Comparison

GoodEar Pro vs RealPlay

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

GoodEar Pro

Enhance your musical ear with this comprehensive ear training app. It offers four distinct modes—intervals, chords, scales, and melodies—with extensive customization options for all skill levels. Track your progress and challenge yourself with personalized exercises.

Highlights
  • Interval training
  • Chord recognition
  • Scale identification
  • Melody dictation
  • Customizable exercises
  • Progress tracking
  • High score challenges
Features
Read full description

Most ear-training apps are multiple-choice quizzes. You hear something, you tap a label. You get good at recognising labels. Good Ear is built for the other half of the skill. You hear an interval, a chord or a melody in real harmonic context, with the home chord ringing under it, and you play it back on a real piano keyboard. The same skill you use when you transcribe a solo, sing a part you've never seen, or hear a chord change for the first time. WHO ACTUALLY USES GOOD EAR • Self-taught musicians who've hit the plateau where their ears can't keep up with their playing • College and conservatory students preparing for aural-skills, theory or entrance exams • Jazz players, producers and session musicians who transcribe by ear • Vocalists and instrumentalists learning to sing and play what they hear • Teachers and educators looking for a structured aural-skills tool THREE THINGS GOOD EAR DOES THAT MOST EAR TRAINERS DON'T 1. PLAY IT BACK ON A REAL KEYBOARD A scrollable 88-key piano with an overview bar, touch highlighting and multi-touch: the same input method a musician would use at an instrument. Multiple-choice mode is there too if you want fast recognition drills, and you can switch between them at any time. But Melodies mode is keyboard-input only, exactly like dictation in an aural-skills class. 2. HEAR IT IN REAL HARMONIC CONTEXT Add a backing chord to interval and melody exercises. The three chord tones light up on the keyboard so you can see the tonal centre you are hearing, and you can tap them to explore the harmony without affecting your answer. Functional hearing, not abstract pitch detection. 3. DEPTH YOU WILL NOT OUTGROW No "complete level 1 to unlock level 2." You pick exactly what you train, and the material goes deeper than most ear trainers ever bother: • 24 intervals, from unison to compound 14ths • 39 chord types (triads, seventh chords, extended chords, altered dominants) across root position, first through third inversions, open voicing and Drop 2, for 200+ unique variations • 32 scales across six families: diatonic modes, harmonic minor modes, melodic minor modes, plus pentatonic, hexatonic and octatonic (whole tone, diminished, bebop included) • Melodic dictation on melodies of 3 to 11 notes, diatonic or chromatic, three difficulty levels, optional chord backing From your first major scale to your last bebop mode, in one app. CONFIGURE EVERY DETAIL Adjust tempo, playback direction, voicing, inversion, play style, difficulty, melody length, octave range and harmonic backing. Pick exactly which intervals, chords or scales each session contains. The app adapts to your level, so you don't have to grind through someone else's curriculum. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR PROGRESS Per-element accuracy bars sorted weakest-first show you at a glance which intervals, chords or scales need attention. A 52-week heatmap tracks your practice days, and session records keep your best streak, lifetime accuracy and total exercises. Honest progress data: no badges, no fake levels. A DARK, PROFESSIONAL INTERFACE No ads. No distractions. No sign-in. The keyboard is fast, the typography is clean, and nothing gets between you and the next exercise. GET STARTED Free to download, with a free practice tier and a three-day trial of everything that starts whenever you choose. Unlock the entire library forever with a one-time Lifetime purchase. Open-source acknowledgements: good-ear.app/acknowledgements Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://good-ear.app/privacy/

About

RealPlay

Practice music with authentic backing tracks performed by professional musicians. Customize tempo, key, and mix for focused learning. Features over 100 standard chord progressions with an expanding library.

Highlights
  • Authentic backing tracks
  • 100+ standard chord progressions
  • Real-time tempo adjustment
  • Instrument isolation and mixing
  • Instant transposition to all keys
Features
Read full description

RealPlay lets you practice with real music—not midi tracks, AI, or loops. Play along with authentic backing tracks performed by world-class rhythm sections, featuring an expanding library of over 100 essential standard chord progressions. Easily customize your practice with real-time controls for tempo, key, and mix—so you can focus on exactly what you need. Features: • World-class rhythm sections • 100+ essential jazz standards and chord progressions (expanding library) • Real-time tempo adjustment • Instrument isolation and mixing (ideal for rhythm section players) • Instant transposition to all 12 keys Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

GoodEar Pro4 screens
RealPlay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: RealPlay at every 5 days against GoodEar Pro's every 4 weeks. RealPlay also leads on monetization model (freemium vs paid). GoodEar Pro's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. GoodEar Pro sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and RealPlay sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.29 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for GoodEar Pro against 4.8 for RealPlay. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 165 and 161 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of GoodEar Pro's written reviews are positive against 73% of RealPlay's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GoodEar Pro ships an update every 4 weeks, RealPlay every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
GoodEar Pro versus RealPlay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoodEar ProRealPlay
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (165 ratings)4.8 (161 ratings)
Positive reviews77.1% of reviews — better72.5% of reviews
Number of ratings165 — better161
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPascal WeissRealPlay LLC

Customer experience

GoodEar Pro

All ratings165 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews83 reviews
Positive77.1%
Neutral9.6%
Negative13.3%

RealPlay

All ratings161 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative15.0%

Bugs and requests

GoodEar Pro

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Settings not opening/app crashes (iOS 26)
  • App crashes when changing scales or chords
  • App crashes after clicking option/customization button
  • Settings no longer work after iOS 17 update
  • Inconsistent performance with headphones on iPad Pro (notes bouncing)
Show 7 more
  • Selection at top dropped behind other buttons
  • Check all on chords not always working
  • App closes when trying to select scales
  • Misnames major fourteenth as major thirteenth
  • Cannot change tempo on iPhone
  • Cannot identify chords, only distinguish major/minor
  • Doesn't train hearing specific notes, only intervals

Requested features

54 requests
  • Add more complex chords (Maj13, Major 6/9#11, etc.)
  • Add 7ths or other elements to increase difficulty
  • Add more elaborate statistical breakdowns (scores over time)
  • Add a guitar fretboard for note input
  • Add compound intervals (larger than an octave)
Show 49 more
  • Add modes from the melodic minor scale
  • Add fully customizable scales by specifying interval sequences
  • Improve statistics to show percentages for specific chords/intervals
  • Add a progressive difficulty option that tracks struggles
  • Add an option to play the chord after playing the arpeggio
  • Add chord progressions
  • Add backing tracks
  • Add Harmonic Major Scale
  • Add option to hear the chord underneath a melody separately
  • Ability to stay on a melody beyond completion
  • Add 13b9, 13#9, 7#11#9 chords
  • Add 13#11, 13#11#9, 13#11b9 chords
  • Add susb9 chords and dominant chords with 9th and 13th
  • Fix range of upper extensions
  • Add chord progressions in all keys
  • Add longer melodic examples
  • Add option to remove the 5th of the chord when playing chords with 11th/13th extensions
  • Add different timbres for intervals/scales/melodies (e.g., trumpet)
  • Show tempo slider value
  • Shorten time between questions
  • Identification of tone against a chord
  • Add chord progressions
  • Add ability to hear chord underneath melody separately
  • Add ability to stay on a melody beyond completion
  • Add 13b9, 13#9, 7#11#9 chords
  • Add 13#11, 13#11#9, 13#11b9 chords
  • Add susb9 chords and dominant chords with 9th and 13th
  • Fix range of upper extensions
  • Add chord progressions in all keys
  • Add longer melodic examples
  • Add option to remove the 5th of the chord when playing chords with 11th/13th extensions
  • Add different timbres for intervals/scales/melodies (e.g., trumpet)
  • Show tempo slider value
  • Shorten time between questions
  • Identification of tone against a chord
  • Add chord progressions
  • Add ability to hear chord underneath melody separately
  • Add ability to stay on a melody beyond completion
  • Add 13b9, 13#9, 7#11#9 chords
  • Add 13#11, 13#11#9, 13#11b9 chords
  • Add susb9 chords and dominant chords with 9th and 13th
  • Fix range of upper extensions
  • Add chord progressions in all keys
  • Add longer melodic examples
  • Add option to remove the 5th of the chord when playing chords with 11th/13th extensions
  • Add different timbres for intervals/scales/melodies (e.g., trumpet)
  • Show tempo slider value
  • Shorten time between questions
  • Identification of tone against a chord

RealPlay

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

GoodEar Pro

Subscriptions2
  • goodEar Premium Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • goodEar Premium Yearly1 Year trial$17.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium Access (Special Offer)$1.99
  • Premium Access$4.99
2 purchases

RealPlay

Subscriptions2
  • RealPlay Pro Monthly$3.291 Month
  • RealPlay Pro Yearly$21.991 Year

Questions

Is GoodEar Pro free?
GoodEar Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RealPlay free?
RealPlay is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GoodEar Pro or RealPlay?
GoodEar Pro and RealPlay are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 165 and 161 ratings respectively.
Do GoodEar Pro or RealPlay have ads?
Neither GoodEar Pro nor RealPlay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GoodEar Pro or RealPlay?
GoodEar Pro ships an update every 4 weeks, and RealPlay every 5 days. Most recently, GoodEar Pro was updated on October 11, 2026 and RealPlay on October 15, 2026.

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