Comparison

Ear Training Mandala vs Orbeat

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

Head to head
About

Ear Training Mandala

This app offers drone-based interval ear training with real human voices. It features multiple key and mode combinations, two unique visual layouts, and customizable solfege or note name displays. Choose between training and testing modes to master musical intervals.

Highlights
  • Drone-based interval ear training
  • Real human voices (male/female)
  • Customizable keys and modes
  • Two visual perspectives (Fan/Curtain)
  • Solfege or note name display
  • Training and testing modes
Features
Read full description

Have you ever heard a song you really liked, wished you could play it, but got frustrated trying to figure it out? Have you ever been on the outskirts of a jam session wishing you had the know-how and so the confidence to join in? Have you ever had a melody in mind, and wished your fingers could spontaneously conjure it from your instrument? Have you ever wondered what secret formula, what arcane wizardry, what sparkly abracadabra could make the impossible possible? Listen...it's called ear training! Download the app to begin exploring! Ear Training in The Mandala includes: Level 1 (complete)- The Fan & The Curtain (simple intervals) Level 2 (lite) - The Tower (intervals, chords, and connections) Level 3 (lite) - The Moons (chords and chord progressions)

About

Orbeat

This music app offers a unique circular sequencer for beat creation, featuring four distinct drum kits and generative tools. It allows for advanced rhythmic manipulation and can be used as a standalone instrument or an AUv3 plugin. Unlock full features with a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Circular sequencer interface
  • Four unique drum kits
  • Generative rhythm patterns
  • Swing and velocity controls
  • Probability and polymeter
  • AUv3 plugin support
  • WAV export
Features
Read full description

Orbeat is a drum machine in the round. Instead of a grid, your rhythm lives on a glowing mandala — concentric lanes of light that orbit a single play button. Tap the rings, watch the playhead sweep, and feel the groove move. Built to be played, not programmed. Open it and you're already making beats. A CIRCULAR SEQUENCER — UP TO TWELVE LANES Six lanes wrap the screen as rings, and the circle can grow to twelve: the mandala opens a second page of rings in its own electric color set, so every lane keeps its full size. Tap to place hits, lock a lane you love, mute and solo as you build the groove layer by layer. The whole pattern turns as it plays. FOUR DRUM KITS Classic, Acoustic, Glitch, and 8-bit — one tap reskins every voice while your pattern stays put. From clean and punchy to broken and chiptune. BRING YOUR OWN SOUNDS Build a custom kit and drop your own audio into any lane — WAV, AIFF or mp3, up to ten seconds, played at its original pitch and in stereo. Imported samples run clean to the output, while the lanes you leave alone keep their synth voice, so a hi-hat you recorded yourself sits right next to Orbeat's own drums. Your first custom kit is free. GENERATORS THAT SURPRISE YOU Roll the dice for an instant pattern, or use Euclidean rhythms to spread hits evenly around a ring. Like what you hear? Tap the ring to write it in and edit by hand. MAKE IT BREATHE, MAKE IT DRIFT Add swing to push the feel off the grid, draw velocity per step for accents that live, and pan each lane across the stereo field. With Probability, hits fire by chance; with polymeter, each lane gets its own length so the phases drift in and out of sync. TAKE IT ANYWHERE Bounce any loop to a stereo WAV — named with the beat, its length and its tempo, so it still makes sense in your DAW next month — or run Orbeat as an AUv3 instrument with MIDI in & out — sequence other instruments, or play Orbeat's lanes from your host's piano roll inside GarageBand, AUM, Logic, and other AUv3 hosts. Standalone, play the pads live from any MIDI controller and sync the whole groove to external MIDI clock. PLAY IN SYNC WITH THE ROOM Ableton Link keeps Orbeat in time with every Link-enabled app and device on your network — Ableton Live, AUM, Loopy, a friend's iPad across the table. Tempo follows the session, start and stop are shared, and everyone stays in phase. No cables, no setup. PLAY FREE. UNLOCK ONCE. The full instrument is free forever — every kit, the six-lane circle, Euclidean generators, swing, velocity, pan, your first custom kit with your own samples, MIDI in & out, and Ableton Link. Orbeat Pro is a single one-time purchase (no subscription, ever) that unlocks room to grow the circle to twelve lanes, plus Probability, polymeter, WAV export, unlimited saved beats, and extra custom kits. Made for iPhone and iPad. No account, no ads, no tracking — your beats never leave your device unless you share them. Tap the rings. Make it move.

Screenshots

Ear Training Mandala4 screens
Orbeat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ear Training Mandala at none against Orbeat's 1. 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. Orbeat sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ear Training Mandala asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Ear Training Mandala against 5.0 for Orbeat. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ear Training Mandala ships an update every 4 days, Orbeat every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Ear Training Mandala versus Orbeat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEar Training MandalaOrbeat
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (9 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings9 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPaul RussellChih Han Lin

Customer experience

Ear Training Mandala

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Orbeat

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Ear Training Mandala

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Orbeat

One-time1
  • Orbeat Pro$5.99

Questions

Is Ear Training Mandala free?
Ear Training Mandala is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Orbeat free?
Orbeat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ear Training Mandala or Orbeat?
Ear Training Mandala and Orbeat are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 9 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do Ear Training Mandala or Orbeat have ads?
Neither Ear Training Mandala nor Orbeat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ear Training Mandala or Orbeat?
Ear Training Mandala ships an update every 4 days, and Orbeat every 6 days. Most recently, Ear Training Mandala was updated on October 18, 2026 and Orbeat on October 20, 2026.

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