Comparison

Notation Pad Pro vs Sibelius

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

Head to head
About

Notation Pad Pro

Compose, edit, and playback musical scores with lyrics. This app allows users to create music compositions using touch gestures and supports a wide range of notation elements. It's suitable for both beginners learning music theory and experienced musicians for songbooks or complex scores.

Highlights
  • Compose and edit sheet music
  • Write and integrate lyrics
  • Playback scores with high-quality sound
  • Export to MusicXML, MIDI, PNG, and PDF
  • Support for up to 8 staves
  • Over 100 musical instruments
  • Multi-voice support
Features
Read full description

A great sheet music notation app on iOS. For any music lover, Notation Pad gives you the ability to read, compose, edit, playback scores and write lyrics. 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. You could use it as your songbook or scoresheet. It is also designed for a beginner who wants to learn music score, music notes and tablature. It can handle ensemble, choir or symphony score, also it supports for a single track piano score. 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/Import 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 over 100 kinds of musical instrument. Piano, organ, guitar, violin, sax, flute, brass, bass, etc. -Support multi-voice. -A great lyric app. ----------------------- Supported notation: *A variety of music note types, from whole note to 128th note and dotted note *Chord, staff, track *Treble, alto and bass clef *Edit lyrics *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 -------------------------- - Terms of use: https://service.notationpad.com/terms_service.html

About

Sibelius

Professional music notation software is now available on mobile devices. Create, edit, and hear your compositions anywhere with a full suite of tools optimized for touch and stylus input. Seamlessly sync across platforms and access different feature tiers to suit your needs.

Highlights
  • Professional music notation
  • Cross-platform synchronization
  • High-quality sample library
  • Apple Pencil and touch optimization
  • Innovative note entry
  • Command Search functionality
  • Scalable subscription tiers
Features
Read full description

Sibelius brings professional music notation to iPad and iPhone, putting the workflows used by countless composers, orchestrators, and arrangers at your fingertips. Seamlessly move between iPad, iPhone and desktop, and from studio to coffeeshop to scoring stage, and write anywhere inspiration strikes. # Work on scores anywhere Sibelius for mobile puts the #1 selling music notation program at your fingertips—literally. Work with the same tools and features used by countless composers and production houses every day on your iPad and iPhone. Whether writing down ideas, creating full-blown compositions, or reviewing scores, you have the freedom to create wherever you’re comfortable. #Take your portfolio to go Forget having to bring and break out your laptop when meeting with clients and collaborators. Instead, you can conveniently take the world’s most powerful notation toolset and your entire music portfolio with you wherever you go—ideal for those unexpected opportunities. And for tandemly working through last-minute revisions. # Hear your music in stunning detail Sibelius includes a high-quality sample library filled with a variety of musical instrumentation, so you can hear what your music will sound like when performed by real musicians. The Espressivo advanced notation interpretation even lets you adjust rhythm and swing to create a more humanistic feel. # Speed your workflow Sibelius for mobile is designed to take full advantage of Apple Pencil and iPad touch capabilities. Its elegant, streamlined interface provides the most intuitive and efficient workflows possible while supporting the same keyboard shortcuts you know and love from working on the desktop version, so you’ll feel right at home. # Get innovative note entry Experience the pen and paper workflow reimagined. Enter notes with the onscreen Keypad or a keyboard, and Sibelius takes care of all note layout. Touch a note and drag up or down to change its value, or drag left or right to add a flat or sharp. With an Apple Pencil, tap a note and tilt up or down to add a flat or sharp, or tilt left or right to choose the note value. # Have everything you need In addition to the Keypad, Sibelius for mobile features a Create menu that’s optimized for iOS, making it easy to add clefs, key signatures, time signatures, barlines, symbols, text styles, and more to your score from searchable galleries. You can also quickly search through all Sibelius commands using the Command Search, putting the entire app at your fingertips. # Move tiers to meet needs Sibelius is designed to grow with you to support your creative aspirations and project needs. From the introductory (and free) Sibelius First to the industry-standard Sibelius Ultimate, you can add more notation capabilities and instrument parts to take on more creative opportunities by simply upgrading your subscription tier. # Have everything on one creative platform Seamlessly move from desktop to tablet and back without ever having to import or export files. That’s because whether on mobile or desktop, you’re always in Sibelius. With files saved to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or other iOS-supported cloud service, you have easy anywhere access to all your ideas and scores. # Enable a hybrid workflow While Sibelius for mobile is fully featured, providing many of the same tools as its desktop counterpart, there are some notation and layout features only available in the desktop version, making it an integral part of a complete workflow (compare versions). Plus, the mobile version comes free with the desktop version, enabling you to work where and how you want.

Screenshots

Notation Pad Pro4 screens
Sibelius4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sibelius at Free against Notation Pad Pro's $149.00. Sibelius also leads on ratings volume (1.8K vs 161). Notation Pad Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (61% vs 36%). On rating, ads 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

Sibelius is free to download; Notation Pad Pro costs $149.00 up front. Sibelius sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Notation Pad Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Notation Pad Pro against 4.2 for Sibelius. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sibelius has 1.8K ratings behind it against 161, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of Notation Pad Pro's written reviews are positive against 36% of Sibelius's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notation Pad Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, Sibelius every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Notation Pad Pro versus Sibelius: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotation Pad ProSibelius
Price$149.00Free — better
Rating4.2 (161 ratings) — better4.2 (1.8K ratings)
Positive reviews61.5% of reviews — better35.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1611.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.4
Further details — not scored
Size165 MB1.4 GB
Age rating4+4+
Developer嵩 张Avid®

Customer experience

Notation Pad Pro

All ratings159 ratings
Positive81.1%
Neutral5.7%
Negative13.2%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral13.3%
Negative25.2%

Sibelius

All ratings1,796 ratings
Positive78.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative16.5%
Written reviews591 reviews
Positive35.7%
Neutral11.3%
Negative53.0%

Bugs and requests

Notation Pad Pro

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Sibelius

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Scores disappearing or not saving properly
  • Subscription issues and inability to log in
  • Crashes when performing basic actions
  • Compatibility problems with newer iPad OS versions

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to enlarge chord symbols
  • More time signature options
  • Support for MIDI input
  • Better Apple Pencil integration
  • Autosave and improved file management
Show 2 more
  • Export options like MusicXML and PDF
  • Customizable shortcuts and toolbars

In-app purchases

None

Notation Pad Pro

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Sibelius

Subscriptions2
  • Sibelius Artist for iOS1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Sibelius Ultimate for iOS1 Month trial$12.991 Month

Questions

Is Notation Pad Pro free?
Notation Pad Pro costs $149.00, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sibelius free?
Sibelius is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notation Pad Pro or Sibelius?
Notation Pad Pro is rated higher. Notation Pad Pro averages 4.2 out of 5 from 161 ratings, while Sibelius averages 4.2 from 1.8K ratings.
Do Notation Pad Pro or Sibelius have ads?
Neither Notation Pad Pro nor Sibelius shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notation Pad Pro or Sibelius?
Notation Pad Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sibelius every 2 months. Most recently, Notation Pad Pro was updated on October 24, 2026 and Sibelius on October 29, 2026.

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