Comparison

Ensemble Friends vs Ensemble Stage

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

Head to head
About

Ensemble Friends

This app offers a highly customizable metronome with advanced features for complex time signatures and tempo changes. It also includes a keyboard with pure temperament tuning and transposition for instrumental practice.

Highlights
  • Customizable metronome with complex time signatures
  • Advanced tempo and rhythm pattern settings
  • Pattern sharing for efficient practice
  • Pure temperament keyboard with four tone colors
  • Transpose function for various instruments
  • Calibration and natural seventh tuning options
Features
Read full description

It has everytihing you need like metronome function providing more detailed setting than analogue ones and keyboards which can be set in pure temperament. ENSEMBLE FRIENDS FEATURES: Metronome [Simple] - Easy to control even you're playing instruments. - You can set tempos from slow to fast. - You can set not only 4/4 or 6/8, but also any complicated times like 19/16. - You can set uneven times for 8 bars or less. - Metronome can play different rhythm at the same time, and you can change the volume of each rhythm. Metronome [Advanced] - High functional metronome which can deal with dizzying tempo changing! - You can set peculiar times and tempos of practicing pieces. - You can share designed patterns with other devices, which can make your sectional practice more efficient. Keyboard - You can check the sound of pure tempered chords!! - Has best tone colors for instrumental practice. - Provides transpose function for transposed instruments. - Can procude pure tempered and natural seventh, which is best to learn chord sound. Specifications: Metronome (General) - Tempo: BPM = 20 – 280 - Time signatures: Numerator - 1〜20, Denominator - 2 / 4 / 8 / 16 - Simultaneous rhythm click: Accent note / Quarter note / Eighth note / Sixteenth note / Triplet note - Triplets: Eighth triplet / Quarter triplet Metronome [Simple] - Number of setting time signatures: 1 – 8 Metronome [Advanced] - Number of setting bars: 1 – 999 - Number of setting time signatures in each bar: 8 - Number of saving patterns: 20 Keyboard - Tone colors: Four (Flute / Clarinet / Trumpet / Violin) - Transposition: -7 – +7 (chromatically) - Rainge of keybord in the app: C1 – C8 - Calibration: A = 427.5 – 452.9 Hz (-50.0 – +50.0 cent) - Temperament: Equal tempered / Pure tempered (major) /Pure tempered (minor) - Natural seventh: on/off (only for pure tempered setting) - Keyboad holding: on/off - MIDI input: on/off

About

Ensemble Stage

Effortlessly create stage layouts for bands and orchestras. Automatically place members, then fine-tune with intuitive touch controls. Export professional-looking charts for rehearsals, concerts, and competitions.

Highlights
  • Automatic member placement
  • Manual touch adjustments
  • Customizable stage types
  • Member data import (CSV)
  • PDF and image export
  • Cross-device sync (iPad/iPhone)
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Do you spend hours every time you make a stage layout? Suisogaku Setting is an iPad and iPhone app for creating stage layouts (seating charts) for school wind bands, orchestras, and community ensembles. Register your members, choose the parts, and let the app place them automatically. Then just drag with your finger to fine-tune. You get a clean layout far faster than with PowerPoint, Excel, or hand drawing. ■ Who it is for ・Student conductors, band officers, section leaders ・Advisors, instructors, stage managers and stage crew ・Anyone who rebuilds a seating chart for every concert and competition ■ A layout in a few minutes 1. Register members (manual entry or CSV import) 2. Choose the stage (music room, gym, small/medium/large hall, competition stage, and more) 3. Select parts and place them automatically 4. Drag with your finger to adjust 5. Export and share as PDF or image ■ Main features ◎ Automatic placement for large groups Place parts or members in a straight row, an arc, or multiple rows at once. Set rows, players, spacing, radius, and conductor direction, and check a preview before confirming. With 60 or 120 players, rearranging takes a moment. ◎ Adjust directly with your finger Move, rotate, align, distribute evenly, group, and lock. Pinch to zoom and pan with two fingers. Every change can be undone. ◎ Designed for real band settings Players appear with an instrument color, abbreviation, and name. Place large instruments such as piano, double bass, timpani, marimba, and drum set, plus chairs, music stands, risers, and the podium. Add guest and extra players not on your member list, and show players who appear in only some pieces with a dotted outline. ◎ Sync between iPad and iPhone Signed in to the same Apple Account, your groups, members, and layouts are available on both devices. Build on iPad, check on iPhone on concert day. ◎ Member list import via CSV Import names, readings, grades, instruments, and more at once. The app suggests standard instrument names for abbreviations and English names such as Cl or Trumpet, and you review everything before importing. Your existing list is never overwritten without confirmation. ◎ PDF and image export for each purpose Create outputs for members, stage crew, or the hall from the same data, with or without names. A4 landscape by default, plus PNG, JPEG, printing, and sharing. ◎ Gentle notices The app points out objects extending beyond the stage and seats with no member assigned. The final decision is yours. ■ Use it with confidence ・All features are free, with no watermark. ・No account registration required. ・Data is stored on your device and in your own iCloud. The developer never sees it. ・Works offline and syncs when you are back online. ■ Where it helps Concerts / competitions / ensemble contests / rehearsals / welcome events / graduation concerts / stage meetings / documents for the hall Spend your limited rehearsal time on music, not on arranging seats. Try it for free. Designed primarily for iPad. On iPhone, you can view and make light edits to your synced layouts.

Screenshots

Ensemble Friends4 screens
Ensemble Stage4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Ensemble Stage at Free against Ensemble Friends's $17.99. Ensemble Stage also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). Ensemble Friends's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17). On ratings volume, 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

Ensemble Stage is free to download; Ensemble Friends costs $17.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ensemble Stage holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ensemble Friends ships an update every 4 months, Ensemble Stage weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Ensemble Friends versus Ensemble Stage: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEnsemble FriendsEnsemble Stage
Price$17.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStone System Corp.Kohei Ishikawa

Customer experience

Ensemble Friends

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Ensemble Stage

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Ensemble Friends

No in-app purchases

None

Ensemble Stage

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ensemble Friends free?
Ensemble Friends costs $17.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ensemble Stage free?
Ensemble Stage is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ensemble Friends or Ensemble Stage?
Ensemble Stage is rated higher. Ensemble Friends averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Ensemble Stage averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Ensemble Friends or Ensemble Stage have ads?
Neither Ensemble Friends nor Ensemble Stage shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ensemble Friends or Ensemble Stage?
Ensemble Friends ships an update every 4 months, and Ensemble Stage weekly. Most recently, Ensemble Friends was updated on October 1, 2026 and Ensemble Stage on October 14, 2026.

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