KeyFinder vs Active Ear
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KeyFinder
Identify the musical key of any song you're listening to. Use the integrated piano to play along and confirm notes, helping the app pinpoint the correct key. Explore music theory and learn to play songs in different keys.
- Identify song keys
- Built-in piano keyboard
- Note confirmation
- Narrow down possible keys
- Learn songs in any key
Read full descriptionHide full description
Ever wondered what the key of a song being played is? Wonder no more! Just use the built-in piano keyboard to play along with a song's melody. As you confirm notes that coincide with what's being played, KeyFinder will narrow down the number of possible keys the song is in. -=-= About Scoreless Music =-=- What's next after knowing a song's key? Why not learn to play that same song in ANY key? Find out more at scorelessmusic.com
Active Ear
Develop your musical ear with a comprehensive ear training app. It offers various exercises to help musicians identify pitches, intervals, chords, and progressions. Customize your learning with practice modes and test your knowledge with quizzes.
- Pitch Recognition
- Interval Training
- Chord Quality Identification
- Bassline Training
- Progression Training
- Chord Inversions
- Customizable Practice Mode
- Quiz Mode
Read full descriptionHide full description
Active Ear is for musicians of all skill levels and instrument types. With dozens of exercises ranging from beginner to advanced, Active Ear focuses on teaching you to identify pitches, intervals, chords, and progressions using only your Ear. The Practice Mode of the app allows you to customize the challenges to focus only on areas you're interested in improving. Once you're confident with the Practice Mode, you test yourself in the Quiz Mode of the app to see how well you understand the concepts. Active Ear Comes with six Ear Training Programs: - Pitch Recognition - Interval Training - Chord Quality - Bassline Training - Progression Training - Chord Inversions
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Active Ear at 4.7 against KeyFinder's 2.7. Active Ear also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 60%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). KeyFinder's advantage is ratings volume (322 vs 50) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Active Ear holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KeyFinder has 322 ratings behind it against 50, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of KeyFinder's written reviews are positive against 94% of Active Ear's.
KeyFinder ships an update every 3 months, Active Ear monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KeyFinder | Active Ear |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (322 ratings) | 4.7 (50 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 93.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 322 — better | 50 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Scoreless Music | MCPHERSON'S MUSIC LLC |
Customer experience
KeyFinder
Active Ear
Bugs and requests
KeyFinder
Reported bugs
4 issues- No sound
- Slow response to touch
- Cannot play minor scales in Ref mode
- Difficulty controlling volume with background music
Requested features
8 requests- Bring the app back
- Update to 64bit
- Label notes on piano keys
- Ability to move up and down the keyboard
- More keys supported (hundreds)
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Control app volume separately from music
- Show relative minor next to major
- Make a music notation application
Active Ear
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
KeyFinder
No in-app purchases
Active Ear
No in-app purchases
