# Better Ears Beginner vs Complete Ear Trainer

The clearest difference is update cadence: Complete Ear Trainer at fortnightly against Better Ears Beginner's every 6 months. Complete Ear Trainer also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 67%) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Better Ears Beginner's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Better Ears Beginner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Complete Ear Trainer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Complete Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Complete Ear Trainer has 195 ratings behind it against 35, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Better Ears Beginner's written reviews are positive against 85% of Complete Ear Trainer's.

Better Ears Beginner ships an update every 6 months, Complete Ear Trainer fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Better Ears Beginner | Complete Ear Trainer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (35 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-beginner/id284445260/reviews) | **[4.7 (195 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/complete-ear-trainer/id1012455471/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 35 | **195** |
| Positive reviews | 66.8% of reviews | **85.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 86 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MAMP GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1451068672) | [Binary Guilt](https://appshunter.io/developer/1012455470) |

## What reviewers say

### Better Ears Beginner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/better-ears-beginner/id284445260)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock all functions | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


### Complete Ear Trainer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/complete-ear-trainer/id1012455471)

Develop your musical ear and music theory knowledge with this comprehensive training app. It offers progressive drills, various sound options, and a gamified learning experience to improve improvisation, composition, and performance skills.

**Highlights:** 150+ progressive drills, 11 drill types, 24 intervals, 36 chord types, Melodic dictations and chord progressions, Gamified learning with star system, Custom drill and program creation, Cloud sync across devices

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cloud Sync and Web access | $0.99 | per month |
| Cloud Sync and Web access | $9.99 | per year |
| Full Version | $6.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Better Ears Beginner free?

Better Ears Beginner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Complete Ear Trainer free?

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

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

Complete Ear Trainer is rated higher. Better Ears Beginner averages 4.5 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while Complete Ear Trainer averages 4.7 from 195 ratings.

### Do Better Ears Beginner or Complete Ear Trainer have ads?

Neither Better Ears Beginner nor Complete Ear Trainer shows ads.

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

Better Ears Beginner ships an update every 6 months, and Complete Ear Trainer fortnightly. Most recently, Better Ears Beginner was updated on September 14, 2026 and Complete Ear Trainer on September 22, 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.*