Henle Library vs IMSLP
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Henle Library
Access high-quality digital Urtext editions of classical music scores on your tablet. Practice, rehearse, and perform with a range of interactive features designed for musicians of all levels. Enjoy annotations, metronome, playback, and more.
- Digital Urtext editions
- Customizable score purchases
- Print and export PDFs
- Score modification and annotations
- Metronome and recording
- Part and score switching
- Explanatory notes access
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“With the Henle Library app a new era begins for classical musicians.” Daniel Hope An indispensable app for professional musicians, amateurs, students and teachers. The Henle Library app delivers G. Henle Publishers’ reliable Urtext editions straight to your tablet. You can practise, rehearse and make music – whenever and wherever you like. And you can enjoy the many unique features of Henle’s digital scores. Features: - Filter Henle Urtext according to your individual needs and purchase as required (individual part, single movement, bundles etc.) - Free version available for music students (licences for music colleges) - Print, export PDFs, share - Modify the score to suit your needs - Superimpose alternative professional fingerings (or choose “No fingerings”) - Unlimited possibilities for your own annotations - Easily switch between the part and the score at exactly the same measure - Open explanatory notes (footnotes, Critical Report etc.) at the appropriate place in the score - Record and play back your own recordings - Use the integrated metronome - Navigate extremely rapidly - Create and use playlists Do you like our app? Please consider writing a review. Thank you!
IMSLP
Access a vast digital library of classical music scores on your iOS device. Enjoy full access to commercial recordings, instant downloads, and new uploads with a membership subscription. Support the music community while exploring a comprehensive collection.
- Browse IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
- View musical scores
- Access commercial recordings
- Instant downloads
- Access new uploads instantly
- Membership subscription benefits
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Browse IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library and view scores from the comfort of your iOS device. IMSLP Membership Subscription Length of subscription: 1 month. Benefits include: • Full access to commercial recordings • Access all features in this app • No waiting for downloads • Access new uploads instantly • Knowing that you helped keep IMSLP running and serving the music community Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms of Service and Privacy policy - https://imslp.org/wiki/IMSLP:Terms_of_Service_and_Privacy_policy_(app)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: IMSLP at 4.6 against Henle Library's 2.9. IMSLP also leads on review sentiment (70% vs 34%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Henle Library sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and IMSLP sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
IMSLP holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IMSLP has 507 ratings behind it against 91, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Henle Library's written reviews are positive against 70% of IMSLP's.
Henle Library ships an update every 2 months, IMSLP every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Henle Library | IMSLP |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (91 ratings) | 4.6 (507 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.2% of reviews | 70.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 91 | 507 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 232 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Guenter Henle Verlag | Project Petrucci LLC |
Customer experience
Henle Library
IMSLP
User reviews
Henle Library
From 91 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 High-quality Henle urtext editions
- ✏️ Annotation and marking capabilities
- 🎵 Beautiful score formatting and rendering
- 🎚️ Customizable spacing and sizing options
- 🎹 Multiple fingering/bowing variants available
Room to improve
- 🐛 Annotations frequently disappear or get lost
- ✏️ Eraser function unreliable and non-intuitive
- 🖊️ Apple Pencil annotation tools difficult to use
- 📖 Multi-movement scores split into individual pieces
- 🖨️ Poor print quality with severe aliasing
IMSLP
From 507 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Integrated IMSLP library
- 👍 Well-made app
- 👍 Game changer for musicians
- 👍 Indispensable for professionals and amateurs
- 👍 Fantastic offering
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes when zooming in and annotating
- 💰 Money grabbing with constant subscription prompts
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Annotation issues and lost data
- 🐛 Battery drain on iPad
Bugs and requests
Henle Library
Reported bugs
20 issues- Annotations deleted after app updates or restarts
- Eraser function fails to remove marks consistently
- Marks don't record when crossing between staff lines
- App crashes when opening purchased scores
- Purchased scores disappear from library
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- Blank pages appear when turning pages
- App freezes during export to PDF
- Infinite loading screen in online store
- Confirmation emails for credit purchases don't arrive
- App takes 40+ seconds to start
- Scores don't load immediately after purchase
- Annotation dots appear randomly when lifting pen
- Fingering annotations shrink in upper ledger lines
- Score skips to random pages during performance
- Export PDF quality is low resolution and fuzzy
- Annotation layer prevents writing in certain areas
- Zoom function jumps back to start of page
- Eraser requires tapping far from annotation to delete
- Palm rejection fails with Apple Pencil
- Print layout produces single-line pages for multi-movement pieces
Requested features
20 requests- Undo/redo functionality for annotations
- Ability to print entire multi-movement pieces together
- Half-page turning option for performers
- Playlist or collection grouping system
- Individual score parts (not just full scores)
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- Better annotation layer management
- Improved Apple Pencil support and sensitivity
- Customizable eraser behavior
- Page turn animation or visual cues
- Ability to hide specific staves or parts
- Microphone-activated page turning commands
- Difficulty ratings visible before purchase
- Digital-physical score bundling/discounts
- Better search and filtering in store
- Support for foot pedal page turners
- Ability to import scores from other sources
- Multiple annotation layers with visibility toggle
- Customizable metronome settings
- Landscape orientation improvements
- Persistent user settings and preferences
IMSLP
Reported bugs
6 issues- Crashes when opening scores
- Scores disappearing from library
- Login issues and lost data
- Incompatibility with older devices after updates
- Annotation issues causing loss of data
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- Inability to edit file information after import
Requested features
11 requests- Predictive text for score annotations
- Ability to restore original zoom settings
- Metric to indicate device performance during page turns
- Folder-like organization system
- Color wheel and custom pen/highlighter options
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- Ability to rename music files
- Different color folder options
- Split view support
- Easier way to import scores from other sources
- Instrumentation information for scores
- Sorting by instrumentation
In-app purchases
Henle Library
- 10 Credits$0.99
- 22 Credits$1.99
- 55 Credits2 variants$5.99
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- 100 Credits2 variants$9.99
- 200 Credits2 variants$19.99
- 300 Credits$29.99
- 500 Credits$49.99
- 1000 Credits$79.99
IMSLP
- Membership Subscription$3.991 Month
