# Ear Trainer vs Functional Ear Trainer

The clearest difference is price: Functional Ear Trainer at Free against Ear Trainer's $7.99. Functional Ear Trainer also leads on ratings volume (3.7K vs 1.2K). Ear Trainer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#166 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Functional Ear Trainer is free to download; Ear Trainer costs $7.99 up front. Functional Ear Trainer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ear Trainer asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Ear Trainer against 4.9 for Functional Ear Trainer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 3.7K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 96% of Functional Ear Trainer's.

Ear Trainer ships an update every 4 months, Functional Ear Trainer every 7 months. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ear Trainer | Functional Ear Trainer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $7.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.8 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ear-trainer/id358733250/reviews) | **[4.9 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K | **3.7K** |
| Positive reviews | 94.8% of reviews | **96.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 months** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#166** | — |
| Size | 90 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.1** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [thoor software AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/698240746) | [Serhii Korchan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1088761925) |

## What reviewers say

### Ear Trainer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ear-trainer/id358733250)

**Currently charting:** #166 Top Paid · Music (US App Store)

This app is designed to enhance your musical listening skills. It offers a comprehensive set of over 260 exercises across nine study areas, plus custom exercise creation. Suitable for all levels, it helps musicians and students improve their ear training.

**Highlights:** Over 260 built-in exercises, Nine areas of musical study, Custom exercise creation, Interval, chord, and scale identification, Melody and chord progression training, Progress tracking and statistics, Virtual piano and note view

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and effective
- 🚀 Accessible and easy to use
- 🚀 Customizable exercises
- 🚀 Comprehensive training
- 🚀 Steady progress and improvement

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Incorrect note/interval spellings
- 🐛 Lack of melody dictation exercises
- 🐛 Limited chord progression exercises
- 🐛 Cumbersome note deletion in melody exercises

**Reported bugs**

- Incorrect chord quality identification
- Inconsistent note layout in some exercises

**Requested features**

- Add more chord types (diminished, half-diminished, etc.)
- Include more modes and scale types
- Implement MIDI connectivity for external instruments
- Add a random exercise mode
- Provide more detailed progress tracking and statistics


### 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 Ear Trainer free?

Ear Trainer costs $7.99, 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, Ear Trainer or Functional Ear Trainer?

Functional Ear Trainer is rated higher. Ear Trainer averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Functional Ear Trainer averages 4.9 from 3.7K ratings.

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

Neither Ear Trainer nor Functional Ear Trainer shows ads.

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

Ear Trainer ships an update every 4 months, and Functional Ear Trainer every 7 months. Most recently, Ear Trainer was updated on October 14, 2026 and Functional Ear Trainer on October 14, 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.*