Comparison

Dorico vs Piano2Notes

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

Head to head
About

Dorico

Create professional music notation and compositions with this powerful app. Easily input notes, edit performances, and share your work in various formats. It's suitable for beginners and professionals alike.

Highlights
  • Compose music notation
  • On-screen keyboard, drum pads, fretboard
  • MIDI editing tools
  • PDF, audio, MusicXML export
  • Print to AirPrint
  • Read mode with annotation
  • Automatic engraving
Features
Read full description

Compose your own music for free with Dorico. Create beautiful music notation for up to eight instruments quickly and easily with the on-screen keyboard, drum pads and fretboard. Play back instantly with the included sounds and shape the performance with powerful MIDI editing tools. When your piece is finished, share it as PDF, audio or MusicXML, or print directly to your AirPrint-enabled printer. Perform using the built-in read mode, and annotate with your Apple Pencil. Dorico is the award-winning music notation and composition software from Steinberg for macOS, Windows, and iPadOS. It’s easy enough to learn and use that it is used by students in schools, and deep enough that it satisfies the needs of the most demanding professionals in the worlds of concert music, music for film and TV, and music publishing. Dorico for iPad is fully compatible with Dorico for macOS and Windows, so you can work on your projects on the move on your iPad and in your studio on your desktop or laptop computer, or share projects with musicians using Dorico on any platform. Dorico’s interface is split into four modes. In Setup mode, you can add and change instruments, create and reorder sections of music (called “flows”), and choose how your music will be formatted for your musicians into layouts. In Write mode, you can input and edit music and other notations using simple, well-organized toolboxes and panels. In Engrave mode (included if you buy a paid subscription to Dorico’s advanced features), you can make graphical tweaks to every item in your project. Finally, in Play mode, you have access to powerful sequencer-style MIDI editing tools, including piano roll and velocity editors. Dorico includes built-in virtual instruments and effects to allow you to play back your compositions, and you can also easily use any compatible Audio Unit plug-in or external MIDI device (with optional subscription or Lifetime Unlock in-app purchase), and tweak playback using the on-screen Mixer. Input music using an on-screen piano keyboard, or by connecting a MIDI keyboard to your iPad directly via USB or using a compatible USB-to-Lightning adaptor. If you have a Magic Keyboard or other external keyboard, you can make use of extensive keyboard shortcuts to work quickly and efficiently. Dorico is free to use, allowing you to write for ensembles of up to four players. Register with your free Steinberg ID to increase the player limit to eight, allowing you to write for ensembles like string or wind quartet, or SATB choir. If you want to take your composition and arranging to the next level, you can buy an optional subscription or Lifetime Unlock in-app purchase to access more features and power: write for ensembles of any number of players, and gain access to Engrave mode, allowing you to make graphical tweaks to individual items anywhere in your project. HIGHLIGHTS • Best automatic engraving of any software • Easy note input using on-screen keyboard, MIDI keyboard, or external keyboard • Intelligently adjusts notation as you write • Any number of movements or pieces in a single project • Automatic layout of instrumental parts • Expressive playback using included sounds and effects • Supports Audio Unit virtual instruments and effects processors • Sequencer-style piano roll MIDI editor • Sophisticated chord symbols, unpitched percussion and drum set notation • Unbarred music, tuplets across barlines, etc. all handled correctly — no workarounds • Transfer to and from other apps via MusicXML, MIDI, PDF, etc. For support, please visit www.dorico.com/forum If you like Dorico, please support us by rating this app in the App Store. Thank you!

About

Piano2Notes

This app uses AI to convert piano recordings into sheet music. It provides playback of the transcribed score and allows export in various formats like PDF, MIDI, and MusicXML. Share your musical creations easily with others.

Highlights
  • Transcribe piano recordings to sheet music
  • View transcribed music as classical score
  • Playback sheet music
  • Download sheet as PDF, MIDI, or MusicXML
  • Share compositions
Read full description

» Transcribe piano recordings to sheet music » Transcribe piano MP3 files to sheet music » View the transcribed music as classical score » Playback the sheet music and listen to the result » Download sheet as PDF, MIDI, or MusicXML » Share your compositions with your friends HOW DOES IT FUNCTION? Once your music piece is uploaded, our artificial intelligence powered transcriber processes it to generate a sheet music based on what it hears. When the processing is finished, you get three outputs - a Midi file, a PDF engraved sheet, and a MusicXML digital note sheet. It has never been easier to convert piano pieces to sheet music! WHAT THIS APP DOESN'T OFFER » Separation of multiple instruments: The note recognition can't separate multiple instruments. If you record multiple instruments playing simultaneously you will get bad transcription results! As the name says, Piano2Notes will work only with piano recordings. » Live note recognition: This app is not able to show you live note recognition results. Instead, it will take some time to perform the frequency analysis and shows you the final sheet music. » 100% match percentage: This app won't detect 100% of the played notes and there will also be wrong detections. But depending on the quality of the input signal, it will give you more than useful sheet! REQUIREMENTS » Internet: active internet connection for server connectivity » Microphone SUMMARY Transcribe music recordings from your microphone to sheet music. With Piano2Notes you can create on-the-go recordings of your instrument. Those are uploaded to your personal songbook and transcribed to score. Musical note recognition for piano has never been so easy! CONTACT US We're always happy to hear from you. No matter what comes to your mind, we want to hear it. Would you like another feature? Does something not work as expected? Send us an e-mail at: support@piano2notes.com This app is actively developed and there are updates on a regular base The Apple Terms of Use apply: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Piano2Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dorico at 4.6 against Piano2Notes's 4.3. Dorico also leads on review sentiment (55% vs 37%) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 294). Piano2Notes's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17). On price, update cadence, 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. Dorico sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Piano2Notes sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dorico holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dorico has 2.2K ratings behind it against 294, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Dorico's written reviews are positive against 37% of Piano2Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dorico ships an update every 3 weeks, Piano2Notes every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Dorico versus Piano2Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDoricoPiano2Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.2K ratings) — better4.3 (294 ratings)
Positive reviews55.4% of reviews — better36.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2.2K — better294
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS1715.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size975 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteinberg Media Technologies GmbHKlangio GmbH

Customer experience

Dorico

All ratings1,908 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews294 reviews
Positive55.4%
Neutral12.9%
Negative31.6%

Piano2Notes

All ratings294 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews71 reviews
Positive36.6%
Neutral9.9%
Negative53.5%

User reviews

Dorico

From 2.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful and full-featured notation app on iPad
  • 👍 Seamless integration with desktop version
  • 🚀 Efficient workflow with keyboard shortcuts
  • 👍 Impressive engraving and layout capabilities
  • 🚀 Comprehensive feature set for composing and arranging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔒 Subscription-only model, no option to purchase outright
  • 🐛 Glitchy touch/scroll functionality
  • 🐛 Inability to delete clefs or access certain settings
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance on older iPad models

Piano2Notes

From 294 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Dream come true app
  • 🎶 Accurate music transcription
  • 🎹 Converts music to piano sheet
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Great for composing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • ❌ PDF export issues
  • 📉 Inaccurate transcriptions
  • 💸 Subscription costs are high
  • 🚫 Cannot download anything

Bugs and requests

Dorico

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when opening or editing projects
  • Corrupted/lost files after app crashes
  • Unresponsive keyboard and note input issues
  • Scrolling and UI glitches, especially in Engrave mode
  • Incompatibility with certain iPad models and iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Support for Apple Pencil and handwriting input
  • Improved file management and organization
  • Expanded audio unit/plugin integration
  • More customization options for layout and engraving
  • Ability to export/import flows and projects between iPad and desktop

Piano2Notes

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • App stops working
  • Desktop website doesn't work
  • App crashes when creating PDF
  • Subscription not recognized
  • App crashes when tapping download button
Show 12 more
  • Key not changing
  • Cannot download anything
  • PDF export issues
  • Subscription restore function doesn't work
  • Customer service not responding
  • App logs out and loses info
  • YouTube links not working
  • App crashes on PDF creation
  • Cannot fast forward
  • App doesn't open
  • Transcription speed mismatch
  • PDF export changes notes

Requested features

9 requests
  • Ability to edit notes
  • Improve general accuracy
  • Add enharmonic transposition option
  • Allow editing of transcribed music
  • Fix PDF export issues
Show 4 more
  • Add ability to use alternative sources (file, YouTube url)
  • Improve speed of transcription
  • Add dark mode
  • More flexible ticket system

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Dorico

Subscriptions2
  • Dorico Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Dorico Annual Subscription14 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Dorico Lifetime Unlock$119.99
8 purchases

Piano2Notes

Subscriptions4
  • Piano2Notes Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Klangio Universe Monthly$24.991 Month
  • Piano2Notes Pro Yearly$99.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Klangio Universe Subscription$149.991 Year
One-time4
  • Single Token$2.99
  • 3 token package$5.99
  • 10 tokens package$9.99
Show 1 more
  • 50 Tokens Package$24.99

Questions

Is Dorico free?
Dorico is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Piano2Notes free?
Piano2Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dorico or Piano2Notes?
Dorico is rated higher. Dorico averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.2K ratings, while Piano2Notes averages 4.3 from 294 ratings.
Do Dorico or Piano2Notes have ads?
Neither Dorico nor Piano2Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dorico or Piano2Notes?
Dorico ships an update every 3 weeks, and Piano2Notes every 6 weeks. Most recently, Dorico was updated on October 27, 2026 and Piano2Notes on October 27, 2026.

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