Zebra vs Qwinotes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Zebra
Learn to read music through engaging games and guided lessons. Progress through note recognition, rhythm training, and ear training with instant feedback. Designed for musicians of all levels, it offers a comprehensive and fun approach to music theory.
- 20 short music theory games
- 41 guided lessons
- Note recognition training
- Rhythm and ear training
- Sight-reading practice
- Offline play
- Free piano and metronome
Read full descriptionHide full description
Learn to read music in five minutes a day, by playing. Zebra turns music theory into 21 little games, a note reading, rhythm and ear trainer in one: you start by naming a white key, and one day you're reading two clefs at once, key signature and all. NEW TO MUSIC? PERFECT 52 short lessons guide you step by step: the piano keyboard, the staff, rhythm, intervals, scales, chords and ear training. Each lesson ends with a game, so you practice what you just learned right away. Kids or adults, total beginners or music students, everyone goes at their own pace. READ NOTES IN TREBLE AND BASS CLEF Learn to read music notes on the staff and find them on the piano keyboard, then the other way around. Treble clef first, bass clef next, then both together, the way pianists read. Further on, sharps, flats and naturals join in, and key signatures sit at the start of the staff, just like on real sheet music. In Sight Reading, the notes scroll toward you and you play them in time, until reading music becomes second nature. RHYTHM, ON CARDS AND BY EAR The Rhythm game uses cards, just like in a piano lesson: read the bar, the metronome counts, and you tap it, with one hand and then both. Whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighths, sixteenths and rests are all in there. In Rhythm Dictation, you hear a rhythm and play it back; in Rhythm Builder, you rebuild it note by note. EAR TRAINING Name a note or a chord just by listening, and learn the color of every interval. Major or minor, third or fifth: your ear learns to put a name on what it hears. MUSIC THEORY WITHOUT THE HEADACHE Intervals, major and minor scales, chords and key signatures: build them on the keyboard and recognize them on the staff, in every key. And for a break, seventeen tunes you know are playable from the first chapters. FIVE MINUTES IS ENOUGH A round takes about a minute, and you know right away if you got it: the note turns green, or red. One round while you wait for the bus is already progress. Win five and you've hit your daily goal. 671 LEVELS TO KEEP YOU GROWING Every game climbs gently, from the white keys all the way to key signatures full of sharps and flats. There's enough here to keep you learning for months. TO KEEP YOU GOING • A daily challenge, the same for everyone • A look back at your week every Monday: what you played and what's improving • Quests, and a streak that rewards showing up • Stars to unlock new games • Stats that show your progress in black and white AND ALSO • Your progress follows you from one device to another, with iCloud • A piano and a metronome, always in your pocket • Everything works offline, on the train or in the practice room • Note names in C D E or solfège Do Re Mi, your choice • In English, French, Spanish, Italian and German FREE, FOR REAL No account, no ads, no subscription. Everything is in the app from day one, and nothing is for sale: you unlock it all by playing. WHO IT'S FOR Music students who want to review their theory between lessons. Anyone learning piano, guitar, violin, brass or voice, with a teacher, an app or on their own, who wants to finally read what they play. Parents looking for an ad-free music game for their kids. And teachers looking for drills to assign. Play one round, and you'll soon see where you stand.
Qwinotes
Read full descriptionHide full description
Reading music shouldn't feel like homework. Qwinotes turns note-reading into a colourful, playful game, so the notes on the staff finally start to make sense. Made by a music teacher, Qwinotes helps children and beginning musicians recognise notes quickly and with confidence. Short, game-like rounds build the one skill every instrument depends on: reading music at a glance. What you can do: - Practise at your level: Beginner, Advanced and Pro - Read both treble and bass clef - Answer with on-screen buttons or the built-in piano keyboard - Play solo or challenge several players - Choose exactly which notes you want to work on - Follow your progress with clear per-note statistics - Available in English, Dutch, French, German and Spanish Free to start, full version to grow: Begin for free with the Beginner level and treble clef. Unlock the full version once to open every level, the bass clef, piano input, multiple players and the free note-range picker. No accounts, no ads, no data collection — everything stays on your device. Just focused, friendly practice.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zebra at none against Qwinotes's 1. Zebra also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 4 weeks). Qwinotes's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads and device support 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. Qwinotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Zebra asks for nothing beyond the download.
Zebra ships an update every 11 days, Qwinotes every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Zebra | Qwinotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | THOMAS RICHARD ARMEL CROZIER | Never Another |
In-app purchases
Zebra
No in-app purchases
Qwinotes
- Full Version$2.99









