# Melody Ear Training vs Functional Ear Trainer

The clearest difference is price: Functional Ear Trainer at Free against Melody Ear Training's $9.99. Functional Ear Trainer also leads on ratings volume (3.7K vs 37) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). Melody Ear Training's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Functional Ear Trainer is free to download; Melody Ear Training costs $9.99 up front. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Melody Ear Training asks for nothing beyond the download.

Functional Ear Trainer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Functional Ear Trainer has 3.7K ratings behind it against 37, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Melody Ear Training's written reviews are positive against 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Melody Ear Training | Functional Ear Trainer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $9.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.6 (37 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/melody-ear-training/id353949586/reviews) | **[4.9 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 37 | **3.7K** |
| Positive reviews | 75.7% of reviews | **96.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 295 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [262Hz](https://appshunter.io/developer/950924827) | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) |

## What reviewers say

### Melody Ear Training

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/melody-ear-training/id353949586)

Develop your musical ear with this engaging piano game. It helps improve interval recognition, pitch sense, and transcription skills. Suitable for both beginners and experienced musicians, it offers adjustable difficulty and MIDI integration.

**Highlights:** Interval recognition, Pitch sense improvement, Transcription skills, MIDI keyboard integration, Adjustable difficulty settings, Customizable melody parameters

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Functional Ear Trainer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926)

Develop your musical ear by learning to recognize tones within the context of a specific musical key. This app helps you understand the function of each note, improving your ability to transcribe, improvise, and play music by ear. Suitable for all ages and skill levels, with just 10 minutes of daily practice.

**Highlights:** Recognize tones in musical key context, Understand note function, Improve transcription skills, Enhance improvisation, Develop perfect pitch, Daily 10-minute practice

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Functional Ear Trainer Plus | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Effective ear training
- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 💡 Customizable exercises
- 🎉 Noticeable improvement with regular practice
- 🎨 Visually appealing design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional audio glitches
- 💡 Lack of support for other instruments besides piano
- 💡 Desire for more advanced features (e.g. chord recognition)

**Reported bugs**

- Keyboard display issues when selecting all chromatic notes
- Inconsistent note resolutions in some exercises

**Requested features**

- Add support for multiple notes/chords at once
- Implement a mode for training key recognition
- Provide more customization options for exercises
- Include voice input to play the notes
- Add support for German/Norwegian key names


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Melody Ear Training free?

Melody Ear Training costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Functional Ear Trainer free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Melody Ear Training or Functional Ear Trainer?

Functional Ear Trainer is rated higher. Melody Ear Training averages 4.6 out of 5 from 37 ratings, while Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 from 3.7K ratings.

### Do Melody Ear Training or Functional Ear Trainer have ads?

Neither Melody Ear Training nor Functional Ear Trainer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Melody Ear Training or Functional Ear Trainer?

Melody Ear Training ships an update every 7 months, and Functional Ear Trainer every 7 months. Most recently, Melody Ear Training was updated on October 14, 2026 and Functional Ear Trainer on October 16, 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.*