SoundGym alternatives
Short answer: the right swap depends on why you’re leaving SoundGym.
- You want it on your phone: MixSense (iPhone, Android and web) or Quiztones (iPhone and Mac).
- You want to train on your own music: TrainYourEars EQ Edition, one payment for Mac or PC.
- You want it free and deep on EQ: EQ Academy, a free download for Mac and Windows.
- You want EQ in real mixes, free in a browser: Mix Chops.
- You just want to guess bands for five minutes: eqtrainer.app, free in a browser.
I make Mix Chops, one of the tools below, so weigh that. Everything here about the other tools was read from their own websites and app store listings on 27 September 2026. Prices change: check the vendor’s page before you buy.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Runs on | Free option | Price | Your own audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SoundGym | The widest range: EQ, compression, panning, space and effects | Web browser | Yes: three games per workout | Pro monthly, yearly or lifetime; prices shown after sign-in | Not stated |
| MixSense | SoundGym-style range on a phone | iPhone, Android, web | Yes: core exercises and daily sessions | App Store: US$9.99 a month or US$49.99 a year | Not stated |
| TrainYourEars | Drilling EQ on your own music | Mac, Windows | No demo at the moment | €49 once (lifetime licence) | Yes |
| Quiztones | Frequency and gain quizzes on iPhone or Mac | iPhone, Mac (bought separately) | Yes, on iPhone | iPhone Pro US$4.99 a month or US$19.99 a year; Mac US$19.99 once | Yes (Pro on iPhone) |
| EQ Academy | Free, deep EQ drills: gain, frequency, Q, mid/side | Mac, Windows | Free | Free | Yes, after 30 levels |
| Mix Chops | EQ in real mixes, from naming bands to fixing the problem instrument | Web browser, computer or phone | Yes: daily session and levels 1 and 2 of every exercise | Pro not on sale yet; every level open during early access | Not yet (planned) |
| Critical Listening Lab | A structured course across EQ, dynamics and space | Web browser | Free EQ demo and free account | Early-bird: US$19.99 a month, US$169 a year, US$399 lifetime | Not stated |
| eqtrainer.app | Quick band guessing | Web browser | Free | Free | Not yet (planned) |
What people want from a SoundGym alternative
Most people looking for one want one of four things: something cheaper or free, something that works on a phone, a way to train on their own music, or more depth on one skill, usually EQ, than a mixed workout gives. SoundGym is a web app with no native iPhone or Android apps, its Pro prices only show once you’re signed in, and its own pages don’t say you can train on your own audio. Those are the gaps the tools below fill.
SoundGym (what you’d be replacing)
SoundGym trains “frequency, compression, panning, and space”, and its games page adds delay, reverb and distortion. Its Pro page lists 21 games. Free members get the same three games in each workout with basic training sounds; Pro opens every game, five per workout, and premium sounds. Pro comes as monthly, yearly and lifetime plans in US dollars, with 30% off for students and teachers. It runs in a web browser, and its help centre says iOS isn’t fully supported.
Official pages: SoundGym Pro, browsers and devices.
MixSense
The closest to SoundGym’s range, on a phone. MixSense trains EQ, compression, balance (gain and panning) and effects (reverb, distortion and delay), and runs on iPhone, Android and the web with one account across them. The free tier covers core exercises, daily sessions and its Ear Score, with no card needed. The App Store lists Premium at US$9.99 a month or US$49.99 a year; Google Play shows a different price range, so check your store. Its App Store listing notes that it contains advertising.
Official pages: mixsense.co, App Store.
TrainYourEars EQ Edition
Desktop software for EQ only, and the pick if you want to train on your own music: you load the tracks you want to work with. It has two methods: guess the EQ that was applied, or correct a sound that needs it. It costs €49 once, a lifetime licence, for macOS 10.15 or later and Windows 10 or later, with a 20% student discount. Its support page says there’s no demo at the moment, and no mobile version.
Official pages: trainyourears.com, support.
Quiztones
Frequency and gain training on iPhone and Mac: a tone quiz, an EQ quiz, EQ practice and a gain quiz, with “450+ quizzes”. The iPhone app is free to start, with Pro at US$4.99 a month or US$19.99 a year; the Mac app is a separate US$19.99 purchase. You can import your own audio (on iPhone it’s part of Pro). It isn’t available for Android or Windows.
EQ Academy
A free download from Mastering The Mix for Mac and Windows, and the most EQ depth you can get for nothing: 100 levels in 10 sections covering frequency, gain, Q and mid/side, where you match your EQ to a target. Song import unlocks after 30 levels. It’s EQ only, and desktop only.
Official page: EQ Academy.
Mix Chops
Mine. EQ ear training in the browser, on a computer or a phone, with nothing to install and no account needed. It’s a path of seven exercises that goes past naming bands: Identify the band, Sweep to find a boost, Hunt a ringing resonance and cut it, Restore an EQ move, fix a sound with cuts only, re-judge a solo move in context, and Fix the Mix: find the one instrument that’s muddy, boxy or harsh in a full mix and cut it there. The daily session and the first two levels of every exercise are free. Pro isn’t on sale yet, and while Mix Chops is in early access every level is open.
Its limits: it trains EQ only, not compression or effects, and you can’t load your own music yet (that’s planned for Pro).
Critical Listening Lab
A newer browser platform, still in active development, that runs as a structured course across EQ, dynamics, spatial hearing (reverb, width, panning), mixing and pitch. There’s a free EQ demo with no sign-up and a free account that saves your results. Its early-bird prices are US$19.99 a month, US$169 a year or US$399 for lifetime access, and its pricing page says they’ll go up.
Official page: pricing.
eqtrainer.app
A free web page for identifying EQ boosts, on pink noise or music, with a daily challenge. It does one thing, quickly. Its developer says the website will stay free; uploading your own tracks is listed as a planned feature.
Official page: eqtrainer.app.
How to choose
- Stay with SoundGym if you want one subscription that covers EQ, compression, panning and space, in a browser.
- Train on a phone: MixSense for the widest range, Quiztones for focused frequency and gain quizzes.
- Train on your own songs: TrainYourEars on a computer, or Quiztones on iPhone and Mac.
- Spend nothing: EQ Academy on a desktop, or Mix Chops and eqtrainer.app in a browser.
- Hear EQ where it matters, in a mix: Mix Chops ends on finding and fixing the problem instrument in a full mix.
Questions
Is SoundGym free?
Partly. SoundGym has a free membership: each workout gives free members the same three games, with basic training sounds. Pro opens every game, five games per workout and premium sounds.
How much does SoundGym cost?
SoundGym sells Pro as monthly, yearly and lifetime plans, charged in US dollars. Its prices appear once you’re signed in, so check them there. Students and teachers can get 30% off.
Does SoundGym have an app?
SoundGym is a web app. Its help centre says there are no native iPhone or Android apps at the moment and that iOS isn’t fully supported.
What’s the best free SoundGym alternative?
For EQ on a desktop, EQ Academy is free with 100 levels. In a browser, Mix Chops’ daily session and the first two levels of every exercise are free, and eqtrainer.app is free for quick band guessing. On a phone, MixSense and Quiztones both have free tiers.
Which one lets me train on my own music?
TrainYourEars EQ Edition (Mac and Windows), Quiztones (included on Mac, part of Pro on iPhone) and EQ Academy (after 30 levels). Mix Chops doesn’t yet.