Comparison

Better Ears vs ARA City

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
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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

ARA City

Features
Read full description

The ARACity app offers you Luxembourg’s only English radio station on your iPhone and iPad. ARACity is the only independent radio station in Luxembourg bringing you the best of new music mixed with classics. ARACity Radio brings you daily Local, International and Business News. The app allows you to contact the studio, listen live and to chart podcasts.

Screenshots

Better Ears4 screens
ARA City3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ARA City at Free against Better Ears's $4.99. ARA City also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). Better Ears's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 17 months). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ARA City is free to download; Better Ears costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Better Ears ships an update every 5 months, ARA City every 17 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Better Ears versus ARA City: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBetter EarsARA City
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (79 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings79 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 17 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.68.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB3 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperMAMP GmbHapart sàrl

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

ARA City

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Better Ears

No in-app purchases

None

ARA City

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Better Ears free?
Better Ears costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ARA City free?
ARA City is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Better Ears or ARA City have ads?
Neither Better Ears nor ARA City shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Better Ears or ARA City?
Better Ears ships an update every 5 months, and ARA City every 17 months. Most recently, Better Ears was updated on November 6, 2026 and ARA City on October 26, 2026.

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