# Active Ear vs Play with ear practice

The clearest difference is ads: Active Ear at none against Play with ear practice's shown. Play with ear practice's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Active Ear ships an update monthly, Play with ear practice every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on June 10, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Active Ear | Play with ear practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (50 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/active-ear-ear-trainer/id1541508221/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **50** | — |
| Positive reviews | 93.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 23 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MCPHERSON'S MUSIC LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1541508223) | [Yasuko Takayashiki](https://appshunter.io/developer/1479119006) |

## What reviewers say

### Active Ear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/active-ear-ear-trainer/id1541508221)

Develop your musical ear with a comprehensive ear training app. It offers various exercises to help musicians identify pitches, intervals, chords, and progressions. Customize your learning with practice modes and test your knowledge with quizzes.

**Highlights:** Pitch Recognition, Interval Training, Chord Quality Identification, Bassline Training, Progression Training, Chord Inversions, Customizable Practice Mode, Quiz Mode

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Play with ear practice

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/play-with-ear-practice/id6738606430)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Active Ear free?

Active Ear is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Play with ear practice free?

Play with ear practice is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Active Ear or Play with ear practice have ads?

Play with ear practice shows ads; Active Ear does not.

### Which is updated more often, Active Ear or Play with ear practice?

Active Ear ships an update monthly, and Play with ear practice every 6 days. Most recently, Active Ear was updated on June 10, 2026 and Play with ear practice on September 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.*