Sonofield Ear Trainer vs RHYTHM CHALLENGE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sonofield Ear Trainer
This app helps musicians develop their ear by focusing on the feeling of individual notes within a key, rather than traditional interval training. It uses sustained drones and offers various modes like identifying scale degrees, melodies, and singing exercises. The app adapts to your skill level with an intuitive interface and progression path.
- Feeling-based note recognition
- Scale degree identification
- Melody recognition training
- Singing exercises
- Hands-free training mode
- Interactive exploration instrument
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Sonofield Ear Trainer (SET) is a revolutionary ear training app designed to help you intuitively play the melodies you hear and imagine. Instead of relying on traditional old methods like intervals, SET focuses on helping you feel the unique character of each note within a key. By using sustained drones to create a tonal foundation, you’ll learn to recognize scale degrees based on their *feeling*, not just how they sound. The app offers a variety of ways to train: * Degrees Mode - Identify individual notes against the drone by feeling. The heart of SET. * Melody Mode - Identify short melodic phrases, preparing you for real music. * Voice Mode - Sing the requested scale degree into your microphone. * Pocket Mode - Hands-free training for when you're on the go. * Free Play - An interactive instrument for exploration. With its intuitive, color-coded interface, thoughtfully designed progression path, and multiple difficulty levels, SET adapts to your skill level while keeping practice engaging. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced musician, SET is your guide to unlocking true musical fluency through intuitive, feeling-based ear training. No ads or forced payments. The free version contains full foundations for feeling-based ear training. Download the ear training app now!
RHYTHM CHALLENGE
This app acts as a rhythm coach for musicians, listening via your device's microphone to provide real-time feedback on your timing accuracy. It offers various practice modes, detailed results, and tools to help you improve your musical precision.
- Microphone-based rhythm analysis
- Real-time timing feedback
- Customizable metronome settings
- Rhythm Challenge mode
- Detailed performance statistics
- Exportable practice sessions
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RHYTHM CHALLENGE turns your iPhone into a rhythm coach. Play guitar, drums, or any instrument—the app listens through the microphone and shows how accurately you hit the beat. ► METRONOME THAT LISTENS Set BPM (40–140), choose subdivisions (quarter, eighth, triplet, sixteenth), and hit Play, then play along; the app detects your hits and scores your timing. ► NO HEADPHONES NEEDED Train through the microphone even on your phone’s speaker—no headphones required. Prefer headphones for the most precise analysis, but you’re free to just pick up your instrument and play. ► REAL-TIME FEEDBACK See “Perfect”, “Good”, “Inaccurate”, or “Miss” as you play—in tap mode, and in microphone mode with headphones. When the microphone listens through the speaker, your scores appear right after the run. ► RHYTHM CHALLENGE MODE Patterns change every bar—great for building timing under pressure. Turn it on for a tougher workout. ► DETAILED RESULTS After each run you get: success rate, a breakdown into Perfect, Good, Inaccurate and Miss, and average error (ms). In microphone mode through the speaker, the app measures the speaker delay from the count-in clicks and, when that works, shows whether you play early or late. Otherwise—for example on headphones, where that delay can’t be measured—you see how even your playing is instead. Detailed analysis adds missed and extra notes, your waveform and onset timeline, and playback with the click. ► PRACTICE TOOLS • Training history • Statistics across all sessions • Export your take as WAV, with or without the click (in Detailed analysis) • Repeat the same setup with one tap ► FREE TO USE Unlimited training sessions in every mode, no sign-up. Tap and microphone sessions run up to 30 seconds; "Just Metronome" sessions (no scoring) run up to 5 minutes. The basic patterns—quarter notes, eighths, triplets, sixteenths and rests—are free. ► PREMIUM (OPTIONAL) Unlock full 5-minute sessions in tap and microphone modes, unlimited detailed analysis (free includes 3 in-depth breakdowns, then one per short ad), 15 more rhythm patterns (sixteenths and triplets with rests, gallops, off-beat eighths), and no ads. Choose a monthly or yearly subscription—both with a free trial for eligible users—or a one-time Lifetime purchase. Built for musicians who want to improve timing and feel. No wires, no tapping on the screen—just play and get honest feedback. ► SUBSCRIPTIONS AND LIFETIME RHYTHM CHALLENGE Premium is available as an auto-renewable subscription, monthly or yearly, or as a one-time Lifetime purchase. Prices are shown in the app before purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in your Apple Account settings. Lifetime is a one-time purchase that does not renew and has nothing to cancel; on a new device, get it back with Restore purchases. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://rhythmchallenge.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Sonofield Ear Trainer at none against RHYTHM CHALLENGE's shown. Sonofield Ear Trainer also leads on ratings volume (389 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). RHYTHM CHALLENGE's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 89%). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Sonofield Ear Trainer sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and RHYTHM CHALLENGE sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Sonofield Ear Trainer against 5.0 for RHYTHM CHALLENGE. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sonofield Ear Trainer has 389 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Sonofield Ear Trainer's written reviews are positive against 100% of RHYTHM CHALLENGE's.
Sonofield Ear Trainer ships an update every 9 days, RHYTHM CHALLENGE fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sonofield Ear Trainer | RHYTHM CHALLENGE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (389 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 389 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 105 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sonofield Ear Trainer Education Ltd. | Anna Chernogorova |
Customer experience
Sonofield Ear Trainer
RHYTHM CHALLENGE
Bugs and requests
Sonofield Ear Trainer
Reported bugs
1 issue- None reported
Requested features
5 requests- Option to switch between 12TET and just intonation
- Ability to reduce octave range
- Incorporate more timbre options for drone and notes
- Tracking and visualization of progress and learned skills
- Add interactive tutorial for level 1
RHYTHM CHALLENGE
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sonofield Ear Trainer
- Lifetime Pro$14.99
- Lifetime Pro$17.99
- Lifetime Pro2 variants$19.99
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- Lifetime Pro$24.99
RHYTHM CHALLENGE
- Premium3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Premium3 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Premium Forever$64.99
Questions
Is Sonofield Ear Trainer free?
Is RHYTHM CHALLENGE free?
Which has better reviews, Sonofield Ear Trainer or RHYTHM CHALLENGE?
Do Sonofield Ear Trainer or RHYTHM CHALLENGE have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sonofield Ear Trainer or RHYTHM CHALLENGE?
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