# Better Ears vs Functional Ear Trainer

The clearest difference is price: Functional Ear Trainer at Free against Better Ears's $4.99. Functional Ear Trainer also leads on review sentiment (96% vs 71%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). Better Ears's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Functional Ear Trainer is free to download; Better Ears costs $4.99 up front. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Better Ears asks for nothing beyond the download.

Functional Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.7K ratings behind it against 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Better Ears's written reviews are positive against 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's.

Better Ears ships an update every 5 months, Functional Ear Trainer every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Better Ears | Functional Ear Trainer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.6 (76 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-ear-trainer/id284444548/reviews) | **[4.9 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 76 | **3.7K** |
| Positive reviews | 70.8% of reviews | **96.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 months** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 86 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MAMP GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1451068672) | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) |

## What reviewers say

### Better Ears

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-ear-trainer/id284444548)

Enhance your musical abilities with a comprehensive ear training application. It offers 13 diverse exercises, from interval recognition to chord progressions, suitable for all skill levels. Customize your learning path with user-defined levels and instruments.

**Highlights:** 13 ear training exercises, Customizable chords, scales, and progressions, 6 instrument sound options, Virtual keyboard and fretboard, Vocal or instrument input, Preset and custom training levels, Cross-device synchronization

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app for ear training
- 🚀 Flexibility to customize exercises
- 💡 Helpful for music students and professionals
- 🎓 Improves aural skills and music theory knowledge

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and glitches on some devices
- 🔊 Poor sound quality of instrument samples
- 💰 Expensive for the limited features
- 🤔 Confusing chord and interval naming conventions

**Reported bugs**

- Note recognition issues on lower strings
- Inconsistent behavior when customizing lessons
- Dropbox sync feature not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add chord inversions and progressions
- Include melodic and rhythmic dictation exercises
- Provide more instrument sound options
- Improve statistics tracking and personalization
- Add support for bass clef and multiple clefs


### Functional Ear Trainer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926)

Develop your musical ear by learning to recognize tones within the context of a specific musical key. This app helps you understand the function of each note, improving your ability to transcribe, improvise, and play music by ear. Suitable for all ages and skill levels, with just 10 minutes of daily practice.

**Highlights:** Recognize tones in musical key context, Understand note function, Improve transcription skills, Enhance improvisation, Develop perfect pitch, Daily 10-minute practice

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Functional Ear Trainer Plus | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Effective ear training
- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 💡 Customizable exercises
- 🎉 Noticeable improvement with regular practice
- 🎨 Visually appealing design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional audio glitches
- 💡 Lack of support for other instruments besides piano
- 💡 Desire for more advanced features (e.g. chord recognition)

**Reported bugs**

- Keyboard display issues when selecting all chromatic notes
- Inconsistent note resolutions in some exercises

**Requested features**

- Add support for multiple notes/chords at once
- Implement a mode for training key recognition
- Provide more customization options for exercises
- Include voice input to play the notes
- Add support for German/Norwegian key names


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Better Ears free?

Better Ears costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Functional Ear Trainer free?

Functional Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Better Ears or Functional Ear Trainer?

Functional Ear Trainer is rated higher. Better Ears averages 4.6 out of 5 from 76 ratings, while Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 from 3.7K ratings.

### Do Better Ears or Functional Ear Trainer have ads?

Neither Better Ears nor Functional Ear Trainer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Better Ears or Functional Ear Trainer?

Better Ears ships an update every 5 months, and Functional Ear Trainer every 7 months. Most recently, Better Ears was updated on October 19, 2026 and Functional Ear Trainer on October 16, 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.*