Comparison

PlayScore 2 vs Music Calculator

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

Head to head
About

PlayScore 2

Scan sheet music from photos or PDFs and have it played back. Adjust instruments, tempo, and transposition. Export your scores as MusicXML and MIDI for further editing.

Highlights
  • Scan music from photos and PDFs
  • Playback with scrolling notation
  • Adjust volume, instrument, and transposition
  • Smart metronome with time signature recognition
  • Export as MusicXML and MIDI
  • Create 'Playable Score' documents
Features
Read full description

Play all kinds of music direct from photos, images and PDF scores. Export as MusicXML and MIDI Snap music with your camera or import images and PDFs. PlayScore will play them right back to you, scrolling through the song following measure by measure • Adjust volume, instrument and transposition for each staff • Accompany yourself while you sing or play your instrument - PlayScore 2 will even count you in! • Playback with smart metronome that understands time signatures • Create Playable Score Documents that anyone can play back by downloading PlayScore 2 • Export Full Notation MusicXML to score editors with text, dynamics, articulation and more PlayScore 2 reads and plays all kinds of music straight off the page† such as: • Songs • Piano, organ, guitar • Hymns • Solos and Sonatas • Chamber, band and orchestral Choirs and ensembles - Learning a new piece? Create a Playable Score, so each member can listen to their part on its own or standing out from the others. • 19 high quality instruments per staff to choose from • Change tempo (even while playing) • Tap anywhere to play, or drag with a finger to create a loop • Mute and adjust volume, and change instrument for each staff individually • Transpose the whole song or by instrument (transposing instruments) * Adjustable multi-measure count-in and metronome * Swing playback • Adjustable dynamic range PlayScore 2 makes it easy to create multi-page Playable Scores: • Rearrange recapture or delete pages • Select a page range in a PDF • Clip and mask • Search and sort by title or composer Subscriptions - Even without a subscription you can • Play and interact with any PlayScore Playable Score • Play pages of music in unlimited staves from a photo • Create and share single page playable documents PlayScore 2 Productivity subscription • Create and play multi-staff, multi-page scores captured with the camera or imported as images • Export your documents for anyone to play • Interact with scores, auto-transpose transposing instruments, export MIDI files PlayScore 2 Professional subscription • Create Playable Score documents from PDF scores that anyone can play • Export any score as MIDI and MusicXML containing full notation and text Productivity and Professional versions are available as 1-month or 12-month auto-renewing subscriptions. • The payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • You may manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings on-line after purchase Important: Capturing copyrighted music without the copyright holder's permission is illegal. PlayScore 2 recognises full music notation – see full spec at playscore.co † please see online help for exclusions Terms of use: https://playscore.co/terms-of-use

About

Music Calculator

This app allows musicians to input musical notation and instantly hear it played back with accurate pitch and timing. It's designed for practicing difficult passages, improving sight-reading, and building musical confidence through features like slowing down playback and looping sections.

Highlights
  • Input and play back musical notation
  • Accurate pitch, timing, and tempo playback
  • Slow down and loop passages for practice
  • Calculator-style interface for intuitive input
  • Supports complex rhythms and tuplets
  • 25 realistic instrument sounds
  • Save and load musical passages
Features
Read full description

A sketchpad for music, for practice and for composing. Notes go in on a keypad as quick as a calculator, and play back exactly as written. FOR PRACTICE Copy out what you're learning: an exercise, a few difficult measures, the piece your teacher assigned. Hear how it should sound, then slow it down, loop it, and raise the tempo as you improve. Pianists can write both hands on a grand staff, and choirs can write out all four parts and hear them together. Check your rhythm counting or your harmony homework by ear. The keypad is simple enough for children to use, and the selected note's name, such as F#, shows on its key as you write. FOR COMPOSING Write down a melody, a chord progression or a four-part harmony before you forget it, and hear every part played back with real instrument sounds. Use one instrument or several, with up to four voices on each staff, and keep every idea in your library. HOW IT WORKS Tap a note value to add a note, drag up or down to set its pitch, and drag sideways for sharps and flats. The keys are large, so there are no toolbars of tiny icons and no stylus. WRITE IT • Notes and rests from double whole notes to 128th notes, with up to three dots • Chords, and up to four voices per staff, each in its own color with stems placed for you • Several parts, each with as many staves as it needs: a piano grand staff, SATB on two staves, a duet, a small group • Treble, bass, alto and tenor clefs, with clef changes anywhere • Every key signature, chosen from an interactive circle of fifths, with key changes anywhere • Simple and compound time signatures, and a pickup measure where a piece starts with one • Ties, accidentals, staccato, accents and tenuto • Triplets, quintuplets and nested tuplets • Automatic beaming HEAR IT • Precise playback in pitch, rhythm and tempo, looping continuously • Long-press play to set the tempo, from 30 to 240 BPM, even while the music plays: slow a passage down as far as you need, then raise the tempo as your playing improves • 25 instrument sounds, from grand piano and harpsichord to strings, brass, woodwinds, harp and guitar • Two metronome channels and a volume for every part • The score glides along as it plays and each note lights up as it sounds KEEP AND SHARE IT Every passage is saved to your library and named for you. Import MusicXML (.musicxml, .xml, .mxl) from other notation apps, with its notes, rhythms, keys and clefs, and export MusicXML to finish a piece in desktop notation software. Built for iPhone, one-handed, and for iPad, with a full-width keypad and a library sidebar. Pinch or double-tap to zoom. There are no ads and no account to create, and your music stays on your device. WHAT IT ISN'T Music Calculator is built for short passages and ideas, not symphonies. It doesn't do dynamics, slurs, lyrics or chord symbols, print or export PDFs, export audio or MIDI, or scan sheet music. If you need those, a desktop engraving program is the right tool. If you want to write a passage down and hear it in seconds, this is. TRY IT FREE To use Music Calculator, choose a monthly or annual subscription, each with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers, or a one-time lifetime purchase. The subscription is called Music Calculator Pro on Apple's purchase sheet and in your Apple Account settings. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, or at the end of the free trial. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in your Apple Account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://music-calculator.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PlayScore 23 screens
Music Calculator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: PlayScore 2 at free with in-app purchases against Music Calculator's subscription. PlayScore 2 also leads on ratings volume (4.8K vs 2) and chart position (#146 vs unranked). Music Calculator's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (67% vs 50%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. PlayScore 2 sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Music Calculator sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PlayScore 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PlayScore 2 has 4.8K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of PlayScore 2's written reviews are positive against 67% of Music Calculator's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PlayScore 2 ships an update every 2 months, Music Calculator every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
PlayScore 2 versus Music Calculator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlayScore 2Music Calculator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (4.8K ratings) — better4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews50.3% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.8K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#146 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size93 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOrganum LimitedJET Powered Apps Ltd.

Customer experience

PlayScore 2

All ratings4,533 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral6.0%
Negative16.2%
Written reviews491 reviews
Positive50.3%
Neutral13.0%
Negative36.7%

Music Calculator

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

PlayScore 2

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes and freezes when scanning/importing
  • Playback issues with timing and note accuracy
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
  • Exporting to MIDI/MusicXML not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to import PDFs and multiple pages
  • Improved support for transposition and clef changes
  • Metronome functionality and count-in feature
  • Annotation and score editing capabilities
  • Organizational tools (folders, playlists)

Music Calculator

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

PlayScore 2

Subscriptions4
  • PlayScore Productivity$5.991 Month
  • PlayScore 2 Professional month$6.991 Month
  • PlayScore Productivity$34.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • PlayScore 2 Professional year$59.991 Year
3 purchases

Music Calculator

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Music Calculator Pro$49.99

Questions

Is PlayScore 2 free?
PlayScore 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Music Calculator free?
Music Calculator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PlayScore 2 or Music Calculator?
PlayScore 2 is rated higher. PlayScore 2 averages 4.2 out of 5 from 4.8K ratings, while Music Calculator averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.
Do PlayScore 2 or Music Calculator have ads?
Neither PlayScore 2 nor Music Calculator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PlayScore 2 or Music Calculator?
PlayScore 2 ships an update every 2 months, and Music Calculator every 10 days. Most recently, PlayScore 2 was updated on October 26, 2026 and Music Calculator on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons