# Functional Ear Trainer vs Tone Assistant

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tone Assistant at none against Functional Ear Trainer's 1. Tone Assistant also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 7 months). Functional Ear Trainer's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, Tone Assistant every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Functional Ear Trainer | Tone Assistant |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **3.8K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 96.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 41 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) | [Brent Petit](https://appshunter.io/developer/1085976397) |

## 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


### Tone Assistant

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tone-assistant/id6775326006)

**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 Tone Assistant free?

Tone Assistant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Functional Ear Trainer or Tone Assistant have ads?

Neither Functional Ear Trainer nor Tone Assistant shows ads.

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

Functional Ear Trainer ships an update every 7 months, and Tone Assistant every 3 days. Most recently, Functional Ear Trainer was updated on October 24, 2026 and Tone Assistant on October 10, 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.*