Ear Trainer Lite vs EarMaster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ear Trainer Lite
Improve your musical ear with this free educational tool. It offers exercises for intervals, chords, and scales, with a virtual piano to help you learn. Track your progress with collected statistics.
- Interval comparison exercises
- Chord identification exercises
- Chord progression exercises
- Scale identification exercises
- Melody exercises
- Virtual piano keyboard
- Progress statistics
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With an overall rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars it is a must to try out this app. Did we mention that it is free? Listening is the most important skill in music, and this app will help you to listen better. Ear Trainer Lite is an educational tool designed for musicians, music students and anyone interested in improving ones musical ear. It has exercises covering intervals, chords, and scales. This is the LITE version with 32 exercises. The full version has over 260 exercises and the ability to create custom exercises. Ear Trainer Lite covers the following categories: - Interval Comparison (18 exercises) - Chord Identification (3 exercises) - Chord Progressions (3 exercises) - Scales (4 exercises) - Melody (4 exercises) Each exercise has a short description of its purpose and optional preview. A virtual piano keyboard in each exercise helps you visually understand and analyze the notes that have been played. To aid your progression you can compare the different options after answering. (You can even play the virtual piano if you like!) As you progress through the exercises, statistics are collected so that you can see your progress. The questions in the exercises are randomly generated so you can do them over and over again as many times as you like to continue to hone your skills. For more information please see the demonstration video at: www.dev4phone.com
EarMaster
Enhance your musical abilities with comprehensive ear training, sight-singing, and rhythm exercises. This app offers thousands of lessons for all skill levels, from beginners to advanced musicians, and is used by top music schools.
- Ear training exercises
- Sight-singing practice
- Rhythm training
- Vocal training
- Beginner's course
- Customizable exercises
- Detailed progress stats
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Music theory made easy and fun: EarMaster is the ultimate app for your ear training, sight-singing practice, rhythmic workout and vocal training at all skill levels! Thousands of exercises will help you build up your musical skills and become a better musician. Try it, it's not just fun to use but also very efficient: some of the best music schools use EarMaster! "The exercises are so well thought out, and have so much to offer both the complete beginner and the most world class musicians alike. Being an instructor at Nashville Music Academy, I can say this app has developed my ear and my students ear to a level that would have taken many more years to develop, if at all, without it." - User review by Chiddychat AWARDS “Best App of the Month” (App Store, Jan 2020) NAMM TEC AWARDS nominee Music Teacher Awards for Excellence nominee INCLUDED IN FREE VERSION: - Interval Identification (Customized Exercise) - Chord Identification (Customized Exercise) - 'Carmen – Habanera' (based on the iconic opera by Bizet) - 'Call of the Notes' (call-response ear training course) - 'Greensleeves' thematic course - First 20+ lessons of Beginners Course *Highlights* BEGINNER'S COURSE - Acquire all the core music theory skills with hundreds of progressive exercises on rhythm, notation, pitch, chords, scales, and more. COMPLETE EAR TRAINING - Train with intervals, chords, chord inversions, scales, harmonic progressions, melodies, rhythm, and more. LEARN TO SIGHT-SING - Sing on-screen scores into the microphone of your iPad or iPhone and get immediate feedback on your pitch and time accuracy. RHYTHM TRAINING - Tap! tap! tap! Sight-read, dictate and tap back rhythms, and get instant feedback on your performance. VOCAL TRAINER - Become a better singer with progressive vocal exercises on vocalizes, scale singing, rhythmic precision, interval singing, and more. SOLFEGE FUNDAMENTALS - Learn to use movable-do solfege, as easy as Do-Re-Mi! MELODIA - Become a true sight-singing master with EarMaster's take on the classic sight-singing book method AURAL TRAINER FOR UK GRADES - Prepare for ABRSM* Aural Tests 1-5 and similar exams RCM VOICE* - Prepare for your RCM Voice exams from Preparatory level to Level 8. CARMEN – HABANERA (free) - Explore the world of opera with this course based on the iconic opera by Bizet CALL OF THE NOTES (free) - A fun and challenging course in call-response ear training GREENSLEEVES (free) - Learn the English folk ballad Greensleeves with a series of fun exercises CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING - Take control of the app and configure your own exercises: voicing, key, pitch range, cadences, time limits, etc. JAZZ WORKSHOPS - Exercises for advanced users with jazz chords and progressions, swing rhythms, jazz sight-singing and sing-back exercises based on jazz classics such as "After You've Gone", "Ja-Da", "St. Louis Blues", and many more. DETAILED STATS - Follow your progress day by day to spot your strengths and weaknesses. AND MUCH, MUCH MORE – Learn to sing and transcribe music by ear. Learn to use solfege. Plug a microphone or a MIDI controller to answer the exercises. And even more to explore on your own in the app :) WORKS WITH EARMASTER CLOUD - If your school or choir is using EarMaster Cloud, you can connect the app with your account and complete your home assignments with the app. *Not affiliated with ABRSM or RCM LOVE EARMASTER? LET'S STAY CONNECTED Drop us a line on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Mastodon, or X!
Screenshots
Verdict
Ear Trainer Lite and EarMaster both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of Ear Trainer Lite's written reviews are positive against 81% of EarMaster's. Ear Trainer Lite also leads on iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.0). EarMaster's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Ear Trainer Lite sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and EarMaster sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Ear Trainer Lite against 4.6 for EarMaster. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 343 and 429 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Ear Trainer Lite's written reviews are positive against 81% of EarMaster's.
Ear Trainer Lite ships an update every 4 months, EarMaster every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ear Trainer Lite | EarMaster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (343 ratings) — better | 4.6 (429 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 95.0% of reviews — better | 80.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 343 | 429 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 92 MB | 306 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | thoor software AB | EarMaster ApS |
Customer experience
Ear Trainer Lite
EarMaster
User reviews
Ear Trainer Lite
From 343 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Effective ear training
- 💡 Helpful for improving music skills
- 🎉 Fun and engaging exercises
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sound quality issues
- 🔄 Repetitive exercises
- 🤔 Limited features in free version
- 🤷♂️ Difficulty progressing to harder levels
EarMaster
From 429 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent for sight reading and vocal singing
- 👍 Helpful for improving musicianship and sharpening ears
- 💡 Customizable exercises and lessons
- 🚀 Systematic and progressive approach
- 👍 Covers a wide range of topics (intervals, chords, rhythm, etc.)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Pitch recognition issues, especially for lower voices
- 🐛 Rhythm playback issues on some devices
- 💰 Expensive, with in-app purchases required for full access
- 🤔 Forced landscape mode on mobile devices
Bugs and requests
Ear Trainer Lite
Reported bugs
2 issues- Sound not playing
- Compatibility issues with older devices
Requested features
4 requests- More interval training options
- Customizable difficulty levels
- Support for different instrument timbres
- Progress tracking and performance analytics
EarMaster
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes and errors when loading certain exercises
- Inconsistent behavior with metronome and rhythm playback
- Issues with saving progress and restoring purchased content
Requested features
5 requests- Allow users to specify their vocal range
- Add more chord and chord progression options
- Implement a jazz-focused curriculum
- Improve feedback and error analysis for users
- Add support for different tuning systems
In-app purchases
Ear Trainer Lite
- Upgrade to full version$7.99
EarMaster
- General: Interval Singing$1.99
- General: Interval Identification$1.99
- General: Chord Progressions$1.99
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- Jazz: Chord Identification$1.99
- Beginner's Course: Modules 5 to 13$3.99
- Beginner's Course bundle$7.99
- Customized Exercises bundle$14.99
- General Workshops bundle$14.99
- Jazz Workshops bundle$14.99
- Vocal Trainer$14.99
Questions
Is Ear Trainer Lite free?
Is EarMaster free?
Which has better reviews, Ear Trainer Lite or EarMaster?
Do Ear Trainer Lite or EarMaster have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ear Trainer Lite or EarMaster?
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