# Ear Trainer vs Active Ear

The clearest difference is price: Active Ear at Free against Ear Trainer's $7.99. Active Ear also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Ear Trainer's advantage is ratings volume (1.2K vs 50) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.1). On rating, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Active Ear is free to download; Ear Trainer costs $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Ear Trainer against 4.7 for Active Ear. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ear Trainer has 1.2K ratings behind it against 50, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 94% of Active Ear's.

Ear Trainer ships an update every 4 months, Active Ear monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and June 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ear Trainer | Active Ear |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $7.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.8 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ear-trainer/id358733250/reviews)** | [4.7 (50 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/active-ear-ear-trainer/id1541508221/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.2K** | 50 |
| Positive reviews | **94.8% of reviews** | 93.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 90 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.1** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [thoor software AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/698240746) | [MCPHERSON'S MUSIC LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1541508223) |

## What reviewers say

### Ear Trainer

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

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


### Active Ear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/active-ear-ear-trainer/id1541508221)

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.

**Highlights:** Pitch Recognition, Interval Training, Chord Quality Identification, Bassline Training, Progression Training, Chord Inversions, Customizable Practice Mode, Quiz Mode

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ear Trainer free?

Ear Trainer costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Active Ear free?

Active Ear is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Ear Trainer or Active Ear?

Ear Trainer is rated higher. Ear Trainer averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Active Ear averages 4.7 from 50 ratings.

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

Neither Ear Trainer nor Active Ear shows ads.

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

Ear Trainer ships an update every 4 months, and Active Ear monthly. Most recently, Ear Trainer was updated on September 30, 2026 and Active Ear on June 10, 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.*