Comparison

EarMaster vs Ear training

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

Head to head
About

EarMaster

Enhance your musical abilities with comprehensive ear training, sight-singing, and rhythm exercises. This app offers thousands of lessons for all skill levels, from beginners to advanced musicians, and is used by top music schools.

Highlights
  • Ear training exercises
  • Sight-singing practice
  • Rhythm training
  • Vocal training
  • Beginner's course
  • Customizable exercises
  • Detailed progress stats
Features
Read full description

Music theory made easy and fun: EarMaster is the ultimate app for your ear training, sight-singing practice, rhythmic workout and vocal training at all skill levels! Thousands of exercises will help you build up your musical skills and become a better musician. Try it, it's not just fun to use but also very efficient: some of the best music schools use EarMaster! "The exercises are so well thought out, and have so much to offer both the complete beginner and the most world class musicians alike. Being an instructor at Nashville Music Academy, I can say this app has developed my ear and my students ear to a level that would have taken many more years to develop, if at all, without it." - User review by Chiddychat AWARDS “Best App of the Month” (App Store, Jan 2020) NAMM TEC AWARDS nominee Music Teacher Awards for Excellence nominee INCLUDED IN FREE VERSION: - Interval Identification (Customized Exercise) - Chord Identification (Customized Exercise) - 'Carmen – Habanera' (based on the iconic opera by Bizet) - 'Call of the Notes' (call-response ear training course) - 'Greensleeves' thematic course - First 20+ lessons of Beginners Course *Highlights* BEGINNER'S COURSE - Acquire all the core music theory skills with hundreds of progressive exercises on rhythm, notation, pitch, chords, scales, and more. COMPLETE EAR TRAINING - Train with intervals, chords, chord inversions, scales, harmonic progressions, melodies, rhythm, and more. LEARN TO SIGHT-SING - Sing on-screen scores into the microphone of your iPad or iPhone and get immediate feedback on your pitch and time accuracy. RHYTHM TRAINING - Tap! tap! tap! Sight-read, dictate and tap back rhythms, and get instant feedback on your performance. VOCAL TRAINER - Become a better singer with progressive vocal exercises on vocalizes, scale singing, rhythmic precision, interval singing, and more. SOLFEGE FUNDAMENTALS - Learn to use movable-do solfege, as easy as Do-Re-Mi! MELODIA - Become a true sight-singing master with EarMaster's take on the classic sight-singing book method AURAL TRAINER FOR UK GRADES - Prepare for ABRSM* Aural Tests 1-5 and similar exams RCM VOICE* - Prepare for your RCM Voice exams from Preparatory level to Level 8. CARMEN – HABANERA (free) - Explore the world of opera with this course based on the iconic opera by Bizet CALL OF THE NOTES (free) - A fun and challenging course in call-response ear training GREENSLEEVES (free) - Learn the English folk ballad Greensleeves with a series of fun exercises CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING - Take control of the app and configure your own exercises: voicing, key, pitch range, cadences, time limits, etc. JAZZ WORKSHOPS - Exercises for advanced users with jazz chords and progressions, swing rhythms, jazz sight-singing and sing-back exercises based on jazz classics such as "After You've Gone", "Ja-Da", "St. Louis Blues", and many more. DETAILED STATS - Follow your progress day by day to spot your strengths and weaknesses. AND MUCH, MUCH MORE – Learn to sing and transcribe music by ear. Learn to use solfege. Plug a microphone or a MIDI controller to answer the exercises. And even more to explore on your own in the app :) WORKS WITH EARMASTER CLOUD - If your school or choir is using EarMaster Cloud, you can connect the app with your account and complete your home assignments with the app. *Not affiliated with ABRSM or RCM LOVE EARMASTER? LET'S STAY CONNECTED Drop us a line on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Mastodon, or X!

About

Ear training

Develop perfect pitch and recognize notes, chords, and melodies by ear. This app offers a series of exercises to train your aural skills, with explanations and hints to help you learn at your own pace. Improve your ability to play along with songs or guess melodies.

Highlights
  • Develop perfect pitch
  • Recognize notes and chords
  • Identify intervals and chord progressions
  • Learn major and minor scales
  • Instrument-specific practice
  • Hint function
Features
Read full description

Would you like to be able to guess melodies by hearing them or be able to play accompaniment to your favorite songs on the guitar or piano? Ear training is the perfect app for you! This app will help you develop perfect pitch, and train your ear to recognize notes and chords in any key. The app consists of a series of exercises, which will gradually introduce you to all the notes and chords in the major and minor scales. You can also practice identifying intervals and chord progressions. Each exercise is accompanied by a clear and concise explanation, so you can understand the theory behind it. And if you get stuck, the app includes a handy hint function. The exercises are tailored to help you improve your aural skills, so you can develop at your own pace. You can also choose to practice in a particular key, or with a particular instrument. So why wait? Start training your ear today!

Screenshots

EarMaster4 screens
Ear training4 screens

Verdict

The call

EarMaster and Ear training both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 81% of EarMaster's written reviews are positive against 33% of Ear training's. EarMaster also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 9 months). Ear training's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 22). On price, rating, ratings volume and device support 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. EarMaster sells 22 one-off in-app purchases. Ear training asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for EarMaster against 4.5 for Ear training. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 423 and 243 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of EarMaster's written reviews are positive against 33% of Ear training's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

EarMaster ships an update every 2 months, Ear training every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
EarMaster versus Ear training: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEarMasterEar training
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (423 ratings) — better4.5 (243 ratings)
Positive reviews81.1% of reviews — better32.8% of reviews
Number of ratings423 — better243
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size306 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEarMaster ApSAlexey Ovod

Customer experience

EarMaster

All ratings423 ratings
Positive89.6%
Neutral3.3%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews254 reviews
Positive81.1%
Neutral4.7%
Negative14.2%

Ear training

All ratings243 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral6.2%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive32.8%
Neutral14.8%
Negative52.3%

Bugs and requests

EarMaster

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and errors when loading certain exercises
  • Inconsistent behavior with metronome and rhythm playback
  • Issues with saving progress and restoring purchased content

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow users to specify their vocal range
  • Add more chord and chord progression options
  • Implement a jazz-focused curriculum
  • Improve feedback and error analysis for users
  • Add support for different tuning systems

Ear training

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

22 purchases

EarMaster

One-time22
  • Customized: Chord Progressions$0.99
  • Customized: Interval Singing$0.99
  • General Workshop: Scale Identification$0.99
Show 19 more
  • General Workshop: Interval Comparison$0.99
  • Customized Exercise: Scale Identification$0.99
  • General Workshop: Rhythmic Sight-Reading$1.99
  • General: Chord Identification$1.99
  • General: Interval Singing$1.99
  • General: Interval Identification$1.99
  • General: Chord Progressions$1.99
  • Jazz: Chord Identification$1.99
  • Customized Exercise: Melodic Dictation$1.99
  • Customized Exercise: Melodic Sight-Singing$1.99
  • Jazz Workshop: Chord Progressions$1.99
  • General Workshop: Melodic Sight-Singing$1.99
  • Beginner's Course: Modules 5 to 13$3.99
  • Beginner's Course bundle$7.99
  • Solfege Fundamentals$9.99
  • Customized Exercises bundle$14.99
  • General Workshops bundle$14.99
  • Jazz Workshops bundle$14.99
  • Vocal Trainer$14.99
None

Ear training

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is EarMaster free?
EarMaster is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ear training free?
Ear training is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, EarMaster or Ear training?
EarMaster is rated higher. EarMaster averages 4.6 out of 5 from 423 ratings, while Ear training averages 4.5 from 243 ratings.
Do EarMaster or Ear training have ads?
Ear training shows ads; EarMaster does not.
Which is updated more often, EarMaster or Ear training?
EarMaster ships an update every 2 months, and Ear training every 9 months. Most recently, EarMaster was updated on September 22, 2026 and Ear training on September 21, 2026.

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