Comparison

Lick Transposer vs Beat Scribe

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

Head to head
About

Lick Transposer

Easily create musical phrases using a piano or microphone and instantly transpose them to all 12 keys. Save your transpositions as formatted images for practice. Customize interval and direction preferences in the settings.

Highlights
  • Create musical phrases via piano or microphone
  • Transpose to all 12 keys
  • Switch between Bass and Treble Clef
  • Save transpositions as formatted images
  • Customize interval and direction preferences
Features
Read full description

Create a lick(musical phrase) using the on screen piano or audio from microphone and immediately transpose it to all 12 keys. Switch between Bass and Treble Clef by tapping the Clef in the Lick creator. Save the transpositions easily to a formatted image for practice. Select the interval and direction preferences from the Settings. This app is intended to be simple and intuitive, but more features will be added later. Send feedback for what features you would like to see!

About

Beat Scribe

Easily tap out rhythms and hear them play back instantly on a musical staff. Build complex grooves by layering tracks, adjusting timing, and adding swing. Ideal for musicians, students, and teachers looking to sketch out ideas quickly.

Highlights
  • Tap notes and rests onto a musical staff
  • Layer grooves across multiple tracks
  • Instant playback and looping of patterns
  • Adjust rhythm feel with swing and nudging
  • Support for various time signatures
  • Built-in metronome
Features
Read full description

A metronome you can compose. A metronome gives you a click. Beat Scribe gives you the whole rhythm — written on a staff, looping back, in real note values you can actually read. Hear a rhythm in your head? Tap it in and hear it back in seconds — quarters, eighths, sixteenths, triplets, dotted notes and rests, not abstract grid squares. That link between the symbol and the sound is the point: practise reading what you play, or sketch a groove without picking up the instrument. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Tap a rhythm live on the pads, or place notes on the staff for exact notation • Drop in beamed rhythm cells — two eighths, four sixteenths, dotted figures and more • Hit play and loop it back instantly • Layer parts across tracks — ride, snare, hi-hat, bass drum, toms and cymbals • Shape the feel of each track — swing or shuffle (8th- or 16th-note), or nudge a part ahead of or behind the beat for a human push and pull • Work in any meter — 4/4, 3/4, 5/4 and beyond • Keep time with the built-in metronome • Share any groove as a playable link — free, and it plays in any browser • New here? A short guided tour walks you through it, replayable any time • Made for iPhone and iPad MADE FOR Drummers, musicians, students and teachers — reading practice, building a groove, or catching an idea before it disappears. FREE & PRO The free version gives you snare and hi-hat across two tracks, plus sharing — enough to build and play a real rhythm. Beat Scribe Pro (one-time purchase) unlocks the full kit, more tracks, save / load, and importing your own sounds.

Screenshots

Lick Transposer4 screens
Beat Scribe3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Beat Scribe at Free against Lick Transposer's $1.99. Lick Transposer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On rating, review sentiment, 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

Beat Scribe is free to download; Lick Transposer costs $1.99 up front. Beat Scribe sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Lick Transposer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Lick Transposer against 5.0 for Beat Scribe. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 5 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lick Transposer ships an update every 10 days, Beat Scribe every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Lick Transposer versus Beat Scribe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLick TransposerBeat Scribe
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings35 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 11 days
Ads—No
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeff TaboloffVegan World

Customer experience

Lick Transposer

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Beat Scribe

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Lick Transposer

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Beat Scribe

One-time1
  • Beat Scribe Pro$8.99

Questions

Is Lick Transposer free?
Lick Transposer costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beat Scribe free?
Beat Scribe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lick Transposer or Beat Scribe?
Lick Transposer and Beat Scribe are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 5 ratings respectively.
Which is updated more often, Lick Transposer or Beat Scribe?
Lick Transposer ships an update every 10 days, and Beat Scribe every 11 days. Most recently, Lick Transposer was updated on October 7, 2026 and Beat Scribe on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons