Comparison

Flat vs IMSLP

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

Head to head
About

Flat

Create, edit, and play sheet music and guitar tabs with this intuitive composer app. It offers a wide range of instruments, notation tools, and collaboration features. Import and export in various formats, and share your creations with a large community.

Highlights
  • Compose and edit sheet music
  • Create guitar tabs
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Import MusicXML, MIDI, PDF
  • Export to PDF, MIDI, MP3, WAV
  • Large community library
  • 90+ instruments
Features
Read full description

Write, play and share music, anywhere! Flat is the sheet music app trusted by 5M+ musicians worldwide. Compose, notate, and collaborate on scores for any instrument, from guitar tabs to full orchestras, across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and your web browser. Free features include: → Quick notation input via touch piano, guitar fretboard, or drum pads → 90+ instruments including piano, guitar, violin, saxophone, drums, voice, and more → 100K+ original scores in the community → Edit music scores on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and in your web browser → Hundreds of notation symbols: articulations, dynamics, measures, text, and more → Autocompletion when adding chords → Transposition by key, interval, or tone → Import MusicXML and MIDI files → Import PDF sheet music and convert it into fully editable scores → Keyboard shortcuts for iPad keyboard and fretboard → Share scores publicly or privately Collaborate in real-time: → Real-time collaboration for a dynamic experience → Inline comments for live feedback → Find collaborators in the Flat community Share your music: → Join the monthly Flat community challenge and win prizes → Explore hundreds of thousands of original scores from composers worldwide → Get featured and connect with fellow musicians Subscribe to Flat Power to unlock the full experience across all your devices. Flat Power, premium features: → Unlimited cloud storage → Automatic sync so your full library stays connected on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and web browser → 180+ instruments including high-quality audio → Advanced export: individual parts, multi-rest print, remove Flat branding → Layout and styles: page dimensions, spacing, chord style, Jazz and Handwritten fonts → Custom note heads: Boomwhackers colors, Note Names, Shape-Note (Aiken) → Version history: view and revert to any past version of your scores → Advanced audio: per-part volume and reverb controls → Input notes with MIDI devices (USB and Bluetooth) → Autosave with full version history → Customizable keyboard shortcuts → Priority support → PDF and photo import pages included with every plan: - Monthly plan: 10 PDF import pages/month + full premium features - Yearly plan: 20 PDF import pages/month + full premium features (best value) - Lifetime plan: full premium features + 20 PDF import pages (one-time purchase, no renewal) Terms for in-app payments: Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage and cancel subscriptions in your App Store account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial, if offered, will be forfeited when a subscription is purchased. Our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy: https://flat.io/help/en/policies Questions or feedback: ios@flat.io

About

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.

Highlights
  • Browse IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library
  • View musical scores
  • Access commercial recordings
  • Instant downloads
  • Access new uploads instantly
  • Membership subscription benefits
Features
Read full description

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

Flat4 screens
IMSLP4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Flat at 7K against IMSLP's 515. Flat also leads on chart position (#156 vs unranked). IMSLP's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Flat sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Flat against 4.6 for IMSLP. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Flat has 7K ratings behind it against 515, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Flat's written reviews are positive against 70% of IMSLP's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flat ships an update fortnightly, IMSLP every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Flat versus IMSLP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlatIMSLP
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (7K ratings) — better4.6 (515 ratings)
Positive reviews67.8% of reviews70.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7K — better515
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#156 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size219 MB232 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperTutteo LimitedProject Petrucci LLC

Customer experience

Flat

All ratings6,980 ratings
Positive90.8%
Neutral3.7%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews946 reviews
Positive67.8%
Neutral13.4%
Negative18.8%

IMSLP

All ratings507 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral3.7%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews298 reviews
Positive70.1%
Neutral11.4%
Negative18.5%

User reviews

Flat

From 7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great for beginners
  • 🎨 Lots of customization options
  • 🎶 Extensive instrument selection
  • 💡 Collaborative features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
  • 🔒 Limited free features
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔊 Poor audio quality
  • 📏 Rigid layout and formatting

IMSLP

From 515 App Store ratings

What 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

Flat

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Notes and rests disappear
  • Playback issues and audio glitches
  • Difficulty selecting and editing notes
  • Syncing and saving problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more percussion instruments
  • Improve note entry and editing
  • Allow custom soundfonts
  • Implement measure repeat signs
  • Add more advanced notation options

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
Show 1 more
  • 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
Show 6 more
  • 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

10 purchases

Flat

Subscriptions4
  • Flat Power (Monthly)$9.991 Month
  • Flat Power (Yearly)$29.991 Year
  • Flat Power (Yearly)$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Flat Power (Yearly)$49.991 Year
One-time6
  • PDF import 30 credits$9.99
  • PDF import 70 credits$17.99
  • Flat Power (Lifetime)$119.00
Show 3 more
  • Flat Power (Lifetime)$179.99
  • Flat Power (Lifetime)$199.00
  • Flat Power (Lifetime)$299.99
1 purchases

IMSLP

Subscriptions1
  • Membership Subscription$3.991 Month

Questions

Is Flat free?
Flat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is IMSLP free?
IMSLP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Flat or IMSLP?
Flat is rated higher. Flat averages 4.6 out of 5 from 7K ratings, while IMSLP averages 4.6 from 515 ratings.
Do Flat or IMSLP have ads?
Neither Flat nor IMSLP shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flat or IMSLP?
Flat ships an update fortnightly, and IMSLP every 10 days. Most recently, Flat was updated on November 5, 2026 and IMSLP on November 2, 2026.

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