Comparison

StringMaster Lite vs ChordProg Ear Trainer

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

Head to head
About

StringMaster Lite

Learn guitar fretboards quickly with this educational tool. It offers sophisticated chord tools and can be upgraded to support more instruments and advanced features like MIDI playback and songwriting.

Highlights
  • Guitar fretboard learning
  • Chord tools
  • Supports multiple instruments (via IAP)
  • MIDI playback (via IAP)
  • Songwriting capability (via IAP)
Features
Read full description

StringMaster Lite is the free version of the popular StringMaster Pro application for iPad and Mac, dedicated to learning the fretboard. Now Includes StringMaster's sophisticated Chord tools. StringMaster Lite supports Guitar fretboard only, with in App purchase options to support the full range of StringMaster Pro instruments, Merton & Tuner, Fretlight Guitars, or be fully upgraded to StringMaster Pro to include MIDI playback with chord & scale display, Scales, Songwriting capability, note finding & more.

About

ChordProg Ear Trainer

This app offers a realistic music training experience by using real audio clips to teach chord progressions, intervals, chords, and scales. It provides over 500 audio clips for practice and is designed to help prepare users for ear training tests.

Highlights
  • Chord progression recognition
  • Interval recognition exercises
  • Chord recognition exercises
  • Scale recognition exercises
  • 500+ real audio clips
  • Music theory exploration
  • Regular updates with new features
Features
Read full description

Learn to recognize chord progressions by ear with real recorded music. ChordProg Ear Trainer has exercises for chord, interval and scale practice, from identifying individual sounds to following a whole progression. Listen to a clip and name the chords in order. Replay a passage when you need another listen, and switch between chord names and Roman numerals to practice recognizing each chord's role in the key. More than 500 recorded clips give you practice across different keys and voicings. Focus on the sounds you want to recognize. Practice telling chord types apart, hearing the distance between two notes or identifying a scale as it plays. Work through short levels and return to the ones you find difficult. Your results and daily streak help you keep track of your practice. When you want to understand what you heard, look it up in the chord, interval and scale dictionaries. You can also tap notes on the piano to find matching chords and scales. Try introductory levels without a subscription. Premium gives you full access to the chord, interval, scale and chord progression exercises through an auto-renewing monthly or yearly subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ChordProg Ear Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: StringMaster Lite at 4.9 against ChordProg Ear Trainer's 4.4. ChordProg Ear Trainer's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 months). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. StringMaster Lite sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and ChordProg Ear Trainer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StringMaster Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of StringMaster Lite's written reviews are positive against 75% of ChordProg Ear Trainer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StringMaster Lite ships an update every 6 months, ChordProg Ear Trainer every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
StringMaster Lite versus ChordProg Ear Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStringMaster LiteChordProg Ear Trainer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (24 ratings) — better4.4 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews78.6% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings24 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size165 MB116 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGreat Apptitude Pty LtdDevDa AS

Customer experience

StringMaster Lite

All ratings24 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral4.2%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral7.1%
Negative14.3%

ChordProg Ear Trainer

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

StringMaster Lite

One-time4
  • Metronome and Tuner$3.99
  • Fretlight Guitar Support$3.99
  • Enable All Instruments$3.99
Show 1 more
  • StringMaster Pro Upgrade$14.99
3 purchases

ChordProg Ear Trainer

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly premium subscription!$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium Subscription!3 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Access$9.99

Questions

Is StringMaster Lite free?
StringMaster Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChordProg Ear Trainer free?
ChordProg Ear Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, StringMaster Lite or ChordProg Ear Trainer?
StringMaster Lite is rated higher. StringMaster Lite averages 4.9 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while ChordProg Ear Trainer averages 4.4 from 16 ratings.
Do StringMaster Lite or ChordProg Ear Trainer have ads?
Neither StringMaster Lite nor ChordProg Ear Trainer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StringMaster Lite or ChordProg Ear Trainer?
StringMaster Lite ships an update every 6 months, and ChordProg Ear Trainer every 5 days. Most recently, StringMaster Lite was updated on September 23, 2026 and ChordProg Ear Trainer on October 7, 2026.

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