Better Ears vs Pitchmaster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Pitchmaster
This music practice app offers a precise chromatic tuner, metronome, and tone generator. It features advanced signal analysis and supports various tuning systems and waveforms for all instruments and voices.
- Precise chromatic tuner
- Metronome with customizable time signatures
- Tone generator with multiple waveforms
- Drone mode for intonation practice
- Advanced signal analysis
- Support for Equal Temperament and Just Intonation
Read full descriptionHide full description
Pitchmaster - Professional Tuner, Metronome & Tone Generator Originally written for my own use with saxophone and clarinet, Pitchmaster is now the ultimate all-in-one music practice companion. Whether you're tuning your instrument, practicing with a metronome, training your ear, or working on your sound, Pitchmaster has you covered. - TUNER Precise chromatic tuner with visual feedback, accurate down to 32 Hz. Covers the range from bass to piccolo. See your pitch in real-time with cents accuracy. Supports Equal Temperament and Just Intonation tuning systems. - DRONE MODE Practice intonation against a reference tone. Perfect for developing your ear and improving pitch accuracy on any instrument. Use with headphones. - TONE GENERATOR Generate reference tones at any pitch. Choose from sinusoidal, square, triangular, or sawtooth waveforms. Adjust the reference A4 frequency from 415-466 Hz. - METRONOME Jitter-free, sample-accurate metronome with: • 40-240 BPM range • Customizable time signatures (1-7 beats, 2/4/8 subdivisions) • Beat subdivisions: eighth notes, triplets, sixteenth notes • Tap tempo for quick BPM setting • Visual beat indicators - ANALYZER Advanced signal analysis showing: • Stroboscopic tuner • Real-time waveform display • Frequency spectrum visualization • Pitch stability indicator • Signal amplitude and clarity meters Features: - Beautiful dark theme with modern UI - Support for Equal Temperament & Just Intonation - Adjustable reference pitch (A4 = 415-466 Hz) - Works with all instruments and voices - No ads, no subscriptions
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Better Ears at 4.6 against Pitchmaster's 1.0. Better Ears also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 30%) and ratings volume (79 vs 1). Pitchmaster's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $4.99) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Better Ears costs $4.99 and Pitchmaster $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Better Ears holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Better Ears has 79 ratings behind it against 1, 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 30% of Pitchmaster's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Better Ears | Pitchmaster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (79 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.8% of reviews — better | 30.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 79 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 86 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MAMP GmbH | Michael Geilich |
Customer experience
Better Ears
Pitchmaster
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
Pitchmaster
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Better Ears
No in-app purchases
Pitchmaster
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Better Ears free?
Is Pitchmaster free?
Which has better reviews, Better Ears or Pitchmaster?
Do Better Ears or Pitchmaster have ads?
Which is updated more often, Better Ears or Pitchmaster?
Other comparisons















