Comparison

Guitar Notation vs Guitar Notebook

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

Head to head
About

Guitar Notation

This app allows guitar enthusiasts to read, compose, edit, and play back guitar sheet music. It supports multi-track tabs, chord charts, and various notation elements, enabling users to create music on the go.

Highlights
  • Read, compose, and edit guitar sheet music
  • Playback functionality with high-quality sound
  • Multi-track tab support
  • Chord chart configuration
  • Export in MusicXML, MIDI, PNG, and PDF formats
  • Supports up to 8 staff for editing
Features
Read full description

A great guitar tabs and chords notation app on iOS. For any guitar music lover, Guitar Notation gives you the ability to read, compose, edit, and playback guitar sheet music scores. With it you can be a talented composer and great musician anywhere. As long as you have a little knowledge of sheet music, you can write music composition simply by touch and move. Of course it could help you to learn guitar notations. It can handle multi-track tabs, also it supports for chord chart configuration. With the help of it you could easily record the flashes of inspiration wherever they strike. Are you ready to compose music in a simple way? ----------------------- Features: -Export in the industry-popular MusicXML file format, allowing for exchanging sheet music with other software (Finale, Sibelius, Encore, MuseScore, etc). -Export MIDI file. -Export PNG image and PDF document. -High quality sound for playback. -Support editing up to 8 staff at the same time. -Support many kinds of guitar and bass instrument. ----------------------- Supported notation: *A variety of note types, from whole note to 128th note and dotted note *Chord chart configuration *A variety of time signatures *All standard key signatures *Adjustable tempo *All accidentals (sharps, flats, double sharps, double flats, and naturals) *Tie, slur, and tuplet *Many types of ornament *A wide range of dynamics ----------------------- UNLIMITED ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION - Support up to 8 staff - Config parts(add, delete, reorder) - Config chord freely - Change beat type and tempo - A wide variety of guitar types - Config sound for each part - No watermark image export - No Ads - Support 2nd voice part - Config capo for each line - Import data file - The subscriptions are $9.99 monthly - 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 service, where applicable - Terms of use: https://service.notationpad.com/terms_service.html

About

Guitar Notebook

Organize all your musical creations in one place. Add chords, lyrics, and audio recordings. Import songs from photos using AI. Streamline your songwriting with customizable organization and sharing options.

Highlights
  • Add chords and notes
  • Record audio and lyrics
  • Import songs from photos with AI
  • Organize songs with labels and tags
  • Print and share songs as PDFs
  • Customizable page styles
  • Offline access and cloud sync
Features
Read full description

Keep all your songs and ideas together in one place! Add chords, audio recordings, lyrics, and more. Import songs from photos with SongSight AI! Perfect for songwriters and guitarists of any skill or music theory level. ADD CHORDS AND NOTES Use the Chord Keyboard and Automatic Chord Detector to quickly add chords to your song. With the virtual fretboard, you can also just tap to add notes for custom chords or any pattern. Add a capo, create custom tunings, and choose from beautiful page styles for your song. Show your notation as chord diagrams or expandable fretboard diagrams. Display notes on the fretboard as note letters, frets, chord degrees, or fingering. RECORD AUDIO & LYRICS Record your song to capture rhythm and tempo, and add as many recordings to a page as you like. Use the Text Editor to add notes and lyrics. With audio, text, and notation you have everything you need to save and recreate your idea, whether that’s a new song or part of a multi-track GarageBand / DAW project. IMPORT AND ORGANIZE YOUR SONGS Streamline your songwriting workflow with Folders and Tags. Group songs by Writing Phase, Category, Rating, Album, Style, or Instrument. SongSight imports your handwritten notebooks, photos of printed songs, or PDF chord charts, so you can keep all your songs together in one place. PRINT & SHARE Print songs, or save as PDFs to your Files. Share your songs as PDFs via email, text, AirDrop, and more! YOUR SONGS ARE SAFE Guitar Notebook was created by guitarists at SonaMetro. We understand how important your songs are to you. SongSync ensures your songs are private, secure, and available on all your devices using your personal iCloud account. You can even work offline and SongSync will upload any changes to your account when you come back online. GET MORE WITH PRO Get started songwriting with this limited version Guitar Notebook. Upgrade to Guitar Notebook PRO in-app with a Lifetime Buy or Yearly Subscription (your songs will always be there even if you end your subscription) for unlimited songs, pages, recordings, capo, custom tuning, and more. With Universal Purchase, your upgrade works on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. BEAUTIFUL PAGE STYLES • Paper: Crisp white with maple fretboard • Maple: Neutral off-white with maple fretboard • Rosewood: Dark Mode with rosewood fretboard • Blue Steel: Twilight blue with metal fretboard • Dark Studio: Ultra-dim and easy on the eyes during late night sessions • Sunburst: Classic orange sunburst with hardwood fretboard The FREE version of Guitar Notebook gets you started with: • Up to 5 Songs, 1 Page per Song • 1 Audio Recording per Page (up to 1 hour per recording) • Import songs from photos with SongSight AI • Chord Library and Chord Keyboard to easily add chords • Chord Detector helps you figure out what chord your notes are • All Page Styles with Auto Light/Dark Modes • Professional audio monitoring • Custom labels and tags to organize songs • Tap/strum and zoomable fretboard with sound • SongSync between devices • Work Online or Offline • Print, Save, and Share PDFs • Full portrait and landscape mode support Get Guitar Notebook PRO with a Lifetime Upgrade or Yearly Subscription and get all current and future Pro features! • Unlimited Songs and Pages • Unlimited Audio Recordings per Page (up to 1 hour per recording) • SongSight up to 500 photos • Guitar Capo • Custom Tuning with 128 note range • Remove Guitar Notebook header from PDFs • Universal Purchase - Works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Family Sharing support (everyone has their own private notebook) Questions? Contact us at support@sonametro.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.sonametro.com/privacy

Screenshots

Guitar Notation4 screens
Guitar Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Guitar Notebook at 4.6 against Guitar Notation's 4.0. Guitar Notebook also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). Guitar Notation's advantage is ratings volume (249 vs 30) and iOS requirement (13 vs 16.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Guitar Notation sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and Guitar Notebook sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Guitar Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Guitar Notation has 249 ratings behind it against 30, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Guitar Notation's written reviews are positive against 80% of Guitar Notebook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Guitar Notation ships an update every 4 months, Guitar Notebook every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Guitar Notation versus Guitar Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGuitar NotationGuitar Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (249 ratings)4.6 (30 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.1% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings249 — better30
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size153 MB107 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer嵩 张SonaMetro LLC

Customer experience

Guitar Notation

All ratings246 ratings
Positive75.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative19.9%
Written reviews191 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative35.6%

Guitar Notebook

All ratings30 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral3.3%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative10.0%

Bugs and requests

Guitar Notation

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Audio playback only works through Bluetooth
  • Can't create a D chord, forces barre chord
  • Freezes on login screen
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to change tuning
  • Add palm muting feature
  • Add more examples
  • Add instructions/tutorial
  • Add ability to transpose
Show 1 more
  • Add ability to input chord symbols

Guitar Notebook

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Guitar Notation

Subscriptions3
  • Unlimited Access7 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Unlimited Access Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Unlimited Access Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time3
  • Guitar Instrument Group$0.99
  • Bass Instrument Group$0.99
  • Extras Package$14.99
2 purchases

Guitar Notebook

Subscriptions1
  • Guitar Notebook Pro - 1 Year$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Guitar Notebook Pro$19.99

Questions

Is Guitar Notation free?
Guitar Notation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Guitar Notebook free?
Guitar Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Guitar Notation or Guitar Notebook?
Guitar Notebook is rated higher. Guitar Notation averages 4.0 out of 5 from 249 ratings, while Guitar Notebook averages 4.6 from 30 ratings.
Do Guitar Notation or Guitar Notebook have ads?
Neither Guitar Notation nor Guitar Notebook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Guitar Notation or Guitar Notebook?
Guitar Notation ships an update every 4 months, and Guitar Notebook every 3 weeks. Most recently, Guitar Notation was updated on October 29, 2026 and Guitar Notebook on October 30, 2026.

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