Comparison

Drum Notation by Beat Note vs Subdivide

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

Head to head
About

Drum Notation by Beat Note

Create, practice, and share drum music notation with ease. This app transforms sequenced beats into professional sheet music, offering tools for composition, transcription, and interactive teaching. Enhance your drumming journey with customizable practice sessions and high-quality export options.

Highlights
  • Sequencer to notation conversion
  • Compose and transcribe drum beats
  • Customizable practice sessions
  • Interactive teaching tools
  • High-quality PDF and image export
  • Multiple notation voicing options
Features
Read full description

Beat Note — Drum Notation for Drummers, Teachers, and Content Creators The fastest way to write, hear, practice, and share drum notation. Built by a drummer, for drummers. FOR DRUMMERS — FROM YOUR HEAD TO THE PAGE IN SECONDS You have a groove idea. Beat Note gets it down before you lose it. Tap the sequencer grid to build beats. Watch them turn into clean, professional drum notation in real time. Hit play and hear exactly what you wrote — at any tempo, with a click track, on loop. - Transcribe songs to check your ear and lock in what you hear - Compose your own grooves, fills, and exercises from scratch - Count in with a visual on-screen "1, 2, 3, 4" so your eyes and ears are ready together - Use Beat Note as your in-ear metronome during rehearsals — your beats, not just clicks "Been waiting a long time for an app like this. Clearly built by a drummer." — App Store review FOR TEACHERS — WRITE IT, PLAY IT, SEND IT What used to take 30 minutes in a desktop notation program now takes 2 minutes on your phone or iPad. Write exercises on the fly — during the lesson, not after it. Play back the notation so students hear exactly how it should sound. Share a link so they can listen at home. Export a PDF they can print and bring to the kit. - Use the sequencer as a live music whiteboard, in person or online - Build a library of exercises organized by tag, ready for any student - Send a shareable link or export a high-quality PDF in one tap "What would normally take 30 minutes on a computer has become 2 minutes from my mobile device. My students love it." — App Store review FOR CONTENT CREATORS — PROFESSIONAL NOTATION VIDEOS, IN MINUTES Export your beat as an animated MP4 — portrait for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, or landscape for YouTube and Vimeo. Choose 720p, 1080p, or 4K. Pick a color theme. Preview before you export. PDF, PNG, WAV or AAC audio, shareable link, and animated MP4 — all from one app. NOTATION THAT LOOKS RIGHT Professional drum notation, consistent across every format you export. What you see on screen is what your students get in the PDF, what your followers see in the video, and what you hear in playback. - All standard drums, cymbals, and articulations - Subdivisions from 8th notes to 32nd notes, plus triplets, quintuplets (5s), and septuplets (7s) - Common and compound time signatures, including 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 - Linear, split hands/feet, or split drums/cymbals voicing - Sticking annotations (R, L) - Single-measure repeat symbol (%) — renders automatically when measures repeat ORGANIZE AND DISCOVER - Tags, search, and sort to manage your beat library - Discover tab: curated educational beats for all skill levels - Beat templates to get started fast - Customize tempo, click track, count-in, and timer MADE BY A DRUMMER, SHAPED BY THE COMMUNITY Beat Note was built by me — an independent developer with 35+ years behind the kit. But the direction comes from the community. Every major feature on the roadmap has been voted on, requested, and refined by drummers, teachers, and creators just like you. Join the conversation at roadmap.beat-note.app — vote on upcoming features, share ideas, and see what's coming next. I'm here to make sure it all comes together into something that actually works. Premium subscription required for full access. Educator and Creator tiers available. Free trial included. Payment is charged through your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period via iTunes Account Settings. Terms and Privacy Policy: https://www.beat-note.app/privacy-and-terms

About

Subdivide

This app is a rehearsal engine for musicians, offering precise control over tempo, timing, and transitions. It includes a metronome, chromatic tuner, and the ability to import and practice with audio files, making it ideal for daily practice and ensemble rehearsals.

Highlights
  • Custom click track builder
  • Chromatic instrument tuner
  • Practice with imported audio files
  • Tempo change transitions
  • Looping and count-off features
  • Track sharing and export
  • Customizable metronome settings
Read full description

Subdivide is the rehearsal engine for musicians: a precision metronome, programmable click tracks, audio cue practice, and a chromatic tuner in one app. Built for soloists, educators, drumlines, and marching ensembles — practice with the exact clicks your music needs, then share them with everyone on the field. PRECISION METRONOME • Subdivisions from quarters to septuplets, with per-beat accents • Mute individual subdivision notes to test your internal clock • Tap tempo, presets, and a hold-to-cut long tone for ensemble cutoffs • Live Activity on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island CLICK TRACKS FOR ENTIRE PIECES • Build multi-section tracks: tempo, time signature, and subdivision changes • Smooth accelerando and ritardando transitions between sections • Import MusicXML and generate the whole track from your score • Count-offs, looping, and custom start/stop bounds for woodshedding • Speed up or slow down the whole track without changing pitch MADE FOR THE MARCHING ARTS • Drill Mode organizes your track by drill page and counts • Share tracks to your whole ensemble with a QR code — they don't need an account • Export any track as audio to rehearse on any device AUDIO CUES • Import any recording and drop cue points on the waveform • Count in right on the beat, loop tough sections, adjust speed • Share cues — audio included — with your section CHROMATIC TUNER • Fast pitch detection with cents display • Reference tones for tuning by ear WORKS THE WAY YOU PRACTICE • Bluetooth foot pedal and page-turner support • Siri Shortcuts and Action Button control • Practice stats and iCloud sync across devices Subdivide Pro unlocks the tuner, track creation, audio cues, sound sets, and subdivision muting — try it free. Read more about our terms and conditions here: Terms of use: https://www.subdivide.app/terms Privacy policy: https://www.subdivide.app/privacy

Screenshots

Drum Notation by Beat Note4 screens
Subdivide4 screens

Verdict

The call

Drum Notation by Beat Note and Subdivide both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Subdivide's written reviews are positive against 83% of Drum Notation by Beat Note's. Drum Notation by Beat Note's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Drum Notation by Beat Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.69 per month and Subdivide sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 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 Drum Notation by Beat Note against 4.7 for Subdivide. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 191 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Drum Notation by Beat Note's written reviews are positive against 100% of Subdivide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drum Notation by Beat Note ships an update every 9 days, Subdivide every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Drum Notation by Beat Note versus Subdivide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrum Notation by Beat NoteSubdivide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (87 ratings)4.7 (191 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings87191 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKick Snare Hat Apps, LLCTap Five

Customer experience

Drum Notation by Beat Note

All ratings87 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral4.6%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive82.8%
Neutral7.4%
Negative9.8%

Subdivide

All ratings189 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Drum Notation by Beat Note

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Preview rarely matches notes on staff
  • Sometimes doesn't play any notes
  • Sounds not always appropriate for instrument voicing
  • Editing measures is inconvenient
  • Free trial charged immediately
Show 3 more
  • iCloud data sync issues for subscription confirmation
  • Not stable in loopings, slow delay on first note
  • Measure lines on PDFs too thick and close

Requested features

27 requests
  • 7/8 time signature support
  • Syncing between devices
  • Web version
  • Native Mac/Windows apps
  • Add text or notes to notations
Show 22 more
  • Cowbell instrument
  • More drum samples and pitch control
  • Ability to work on spaces longer than a measure
  • Add 32nd notes
  • Duplicate multiple bars at once
  • Copy/paste large sections
  • Option to drag duplicated bars to the end
  • Add melody track
  • More instrument options
  • Ability to manage volumes of different instruments
  • Add quintuplets and sextuplets to a bar
  • Add repetition options for measures
  • Add text to music sheets
  • Improve loop stability and reduce delay
  • Allow monthly subscription option
  • More free beats/unlimited free version
  • Add sticking for grace notes
  • More advanced editing options for multiple bars
  • Improve PDF export readability
  • Add virtual drum kit for accessibility
  • AI-powered automatic notation
  • Auto-sync to track

Subdivide

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Drum Notation by Beat Note

Subscriptions5
  • Educator Tier Monthly (No Trial)$6.691 Month
  • Creator Tier Monthly (No Trial)$13.491 Month
  • Educator Tier Annual (No Trial)$59.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Educator Tier Annual + Free Trial7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Creator Tier Annual + Free Trial7 Days trial$119.991 Year
3 purchases

Subdivide

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$44.99

Questions

Is Drum Notation by Beat Note free?
Drum Notation by Beat Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Subdivide free?
Subdivide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drum Notation by Beat Note or Subdivide?
Subdivide is rated higher. Drum Notation by Beat Note averages 4.6 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while Subdivide averages 4.7 from 191 ratings.
Do Drum Notation by Beat Note or Subdivide have ads?
Neither Drum Notation by Beat Note nor Subdivide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drum Notation by Beat Note or Subdivide?
Drum Notation by Beat Note ships an update every 9 days, and Subdivide every 10 days. Most recently, Drum Notation by Beat Note was updated on October 25, 2026 and Subdivide on October 24, 2026.

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