Comparison

iReal Pro vs NotateMe

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

Head to head
About

iReal Pro

This app provides a virtual band accompaniment for musicians to practice with, offering realistic sounding instruments and a variety of styles. It also functions as a digital chord chart book, allowing users to create, edit, and share their own song charts.

Highlights
  • Virtual band accompaniment
  • Create, edit, and share chord charts
  • Thousands of downloadable songs
  • Chord diagrams and scale recommendations
  • Practice exercises and transposition
  • Export charts and audio
  • Cloud synchronization
Features
Read full description

iReal Pro is two things musicians love in one app: a realistic backing band that plays along with you, and a huge free library of chord charts you can pull up anytime — at practice, at a jam session, or on a gig. Need to transpose a song for a singer? Done. Want to practice with a full rhythm section behind you? Hit play. Named one of TIME Magazine's 50 Best Inventions and trusted by thousands of students, teachers, and pros at schools like Berklee College of Music — iReal Pro has been helping musicians get better since 2008. BAND • 50 accompaniment styles — Swing, Bossa Nova, Blues, Funk, Rock, Bluegrass, Reggae, Latin, Gypsy Jazz, Country, and more • Customize each style with acoustic or electric piano, Fender Rhodes, guitars, upright or electric bass, drums, vibraphone, organ • 40 additional styles — blues, salsa, Brazilian — available as in-app purchases BOOK • Download thousands of free chord charts shared by the iReal Pro community • Create your own charts in minutes with the built-in editor • Organize charts into playlists for gigs, sets, or lessons PRACTICE • Adjust tempo, loop difficult sections, transpose to any key • Automatic tempo increase and key cycling for focused practice • Global Eb, Bb, F, and G transposition for horn players REFERENCE • Guitar, ukulele, and piano fingerings for any chord • Tap any chord in your chart to see how it's played • Scale suggestions for improvisation SHARE • Share charts and playlists with other iReal Pro users • Export charts as PDF or MusicXML • Export backing tracks as audio or MIDI files • Sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud FOR TEACHERS • Create playlists of exercises or tunes for students • Use in the classroom, over live stream, or while screen-sharing lessons We're a small team of musicians who built this app because we needed it ourselves. We hope you enjoy using it as much as we do.

About

NotateMe

Compose and edit music notation using handwritten input. This app recognizes a wide range of musical symbols, allowing for creation of scores for various ensembles. Export your work in multiple formats or share it via email.

Highlights
  • Handwritten music recognition
  • Compose for solo instruments and ensembles
  • Edit and playback scores
  • Export as PDF, MusicXML, MIDI
  • Import MusicXML files
  • Dropbox synchronization
  • PhotoScore Add-In for printed music
Features
Read full description

Ground-breaking music composition and notation software from Neuratron, featuring handwritten music recognition. Top 10 Music App in 62 countries! iPad Pro & Apple Pencil recommended for best results. - Quickly and accurately enter music notation with your finger or stylus. - Write music on the train, in a plane, by a lake, or just sitting comfortably on your sofa! - Simple, intuitive interface with little to distract you from your creativity - similar to writing with pen and paper, but with instant playback, editing and a score suitable for publishing at the end! - Write music for solo instruments (including voice and piano), drums or ensembles from string quartets and choirs to full orchestral scores. Includes support for transposing instruments. - PhotoScore Add-In (In-App Purchase): Take photos of printed sheet music with your device's camera, so you can play back and edit them with NotateMe! Recognizes 5-line staves and most markings including chords, flags, beams, rests, accidentals, articulation marks, clefs, key signatures, time signatures, tuplets, slurs, ties, hairpins and text including lyrics, dynamics and instrument names. Note: Requires 5MP camera & 1 GB RAM - so not for iPad 2, iPhone 4S, iPad Mini (1st gen) or earlier. - Email PDF, MusicXML and MIDI files of your scores to friends or other musicians. Open in other apps and desktop notation packages. Print to paper. - Import and edit MusicXML files (most music symbols supported). - Automatically sync your scores to Dropbox so you can edit them on your phone whilst you are out, and then on your tablet when you get back. - Great when learning or teaching music notation. - NotateMe recognises a wide range of music symbols, including notes (with solid, open, and slanted noteheads), flags, beams (even cross-staff*), leger lines, multiple voices per staff, chords, rests, accidentals (natural, sharp, double sharp & flat), articulation marks, augmentation dots, ties, slurs, hairpins, clef changes, key signatures. Barlines, clefs, time signatures and tuplets are added automatically. - Drag and drop (or set selected drawings to) further music symbols including cross noteheads, pedal markings, ornaments and appoggiatura. - Add chord-symbols, dynamics, technique, tempo changes and lyrics to your score. Write comments or ideas in 'red pen'. - If NotateMe doesn’t recognize your style immediately, keep at it, as it will adjust. Leave clear space between symbols and make markings clearer with further strokes if any transcription errors occur. If you experience problems, tap 'Help Improve NotateMe' from the Export menu and we will analyze your handwriting to help us improve NotateMe further. * Cross-staff beaming requires an iPad DEVICE REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM RECOMMENDED: iPhone 5/s/c, iPad (3rd gen onwards, iPad mini (2nd gen onwards), iPod Touch 5 onwards Screen size - 4 inches diagonal Writing implement - Finger or stylus PhotoScore Add-In: 5MP rear facing camera with auto-focus, 1 GB RAM. Good lighting conditions. Note: It may take a short while for you to become accustomed to aligning parts of musical symbols when writing using a finger, particularly on a smaller screen. WILL NOT RUN ON iPhone 3GS OR iPod Touch 4th Gen or earlier. RECOMMENDED: iPad Pro with Apple Pencil Screen size - 9.7+ inches diagonal PhotoScore Add-In: 5MP rear facing camera with auto-focus, 1 GB RAM. Good lighting conditions.

Screenshots

iReal Pro4 screens
NotateMe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: iReal Pro at $21.99 against NotateMe's $39.99. iReal Pro also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.6) and review sentiment (83% vs 45%). NotateMe's advantage is iOS requirement (6.0 vs 16.6). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

iReal Pro costs $21.99 and NotateMe $39.99 up front. iReal Pro sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and NotateMe sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iReal Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iReal Pro has 11K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of iReal Pro's written reviews are positive against 45% of NotateMe's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iReal Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, NotateMe every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
iReal Pro versus NotateMe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriReal ProNotateMe
Price$21.99 — better$39.99
Rating4.9 (11K ratings) — better2.6 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better44.5% of reviews
Number of ratings11K — better26
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.66.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size179 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTechnimo LLCNeuratron Ltd

Customer experience

iReal Pro

All ratings11,148 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews1,010 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral8.0%
Negative8.7%

NotateMe

All ratings26 ratings
Positive38.5%
Neutral3.8%
Negative57.7%
Written reviews173 reviews
Positive44.5%
Neutral12.1%
Negative43.4%

User reviews

iReal Pro

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app for practicing and reading charts
  • 👍 Versatile with ability to change keys, tempos, and styles
  • 👍 Excellent community and support
  • 🚀 Efficient for gigs and rehearsals
  • 👍 Indispensable tool for jazz musicians

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with chord voicings and playback
  • 🔧 Limited editing capabilities
  • 🔧 Clunky interface for some users
  • 💰 Expensive for some users

NotateMe

From 26 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent handwriting recognition
  • 🎼 Convenient for jotting down musical ideas
  • 💾 Good integration with Dropbox and other apps
  • 🎹 Useful for piano teachers and students
  • 🎨 Creative tool for composers and arrangers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🤔 Steep learning curve and not very intuitive
  • 🖋️ Struggles with complex notation and articulations
  • 🔍 Inaccurate recognition of accidentals and ledger lines
  • 💰 Expensive for the current feature set

Bugs and requests

iReal Pro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional skipping or timing issues with playback
  • Trouble with registration and login process
  • Compatibility issues with newer devices or operating systems

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add ability to write rhythm notation
  • Integrate with Real Books
  • Improve sound quality and add more instrument options
  • Add melodies and lyrics support
  • Improve chord editing and customization
Show 2 more
  • Add more styles and grooves
  • Improve sync and backup functionality across devices

NotateMe

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Photoscore feature crashes frequently
  • Notes and rests sometimes get misplaced or lost
  • Inconsistent recognition of handwritten input

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to import and export MusicXML files
  • More customization options for layout and formatting
  • Support for additional articulations and notation symbols
  • Improved palm rejection and stylus compatibility
  • Transposition and chord symbol features

In-app purchases

3 purchases

iReal Pro

One-time3
  • Blues style backing tracks$6.99
  • Salsa style backing tracks$6.99
  • Brazilian backing tracks$6.99
1 purchases

NotateMe

One-time1
  • NotateMe PhotoScore IAP$29.99

Questions

Is iReal Pro free?
iReal Pro costs $21.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is NotateMe free?
NotateMe costs $39.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iReal Pro or NotateMe?
iReal Pro is rated higher. iReal Pro averages 4.9 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while NotateMe averages 2.6 from 26 ratings.
Do iReal Pro or NotateMe have ads?
Neither iReal Pro nor NotateMe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iReal Pro or NotateMe?
iReal Pro ships an update every 3 weeks, and NotateMe every 2 weeks. Most recently, iReal Pro was updated on October 20, 2026 and NotateMe on October 17, 2026.

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