Comparison

Ear training vs Absolute Ear

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

Head to head
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!

About

Absolute Ear

Master note recognition, melodic dictation, and interval training with a structured course. Progress at your own pace through over 60 units, with intelligent practice focusing on your weakest areas. Supports multiple instrument timbres and detailed statistics.

Highlights
  • Note recognition
  • Melodic dictation
  • Interval training
  • Intelligent practice
  • Multiple instrument timbres
  • Detailed statistics
  • Session history and streak tracking
Features
Read full description

ABSOLUTE EAR - EAR TRAINING Want to hear a melody and know exactly what notes it is? That's what Absolute Ear teaches. This is a structured ear training course that takes you from recognizing your first three notes all the way to mastering all 12 chromatic pitches, melodic sequences up to 5 notes long, all 13 musical intervals, chord recognition by function, and real chord progressions - at whatever pace works for you. WHAT YOU TRAIN NOTE RECOGNITION Hear a piano note. Name it. That's the foundation of playing by ear. Start with just C, E, and G. Unlock new notes as you demonstrate mastery. By the end, you'll identify all 12 chromatic notes across three octaves - including sharps - without needing a reference pitch. MELODIC DICTATION Identify sequences of 2, 3, 4, and 5 notes in a row. This is where note recognition becomes real musical memory. Each unit introduces new notes progressively, so you're never thrown in the deep end. INTERVAL TRAINING Master all 13 intervals: unison, minor 2nd, major 2nd, minor 3rd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, tritone, perfect 5th, minor 6th, major 6th, minor 7th, major 7th, and octave. Three tiers of difficulty: • Tier 1: Fixed C as your tonic - build the foundation • Tier 2: Random root per session - start to generalize • Tier 3: Root changes every question - true interval hearing CHORD RECOGNITION Hear a chord and identify it by its function in C major - not just its name. Every question starts with the I chord to anchor your ear, then you identify the target chord by scale degree. Five modules take you from the Big Three (I, IV, V) through all seven diatonic chords. You'll learn to hear the difference between the lift of IV, the tension of V, and the darkness of vi. CHORD PROGRESSIONS Once you know the chords, learn to hear how their order changes everything. A four-chord loop plays and you tap the degrees in sequence. Five modules cover the most common progressions in popular music - from the classic I-IV-V-I to the pop loop I-V-vi-IV - training you to recognize the patterns behind the songs you hear every day. HOW IT WORKS 60+ structured units span five exercise types across six chapters: single notes, note sequences, interval training, chord recognition, and chord progressions. Units unlock as you hit 80% accuracy - you move forward when you're actually ready. Each session is 30 focused questions. Listen. Answer. Get immediate haptic feedback. The app tracks exactly where you struggle and weights practice toward your weakest notes, intervals, and chords - so every session is time well spent. If you're flying through a session, an early-completion prompt lets you move on early. FEATURES • 60+ course units across five exercise types • Chord recognition by function - hear harmony, not just names • Chord progression training - recognize the loops behind real music • Intelligent practice: weak spots appear more often • Multi-octave training - notes across three octaves • 60+ badges to earn - including some hidden surprises • Detailed stats: per-note accuracy, confusion matrix, accuracy trends, daily practice time • Session history and streak tracking • Apple Sign In - progress saved to your account • Haptic feedback on every answer • No subscription required to get started WHO IT'S FOR • Musicians who want to play by ear without sheet music • Piano and guitar players who want to transcribe what they hear • Music students building aural skills for exams • Anyone who hears a melody and wants to know its notes • Songwriters who want to hear chord progressions by ear • Experienced players sharpening pitch, interval, and harmony awareness Start with three notes. Build from there. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.absoluteear.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.absoluteear.com/privacy

Screenshots

Ear training4 screens
Absolute Ear4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Absolute Ear at 100% against Ear training's 33%. Absolute Ear also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.5). Ear training's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (247 vs 8). 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. Absolute Ear sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Ear training asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Absolute Ear holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ear training has 247 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Ear training's written reviews are positive against 100% of Absolute Ear's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ear training ships an update every 8 months, Absolute Ear every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Ear training versus Absolute Ear: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEar trainingAbsolute Ear
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (247 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings247 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB117 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexey OvodDavid Ashworth

Customer experience

Ear training

All ratings245 ratings
Positive86.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive32.6%
Neutral14.7%
Negative52.7%

Absolute Ear

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Ear training

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Absolute Ear

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Ear training free?
Ear training is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Absolute Ear free?
Absolute Ear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ear training or Absolute Ear?
Absolute Ear is rated higher. Ear training averages 4.5 out of 5 from 247 ratings, while Absolute Ear averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Ear training or Absolute Ear have ads?
Ear training shows ads; Absolute Ear does not.
Which is updated more often, Ear training or Absolute Ear?
Ear training ships an update every 8 months, and Absolute Ear every 3 days. Most recently, Ear training was updated on October 24, 2026 and Absolute Ear on October 24, 2026.

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