Comparison

Guitar Notation vs Tabinator Pro

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

Tabinator Pro

Create, edit, and play guitar and bass tablature. Import existing Guitar Pro files or compose your own songs with multiple instruments. Practice efficiently with a scrolling landscape mode and export your work as PDFs.

Highlights
  • Import Guitar Pro files (.gp3, .gp4, .gp5)
  • Compose tabs for up to 6 instruments
  • Full note editor with bends, slides, and more
  • Playback with metronome and count-in
  • Landscape practice mode with scrolling tab
  • Export songs to PDF
  • Share songs with other users
Features
Read full description

Tabinator is a guitar and bass tab editor that opens Guitar Pro files. Import .gp3, .gp4 and .gp5 files straight from the Files app or the share sheet, edit them on your phone, play them back with a metronome and practice along in landscape mode. Or write your own tabs from scratch, organize them into songs and share them with your band or export them as PDF. Built for every stage of songwriting, from the first riff to band rehearsal. FEATURES - Import Guitar Pro files (.gp3, .gp4, .gp5) - Write guitar tabs, bass tabs and lyrics sheets, up to 6 instruments per song - Bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, palm mutes and more in the note editor - Playback of all instruments at once, with a metronome and count-in - Landscape practice mode: one continuous tab row that scrolls with the playback - Choose the tuning of each instrument - Share songs with other Tabinator users - Export songs to PDF -------------------------------------------- FREE AND FULL ACCESS Tabinator is free for up to 3 songs. Full access unlocks Guitar Pro import, PDF export, sharing, unlimited songs and up to 6 instruments per song. Full access is available as an annual subscription or as a one-time lifetime purchase. The subscription renews automatically after one year unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your Apple account is charged for the renewal. When a subscription ends, Tabinator falls back to the free plan. -------------------------------------------- Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/tabinator-privacy-policy/home -------------------------------------------- CONTACT Questions, ideas or suggestions? Write to us: support@tabinator.de

Screenshots

Guitar Notation4 screens
Tabinator Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Tabinator Pro at 4.7 against Guitar Notation's 4.0. Tabinator Pro also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 58%) and monetization model (freemium vs subscription). Guitar Notation's advantage is ratings volume (249 vs 3) and iOS requirement (13 vs 15.0). 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 Tabinator Pro sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tabinator Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Guitar Notation has 249 ratings behind it against 3, 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 100% of Tabinator Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Guitar Notation ships an update every 4 months, Tabinator Pro every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Guitar Notation versus Tabinator Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGuitar NotationTabinator Pro
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (249 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings249 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size153 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer嵩 张Fabio Valvano

Customer experience

Guitar Notation

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

Tabinator Pro

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Tabinator Pro

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

Tabinator Pro

Subscriptions1
  • Full Access$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Full Access$9.99

Questions

Is Guitar Notation free?
Guitar Notation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tabinator Pro free?
Tabinator Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Guitar Notation or Tabinator Pro?
Tabinator Pro is rated higher. Guitar Notation averages 4.0 out of 5 from 249 ratings, while Tabinator Pro averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Guitar Notation or Tabinator Pro have ads?
Neither Guitar Notation nor Tabinator Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Guitar Notation or Tabinator Pro?
Guitar Notation ships an update every 4 months, and Tabinator Pro every 2 weeks. Most recently, Guitar Notation was updated on November 6, 2026 and Tabinator Pro on November 8, 2026.

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