Comparison

Active Ear vs Earonman

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

Head to head
About

Active Ear

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
Read full description

Active Ear is for musicians of all skill levels and instrument types. With dozens of exercises ranging from beginner to advanced, Active Ear focuses on teaching you to identify pitches, intervals, chords, and progressions using only your Ear. The Practice Mode of the app allows you to customize the challenges to focus only on areas you're interested in improving. Once you're confident with the Practice Mode, you test yourself in the Quiz Mode of the app to see how well you understand the concepts. Active Ear Comes with six Ear Training Programs: -
Pitch Recognition -
Interval Training -
Chord Quality -
Bassline Training
 -
Progression Training
 - Chord Inversions

About

Earonman

This app offers a gamified approach to developing musical ear training skills. It features 258 levels of progressive exercises, real-time microphone input for singing or playing, and competitive multiplayer challenges. Customize your experience and train with authentic instrument sounds.

Highlights
  • 258 progressive ear training levels
  • Real-time microphone input
  • 1V1 multiplayer challenges
  • Gamified progress tracking (XP, streaks, leagues)
  • Authentic instrument sounds
  • Customizable app appearance
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 to collect, two of them light. 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. 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 - hear which note of a triad is in the bass and name the slash chord, like C/E or C/G - Functioneer - hear what a chord does in the key: after the tonic, in four-chord progressions or as a secondary dominant, in major and minor. Seventh chords play in the voicing you pick, from shells and Drop 2 to So What and upper structures - Harmonic Quest - harmonic movement, including Barry Harris-inspired approaches - Guido - the guide-tone line of a jazz standard: the 3rd and 7th of every chord, with the smoothest voice leading. Hear the band play it, follow the chart, find it by ear, then play or sing it in tempo. Add tunes from iReal Pro - 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 English, Czech, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Japanese (the last three in beta). The app follows your phone's language, and 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 - Basic Intervals, the first section of the map (11 levels) - 3 levels every 8 hours - Practice as long as you like: intervals up to the octave, major and minor chords and scales, Root Position voicings - This week's leaderboard - Basic stats and badges PRO - 7-DAY FREE TRIAL - Unlimited exercises - All 258 levels and lessons - All 6 advanced quests - Open Mic - All 8 instrument sounds - Advanced stats - Every leaderboard: This month, Ear Index and the Hall of Fame - Full badge system - Cancel anytime 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

Active Ear4 screens
Earonman4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Active Ear at 94% against Earonman's 50%. Active Ear also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.7) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Earonman's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Earonman sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Active Ear asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Active Ear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Active Ear has 49 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Active Ear's written reviews are positive against 50% of Earonman's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Active Ear ships an update monthly, Earonman every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Active Ear versus Earonman: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterActive EarEaronman
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (49 ratings) — better3.7 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews93.8% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings49 — better6
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB106 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMCPHERSON'S MUSIC LLCTomas Jochmann

Customer experience

Active Ear

All ratings50 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive93.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.3%

Earonman

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Active Ear

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Earonman

Subscriptions2
  • Earonman Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Earonman Pro Yearly$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Active Ear free?
Active Ear is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Earonman free?
Earonman is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Active Ear or Earonman?
Active Ear is rated higher. Active Ear averages 4.7 out of 5 from 49 ratings, while Earonman averages 3.7 from 6 ratings.
Do Active Ear or Earonman have ads?
Earonman shows ads; Active Ear does not.
Which is updated more often, Active Ear or Earonman?
Active Ear ships an update monthly, and Earonman every 10 days. Most recently, Active Ear was updated on November 3, 2026 and Earonman on October 31, 2026.

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