# By Ear PRO vs PlayStems

The clearest difference is review sentiment: By Ear PRO at 100% against PlayStems's 0%. By Ear PRO also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). PlayStems's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. PlayStems sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. By Ear PRO asks for nothing beyond the download.

By Ear PRO ships an update every 3 months, PlayStems fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | By Ear PRO | PlayStems |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[1.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/playstems/id6773736611/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **1** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 44 MB | 47 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.4** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Kenichi Ando](https://appshunter.io/developer/1764800769) | [Matthias Santer](https://appshunter.io/developer/1538440760) |

## What reviewers say

### By Ear PRO

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/by-ear-pro-slow-down-notate/id6760327561)

This app helps musicians transcribe songs by automatically analyzing chords from audio. It allows for slow playback of difficult phrases and visualizes chords on a piano roll for accurate copying. Users can also create their own transcriptions from scratch.

**Highlights:** AI chord analysis from audio, Pitch-preserving slow playback, Piano roll visualization of chords, Freehand transcription with chord insertion, Project saving and loading, MIDI export

**In-app purchases:** none


### PlayStems

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/playstems/id6773736611)

This app allows musicians to play and manipulate individual audio tracks (stems) from songs. It offers features like volume control, pitch shifting, and looping for practice and performance, with on-device stem splitting capabilities.

**Highlights:** Multi-track playback in sync, On-device stem splitting, Per-stem volume, mute, solo, balance, Adjust speed and pitch while playing, Loop marker ranges, Song library with title and artist

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full version | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is By Ear PRO free?

By Ear PRO is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is PlayStems free?

PlayStems is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do By Ear PRO or PlayStems have ads?

By Ear PRO shows ads; PlayStems does not.

### Which is updated more often, By Ear PRO or PlayStems?

By Ear PRO ships an update every 3 months, and PlayStems fortnightly. Most recently, By Ear PRO was updated on October 24, 2026 and PlayStems on October 20, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*