Comparison

Absolute Ear vs AuralWise

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

Head to head
About

Absolute Ear

Master note recognition, melodic dictation, and interval training with a structured course. Progress at your own pace through over 60 units, with intelligent practice focusing on your weakest areas. Supports multiple instrument timbres and detailed statistics.

Highlights
  • Note recognition
  • Melodic dictation
  • Interval training
  • Intelligent practice
  • Multiple instrument timbres
  • Detailed statistics
  • Session history and streak tracking
Features
Read full description

ABSOLUTE EAR - EAR TRAINING Want to hear a melody and know exactly what notes it is? That's what Absolute Ear teaches. This is a structured ear training course that takes you from recognizing your first three notes all the way to mastering all 12 chromatic pitches, melodic sequences up to 5 notes long, all 13 musical intervals, chord recognition by function, and real chord progressions - at whatever pace works for you. WHAT YOU TRAIN NOTE RECOGNITION Hear a piano note. Name it. That's the foundation of playing by ear. Start with just C, E, and G. Unlock new notes as you demonstrate mastery. By the end, you'll identify all 12 chromatic notes across three octaves - including sharps - without needing a reference pitch. MELODIC DICTATION Identify sequences of 2, 3, 4, and 5 notes in a row. This is where note recognition becomes real musical memory. Each unit introduces new notes progressively, so you're never thrown in the deep end. INTERVAL TRAINING Master all 13 intervals: unison, minor 2nd, major 2nd, minor 3rd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, tritone, perfect 5th, minor 6th, major 6th, minor 7th, major 7th, and octave. Three tiers of difficulty: • Tier 1: Fixed C as your tonic - build the foundation • Tier 2: Random root per session - start to generalize • Tier 3: Root changes every question - true interval hearing CHORD RECOGNITION Hear a chord and identify it by its function in C major - not just its name. Every question starts with the I chord to anchor your ear, then you identify the target chord by scale degree. Five modules take you from the Big Three (I, IV, V) through all seven diatonic chords. You'll learn to hear the difference between the lift of IV, the tension of V, and the darkness of vi. CHORD PROGRESSIONS Once you know the chords, learn to hear how their order changes everything. A four-chord loop plays and you tap the degrees in sequence. Five modules cover the most common progressions in popular music - from the classic I-IV-V-I to the pop loop I-V-vi-IV - training you to recognize the patterns behind the songs you hear every day. HOW IT WORKS 60+ structured units span five exercise types across six chapters: single notes, note sequences, interval training, chord recognition, and chord progressions. Units unlock as you hit 80% accuracy - you move forward when you're actually ready. Each session is 30 focused questions. Listen. Answer. Get immediate haptic feedback. The app tracks exactly where you struggle and weights practice toward your weakest notes, intervals, and chords - so every session is time well spent. If you're flying through a session, an early-completion prompt lets you move on early. FEATURES • 60+ course units across five exercise types • Chord recognition by function - hear harmony, not just names • Chord progression training - recognize the loops behind real music • Intelligent practice: weak spots appear more often • Multi-octave training - notes across three octaves • 60+ badges to earn - including some hidden surprises • Detailed stats: per-note accuracy, confusion matrix, accuracy trends, daily practice time • Session history and streak tracking • Apple Sign In - progress saved to your account • Haptic feedback on every answer • No subscription required to get started WHO IT'S FOR • Musicians who want to play by ear without sheet music • Piano and guitar players who want to transcribe what they hear • Music students building aural skills for exams • Anyone who hears a melody and wants to know its notes • Songwriters who want to hear chord progressions by ear • Experienced players sharpening pitch, interval, and harmony awareness Start with three notes. Build from there. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.absoluteear.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.absoluteear.com/privacy

About

AuralWise

Features
Read full description

AuralWise is ear training that actually remembers what you miss. Hear an interval, a chord, or a note inside a key, and name what you heard. A real spaced-repetition engine, the method behind flashcard apps like Anki, resurfaces your weak spots until they stick. Pay once, no subscription. Fully offline, no account, no tracking, no ads. THREE SKILLS, ONE APP - Interval identification: ascending, descending, and harmonic, from minor 2nds to the octave - Chord quality: major, minor, augmented, diminished, dominant 7th, major 7th, and minor 7th - Functional, in-key training: hear a note over a cadence and name its scale degree - Note reading on the staff, treble through tenor clef Instead of hopping between three apps, train all of it in one. IT DRILLS WHAT YOU KEEP MISSING - Every interval and chord is its own flashcard with its own forgetting curve - The ones you get wrong come back sooner; the ones you have mastered come back less often - A progress dashboard shows exactly where you are strong and weak - A daily streak keeps the habit going SOUNDS LIKE MUSIC, NOT A BEEP - Warm, sampled-quality tones, well above the tinny MIDI sine other apps use - Equal temperament, concert pitch A 440, every pitch exactly right FREE FOREVER - Interval drills with the full spaced-repetition engine - Treble and bass note reading - Your streak, your progress, and customizable practice scope - No ads, no account, fully offline AURALWISE PRO, ONE PURCHASE - Chord quality and chord progression drills - Functional, in-key training - Alto and tenor clef, for cello, viola, bassoon, and trombone players - Deep analytics on exactly what you keep missing - The full instrument sound set and the streak widget WHY MUSICIANS CHOOSE AURALWISE - Pay once. The free core is genuinely useful and yours forever, and Pro is a single unlock, never a subscription. - No account, no sign-up, no tracking. Everything stays on your iPhone. - A real method. Spaced repetition plus functional, in-key listening is how ears actually improve. AuralWise is an educational music-practice app. Headphones recommended.

Screenshots

Absolute Ear4 screens
AuralWise4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Absolute Ear at every 3 days against AuralWise's monthly. Absolute Ear also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Absolute Ear sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and AuralWise sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Absolute Ear ships an update every 3 days, AuralWise monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Absolute Ear versus AuralWise: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAbsolute EarAuralWise
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size117 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid AshworthVikram Joshi

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Absolute Ear

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$49.99
1 purchases

AuralWise

One-time1
  • AuralWise Pro$7.99

Questions

Is Absolute Ear free?
Absolute Ear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AuralWise free?
AuralWise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Absolute Ear or AuralWise have ads?
Neither Absolute Ear nor AuralWise shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Absolute Ear or AuralWise?
Absolute Ear ships an update every 3 days, and AuralWise monthly. Most recently, Absolute Ear was updated on October 2, 2026 and AuralWise on October 3, 2026.

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