# Know Notes vs Note Smash

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Know Notes at 16.0 against Note Smash's 18.2. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Know Notes sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Note Smash sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Know Notes ships an update fortnightly, Note Smash every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Know Notes | Note Smash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (31 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/know-notes-learn-music/id1536356966/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **31** | — |
| Positive reviews | 95.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 107 MB | 52 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 18.2 |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [wylan neely](https://appshunter.io/developer/1261508202) | [小舟 苏](https://appshunter.io/developer/433653721) |

## What reviewers say

### Know Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/know-notes-learn-music/id1536356966)

Develop your musical ear by learning to identify notes and chords by sound. This gamified app makes practicing fun and competitive, allowing you to progress from basic notes to sharps and flats.

**Highlights:** Ear training, Note recognition, Chord recognition, Gamified learning, Progressive difficulty, Natural notes, sharps, and flats

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Violin Notes | $0.99 | one-time |
| Electronic Keyboard Notes | $0.99 | one-time |
| Grand Piano Notes | $0.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Violin Instrument | $2.99 | one-time |
| Acoustic Guitar (Major Chords) | $2.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Acoustic Guitar | $3.99 | one-time |


### Note Smash

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/note-smash-music-reflex-game/id6789506401)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Yearly | $1.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Know Notes free?

Know Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Note Smash free?

Note Smash is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Know Notes or Note Smash have ads?

Neither Know Notes nor Note Smash shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Know Notes or Note Smash?

Know Notes ships an update fortnightly, and Note Smash every 3 weeks. Most recently, Know Notes was updated on October 27, 2026 and Note Smash on October 30, 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.*