Comparison

Better Ears vs Better Ears Beginner

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

Head to head
About

Better Ears

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
Read full description

Better Ears is the complete ear training and sight‑reading workout for musicians, students and teachers. Train your musical ear and master music theory — from interval recognition all the way to chord progressions and rhythm training. 15 exercises take you from absolute beginner to pro, at your own pace, with no rules and no pressure. NEW: RHYTHM TRAINING Sharpen your sense of timing with two brand‑new exercises. Hear a rhythm and clap or tap it back, or read rhythmic notation and perform it in time — with count‑in, metronome, triplets and time signatures like 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4. Clap straight into your device's microphone and Better Ears listens. YOU DECIDE HOW TO TRAIN There are no rules to follow. You decide when to start, what to practice and how often. 15 EXERCISES INCLUDED • Interval recognition • Scale recognition • Chord recognition • Chord progressions • Pitch recognition • Melodic dictation • Tempo recognition • Key signature recognition • Music reading • Interval music reading • Scale music reading • Chord music reading • Melody music reading • Rhythm recognition (new) • Rhythm reading (new) ANSWER WITH YOUR VOICE OR A REAL INSTRUMENT Built‑in pitch detection lets you answer by singing or by playing a real instrument (e.g. piano or guitar). Just sing or play the notes when the microphone button lights up red. CUSTOM CHORDS, SCALES & CHORD PROGRESSIONS The built‑in editor lets you add your own chords, scales and chord progressions. FOUR PRESET LEVELS + UNLIMITED CUSTOM LEVELS Start at Beginner, Easy, Normal or Professional — then build your own levels to focus exactly where you need to: church modes, those two pesky intervals, custom rhythms, whatever you like. 6 INSTRUMENTS & CUSTOM SOUNDFONTS Train with Acoustic Grand, Bright Acoustic Piano, Electric Grand, Drawbar Organ, Nylon and Steel Acoustic Guitar — or extend Better Ears with your own sounds via SoundFonts (.sf2). KEYBOARD & FRETBOARD Answer on a virtual piano keyboard or a virtual guitar fretboard. MIDI SUPPORT Route sound through an external MIDI device and even control Better Ears with a connected master keyboard. SYNC ALL OF YOUR DEVICES Keep your Mac, iPhone and iPad in sync via Dropbox. You choose what to sync: your own levels, your statistics, your settings — or all of it. STATISTICS Better Ears tracks your progress for every exercise and every question — right and wrong answers at a glance. WIKIPEDIA INTEGRATION The matching Wikipedia article is shown for each exercise, so the theory is always one tap away. REFRESHED DESIGN A modern, fully redesigned interface on iPhone, iPad and Mac — with full Dark Mode and crystal‑clear music notation.

About

Better Ears Beginner

Enhance your musical skills and hearing with this comprehensive ear training app. It offers 13 diverse exercises, from interval recognition to chord progressions, with customizable training routines and instrument options. Track your progress and sync across devices for a seamless learning experience.

Highlights
  • 13 music theory and ear training exercises
  • Customizable training routines
  • User-created chords, scales, and progressions
  • Six instrument sound options
  • Pitch detection for vocal or instrument answers
  • Virtual keyboard and guitar fretboard
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

Better Ears is the complete ear training and sight‑reading workout for musicians, students and teachers. Train your musical ear and master music theory — from interval recognition all the way to chord progressions and rhythm training. 15 exercises take you from absolute beginner to pro, at your own pace, with no rules and no pressure. NEW: RHYTHM TRAINING Sharpen your sense of timing with two brand‑new exercises. Hear a rhythm and clap or tap it back, or read rhythmic notation and perform it in time — with count‑in, metronome, triplets and time signatures like 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4. Clap straight into your device's microphone and Better Ears listens. YOU DECIDE HOW TO TRAIN There are no rules to follow. You decide when to start, what to practice and how often. 15 EXERCISES INCLUDED • Interval recognition • Scale recognition • Chord recognition • Chord progressions • Pitch recognition • Melodic dictation • Tempo recognition • Key signature recognition • Music reading • Interval music reading • Scale music reading • Chord music reading • Melody music reading • Rhythm recognition (new) • Rhythm reading (new) ANSWER WITH YOUR VOICE OR A REAL INSTRUMENT Built‑in pitch detection lets you answer by singing or by playing a real instrument (e.g. piano or guitar). Just sing or play the notes when the microphone button lights up red. CUSTOM CHORDS, SCALES & CHORD PROGRESSIONS The built‑in editor lets you add your own chords, scales and chord progressions. FOUR PRESET LEVELS + UNLIMITED CUSTOM LEVELS Start at Beginner, Easy, Normal or Professional — then build your own levels to focus exactly where you need to: church modes, those two pesky intervals, custom rhythms, whatever you like. 6 INSTRUMENTS & CUSTOM SOUNDFONTS Train with Acoustic Grand, Bright Acoustic Piano, Electric Grand, Drawbar Organ, Nylon and Steel Acoustic Guitar — or extend Better Ears with your own sounds via SoundFonts (.sf2). KEYBOARD & FRETBOARD Answer on a virtual piano keyboard or a virtual guitar fretboard. MIDI SUPPORT Route sound through an external MIDI device and even control Better Ears with a connected master keyboard. SYNC ALL OF YOUR DEVICES Keep your Mac, iPhone and iPad in sync via Dropbox. You choose what to sync: your own levels, your statistics, your settings — or all of it. STATISTICS Better Ears tracks your progress for every exercise and every question — right and wrong answers at a glance. WIKIPEDIA INTEGRATION The matching Wikipedia article is shown for each exercise, so the theory is always one tap away. REFRESHED DESIGN A modern, fully redesigned interface on iPhone, iPad and Mac — with full Dark Mode and crystal‑clear music notation.

Screenshots

Better Ears4 screens
Better Ears Beginner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Better Ears Beginner at Free against Better Ears's $4.99. Better Ears's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Better Ears against 4.5 for Better Ears Beginner. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 76 and 35 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Better Ears's written reviews are positive against 67% of Better Ears Beginner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Better Ears ships an update every 5 months, Better Ears Beginner every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Better Ears versus Better Ears Beginner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBetter EarsBetter Ears Beginner
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (76 ratings) — better4.5 (35 ratings)
Positive reviews70.8% of reviews — better66.8% of reviews
Number of ratings76 — better35
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB86 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMAMP GmbHMAMP GmbH

Customer experience

Better Ears

All ratings76 ratings
Positive90.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.2%
Written reviews236 reviews
Positive70.8%
Neutral12.3%
Negative16.9%

Better Ears Beginner

All ratings35 ratings
Positive88.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews217 reviews
Positive66.8%
Neutral8.3%
Negative24.9%

User reviews

Better Ears

From 76 App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Better Ears Beginner

From 35 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Free beginner version
  • 🚀 Helpful for learning music theory
  • 💡 Useful for ear training and pitch recognition
  • 🎹 Ability to play piano-like keyboard

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes after purchasing add-on
  • 🔒 No Airplay support
  • 👎 Insufficient training functionality
  • 🔊 Poor sound quality
  • 🤔 Confusing for true beginners

Bugs and requests

Better Ears

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

Better Ears Beginner

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Reverts to beginner version after phone update
  • Audio stops working after some time
  • Keyboard unresponsive on iPad
  • Chord spellings are incorrect

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more instruments
  • Include rhythm training
  • Provide more customization options
  • Implement a game-like format
  • Add support for reading sheet music

In-app purchases

None

Better Ears

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Better Ears Beginner

One-time1
  • Unlock all functions$4.99

Questions

Is Better Ears free?
Better Ears costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Better Ears Beginner free?
Better Ears Beginner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Better Ears or Better Ears Beginner?
Better Ears is rated higher. Better Ears averages 4.6 out of 5 from 76 ratings, while Better Ears Beginner averages 4.5 from 35 ratings.
Do Better Ears or Better Ears Beginner have ads?
Neither Better Ears nor Better Ears Beginner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Better Ears or Better Ears Beginner?
Better Ears ships an update every 5 months, and Better Ears Beginner every 6 months. Most recently, Better Ears was updated on September 23, 2026 and Better Ears Beginner on September 14, 2026.

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