Music Score Pad vs Notation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Music Score Pad
Compose and edit musical scores directly on your device with a continuous, expandable staff system. Easily insert space, print formatted pages, and share your creations. Designed for stylus input on tablets, it also functions with finger input on phones.
- Continuous, expandable staff system
- Insert space within scores
- Automatic page formatting for printing
- Copy, paste, clone, and delete score sections
- Share and import score files
- Stylus-optimized for tablets
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This app is designed for composers and musicians who wish to hand-write musical ideas, with a stylus on a screen. Features include: 1. There are no pages. Instead, there is one continuous stave system which is automatically extended as you write new music. 2. Insert more space at any section of the hand-written score. 3. Print your work and the app will format the continuous system into a standard page layout. 4 Copy/Paste/Clone and Delete options within and across files. 5. Share and import files created by the app. 6. Simple to use. The app is designed for using it with a stylus on an iPad. It will still work without a stylus on both an iPad and an iPhone, but you'd be drawing notes with a finger which may be a suboptimal experience. PRIVACY POLICY: Everything you write is saved locally in the app on this device unless you explicitly share it. In other words, the app doesn't transfer what you write to an external server or a third party. The app is meant to be a helper tool in music-writing process. While a reliable and safe experience in using this app is my top priority, a creator of the app, I shall not be held responsible for any loss of files and/or intellectual property or damages. Please use at your own risk!
Notation
Create, edit, and share professional sheet music on your mobile device. This app offers intuitive touch notation, multi-staff playback, and web score sharing for composers, arrangers, and students. Export to various formats and collaborate easily.
- Touch notation keyboard
- Multi-staff playback
- Web score sharing
- MusicXML, MIDI, PDF export
- Cloud sync
- Lyrics and chord support
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Notation is professional sheet music notation for composers, arrangers, and music students. Capture a motif at the piano, tweak harmony on your commute, or share a link before rehearsal—all on iPhone or iPad with lyrics and chords. If you read a staff, you can go from a piano sketch to multi-staff scores for class and rehearsal. TOUCH NOTATION A notation keyboard replaces deep menus: tap notes and markings, or select on the staff to edit. Undo/redo for commutes, rehearsal gaps, or at the piano. On the free tier, inserting or editing measures shifts later bars automatically so the rest of the score stays aligned. WRITE AND HEAR IT Multi-staff playback; on long scores, playback follows your edit position. Composer Pro: per-staff Mute and Solo for full scores. WEB SCORE SHARING Generate a web score link—text or email to teachers, singers, or collaborators. Any browser shows standard notation and multi-part playback without installing the app. Print-friendly pages for handouts. PDF for archives and fixed layout; web links when your choir or band needs to hear the piece before rehearsal. Many mobile apps stop at PDF or screenshots; Notation shares playable web scores with the same playback and layout as on your device. EXPORT AND INTERCHANGE MusicXML, MIDI, PDF (screen preview + A4 print PDF). Import MusicXML without length limits—continue in MuseScore, Sibelius, etc. Free tier: starter export allowance. Composer Pro: unlimited export, clean PDF (see app for web-link limits). IPAD PRO WORKSPACE On iPad, library and score sit side by side for desktop-like sessions. iPhone: full notation and sharing when you are catching ideas on the go. YOU CAN ALSO: - Piano keyboard chord stacks; multi-verse lyrics with melismas and paste lyrics line by line; measure insert/copy/paste/delete - Ties, slurs, manual beams—free - Cloud sync (web links need sign-in + sync); Composer Pro: 8 staves, 2 voices per staff, transpose, meter changes NOTATION COVERAGE: * Notes/rests, dots, ties, slurs, beams (manual break/join) * Triplets; quintuplets–septuplets (Composer Pro) * Ornaments, articulations, dynamics, hairpins * Lyrics (verses), chords; title/composer/lyricist header * Clefs, time, tempo; major/minor keys; accidentals * Repeats, voltas, D.S./D.C.; pickups; measure-level edits * Templates: piano grand, treble/bass single staff, custom; long-score paging SUBSCRIPTION & LEGAL (COMPOSER PRO — OPTIONAL) Notation offers an optional paid membership called Composer Pro. You can subscribe in the app under Me → Upgrade. No subscription is required to create, edit, save, or play scores on the free tier. AUTO-RENEWABLE SUBSCRIPTION • Name: Composer Pro — Weekly Plan • Length: 1 week (renews every week) • Price: Shown on the in-app purchase screen before you confirm (localized price; may vary by country or region). If a free trial is available in your region, it is displayed on the subscription screen before purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple 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 at the price of the selected plan. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial, if offered, is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. WHAT COMPOSER PRO INCLUDES • Advanced composing: full transposition and any key; up to 8 staves and 2 voices per staff; meter changes and special/additive meters; undo/redo; advanced repeat playback • Delivery & export: unlimited exports (MusicXML, and web score links); • Playback: full instrument library; per-staff mute and solo • Other: ad-free experience; community publishing; priority support Privacy Policy: https://solfegehub.com/UserManagerPrivacy_en.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://solfegehub.com/UserManagerTerms_en.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Music Score Pad at none against Notation's 2. Music Score Pad also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Notation sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Music Score Pad asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Music Score Pad against 5.0 for Notation. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Music Score Pad | Notation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 10 days |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Leonid Iogansen | 凯 张 |
Customer experience
Music Score Pad
Notation
In-app purchases
Music Score Pad
No in-app purchases
Notation
- Weekly Subscription · NotationAI3 Days trial$3.997 Days
- Lifetime Access · NotationAI$19.99
Questions
Is Music Score Pad free?
Is Notation free?
Which has better reviews, Music Score Pad or Notation?
Do Music Score Pad or Notation have ads?
Which is updated more often, Music Score Pad or Notation?
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