? It is so important for a musician to know what you are hearing. A good musical ear helps when you are composing, improvising, transcribing melodies, or playing with others. Most likely you have already tried different programs to learn to recognize intervals or even to acquire perfect pitch. However, although such programs develop your ear, but can you actually play any melody you hear as soon as you listen to it? Imagine you could understand music... It is like when somebody is talking to you, you not only hear pleasant sounds, but you recognize words and their meaning. One day I came across Alain Benbassat's program called "Functional Ear Trainer" and have been using it ever since. It is based on Alain's method to learn to recognize tones. The main difference between the Functional Ear Trainer and other methods is that it teaches you to distinguish between tones in the context of a particular musical key. You begin to recognize the role (or function) of each tone in this key, which is incredibly similar to its role in other keys of the same scale. And it is *guaranteed* anyone can gradually develop this skill. It does not matter: - who you are - an absolute beginner in music or a virtuoso professional musician; - how old you are - a 3 yo kid or a 90+ adult; - what musical instrument you play (you don't even have to play one). The only requirement is to practice for 10 minutes a day. I was so excited about this ear trainer that I have developed a mobile app based on the Alain Benbassat method. I hope you will find it useful.

About

Earonman

Master your musical ear with interactive exercises and real-time feedback. Learn intervals, chords, scales, and complex jazz harmonies through a gamified curriculum. Practice specific areas without pressure and track your progress with detailed stats.

Highlights
  • Interactive ear training exercises
  • Real-time feedback
  • Gamified learning path with XP and badges
  • Over 200 levels covering intervals to jazz harmonies
  • Practice mode for focused drilling
  • Specialized training modes for advanced musicians
  • Detailed progress tracking and stats
Features
Read full description

Master your musical ear. Become Earonman. Earonman is a gamified ear training app for musicians of all levels. Build real relative pitch through 258 levels, six PRO Quests, free practice, real-time microphone input, and 1V1 challenges. MAKE IT YOURS Dress Earonman in a Timbre - an app-wide color scheme you buy with EarCoins earned through training. There are 12 Timbres to collect, inspired by record and instrument design. Two are light themes. Your Timbre changes the whole app - backgrounds, text, level map, and statistics. AUTHENTIC SOUND Train with samples of a real Petrof III concert grand piano recorded at Baracca Records. Choose from 8 instruments: piano, Rhodes, strings, harp, electric guitar, flute, clarinet, and horn. 258 LEVELS Progress from basic intervals to advanced jazz harmony: - Melodic and harmonic intervals - Triads and inversions - Seventh and extended chords - Compound intervals - Scales and modes - Slash chords - Jazz voicings - Upper structures, hybrid chords, and polychords LEARN WITH DR. EARMOND SHARP Each level begins with a short chat-style lesson guided by your witty musical mentor. Learn theory through sound, clear explanations, and practical examples. FREE PRACTICE MODE Practice Intervals, Chords, Scales, and Jazz Voicings with no timers, no lives, and no daily limit. Train at your own pace without losing XP. SIX PRO QUESTS - Slashmaster - inversions and slash chords - Functioneer - harmonic functions and secondary dominants - Harmonic Quest - harmonic movement, including Barry Harris-inspired approaches - Guido - guide tones, especially 3rds and 7ths - Hybrid Lab - triads over bass notes - Polychordist - stacked-triad structures OPEN MIC Answer by singing or playing instead of tapping. Earonman listens through your microphone and evaluates your intonation live, note by note. It works with voice, piano, saxophone, trumpet, and more. All audio analysis happens on your device. Nothing is recorded or uploaded. 1V1 DUELS Challenge another player across intervals, chords, scales, cadences, and chord progressions. Invite Earonman users directly or share a link with friends. GAMIFIED PROGRESS - Earn XP - Build streaks - Unlock badges - Climb weekly Leagues - Review past League results - Track accuracy and time SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE Earonman is available in English, Czech, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese. The last three languages are currently in beta. The app follows your phone language automatically, and you can switch it any time in Settings. Note names stay international (C, D, E, F, G, A, B). ACCESSIBLE BY DESIGN Full VoiceOver support across lessons, quests, and onboarding helps blind and low-vision musicians train independently. The app also includes large touch targets, high contrast, and clear focus indicators. BUILT BY A MUSICIAN Created by a professional jazz pianist, educator, and Barry Harris student. The curriculum connects ear training with music theory, harmony, and practical musicianship. FREE - 3 standard exercises per 8-hour window - Unlimited Practice Mode - Selected basic levels - Basic stats and badges PRO - 14-DAY FREE TRIAL - Unlimited exercises - All 258 levels and lessons - All 6 advanced quests - Open Mic - All 8 instrument sounds - Advanced stats - Weekly Leagues and full history - Full badge system - Cancel anytime Whether you are a student, teacher, performer, producer, or hobbyist, Earonman helps you develop real relative pitch and musical fluency. Start training today. Become Earonman. Privacy Policy: https://www.earonman.com/legal/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Functional Ear Trainer4 screens
Earonman4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Functional Ear Trainer at 96% against Earonman's 50%. Functional Ear Trainer also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (3.7K vs 4). Earonman's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 7 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Earonman sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Functional Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.0. 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 point the same way: 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 50% of Earonman's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Earonman every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Functional Ear Trainer versus Earonman: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFunctional Ear TrainerEaronman
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (3.7K ratings) — better3.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews96.1% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3.7K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB87 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerhii KorchanTomas Jochmann

Customer experience

Functional Ear Trainer

All ratings3,749 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews623 reviews
Positive96.1%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.9%

Earonman

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Functional Ear Trainer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Keyboard display issues when selecting all chromatic notes
  • Inconsistent note resolutions in some exercises

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

Earonman

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Functional Ear Trainer

One-time1
  • Functional Ear Trainer Plus$19.99
2 purchases

Earonman

Subscriptions2
  • Earonman Pro Monthly14 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Earonman Pro Yearly14 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Functional Ear Trainer free?
Functional Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Earonman free?
Earonman is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Functional Ear Trainer or Earonman?
Functional Ear Trainer is rated higher. Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Earonman averages 3.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Functional Ear Trainer or Earonman have ads?
Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Earonman shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Functional Ear Trainer or Earonman?
Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Earonman every 2 weeks. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on October 16, 2026 and Earonman on October 9, 2026.

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