# SpectrumView vs Chroma Ear

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chroma Ear at weekly against SpectrumView's every 10 months. SpectrumView's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SpectrumView sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Chroma Ear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

SpectrumView ships an update every 10 months, Chroma Ear weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SpectrumView | Chroma Ear |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.1 (74 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spectrumview/id472662922/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **74** | — |
| Positive reviews | 63.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 17 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Oxford Wave Research Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/472662925) | [Mariusz Nicewicz](https://appshunter.io/developer/6773846369) |

## What reviewers say

### SpectrumView

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spectrumview/id472662922)

This app provides real-time audio analysis with a dynamic spectrogram and spectrum analyzer. Visualize audible and inaudible frequencies, measure tones, get feedback on speech, identify sounds, and calibrate instruments. Access recordings and snapshots easily.

**Highlights:** Real-time spectrogram and spectrum analyzer, Configurable sample rate and frequency resolution, Record, pause, and playback audio files, Generate snapshots of spectrum data, Web file transfer, Tap data cursor for precise frequency and level, Musical notes or frequency display on tap

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

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Enable peak hold | $0.99 | one-time |
| Access iTunes and SoundCould | $0.99 | one-time |
| Generate data snapshot | $0.99 | one-time |
| Enable Log Scale | $1.99 | one-time |
| Disable recording length limit | $1.99 | one-time |
| Enable pinch to zoom | $1.99 | one-time |
| Enable Web File Transfer | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Accurate and reliable spectrogram visualization
- 🎯 Highly configurable FFT and sampling settings
- 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive user interface
- 📊 Excellent for analyzing speech, music, and animal sounds
- ⚙️ Useful for professional audio calibration and research

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Aggressive in-app purchase model for basic features
- 🔐 Unexplained location permission requests
- 📉 Linear frequency scale wastes screen space
- ⏱️ Slow app startup times
- 🎯 Limited frequency range (8kHz cap in recent versions)

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup after updates
- Crashes when attempting to zoom on spectrograms
- Crashes when playing files from iTunes library
- Microphone hijacking error messages
- Pinch-to-zoom and pan features not functioning properly

**Requested features**

- Logarithmic frequency scale for audio analysis
- Adjustable time scale/window for spectrograms
- Ability to analyze audio from music library/iTunes
- Longer-term averaging for spectrum analyzer
- A-weighting frequency selection


### Chroma Ear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chroma-ear/id6773846367)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chroma Ear Premium | $1.99 | per month |
| Chroma Ear Premium Yearly | $9.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SpectrumView free?

SpectrumView is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Chroma Ear free?

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

### Do SpectrumView or Chroma Ear have ads?

Neither SpectrumView nor Chroma Ear shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SpectrumView or Chroma Ear?

SpectrumView ships an update every 10 months, and Chroma Ear weekly. Most recently, SpectrumView was updated on September 21, 2026 and Chroma Ear on September 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.*