Comparison

NML vs forScore

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

Head to head
About

NML

Access a vast library of classical music recordings with extensive metadata. Create personalized playlists and utilize study tools. Ideal for music enthusiasts and students seeking in-depth information.

Highlights
  • 2.73 million+ classical music tracks
  • Rich metadata (composer bios, program notes)
  • Customizable playlists
  • Playlists created by educators
  • Study tools and resources
  • Latest releases from over 1000 labels
Features
Read full description

Naxos Music Library (NML) offers over 2.73 million tracks of fine classical music recordings from more than a thousand labels with their latest releases. What sets NML apart from other streaming platforms comes down to metadata. Each piece of music comes with a rich set of information, from composers’ biographies to programme notes, instrumentation to publisher’s details, all authored by qualified musicologists. Individual subscribers and authorised users of institution subscribers can create their own playlists on top of having access to playlists created by their teachers and professors for their assignments. NML is more than just a huge classical music audio library available for streaming. The Resources section inside the library offers many valuable add-ons and study tools available through accessing the web version. Please send comments to customer.service@naxos.com to help us further improve our app.

About

forScore

This app digitizes sheet music, offering organization, annotation, and playback tools for musicians. It allows for easy import, library management, and hands-free navigation, enhancing the performance experience.

Highlights
  • PDF sheet music reading
  • Cloud sync and import
  • Library organization and search
  • Annotation tools
  • Hands-free page turning
  • Integrated metronome and tuner
Features
Read full description

Go paperless. Get organized. Download and play something new in seconds. With forScore for iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS, your scores have never been better—it’s everything you can do with paper and so much more. As seen in Apple keynote addresses and retail stores worldwide! On your music stand or on the go, it's the complete PDF sheet music reading experience that has wowed musicians all over the world for years: CONNECT • Copy PDFs from other apps like Safari and Mail and sync them to all of your devices with iCloud • Import scores from popular cloud storage services and content providers like Musicnotes.com • Share scores and setlists with colleagues, whether or not they use forScore ORGANIZE • Add metadata to your scores for a perfectly browsable, instantly searchable library • Create smart bookmarks to manage longer files containing multiple parts or pieces • Group scores manually with Setlists to play through them from start to finish PLAY • View full pages in portrait orientation and crop them to better fit your device's screen • Turn your device sideways for bigger scrolling pages or view two pages side by side instead • Use Reflow on smaller screens to lay out systems of music end-to-end like a horizontal teleprompter REFINE • Annotate by drawing, typing text, or placing common symbols onto the page • Separate your annotations into layers and show or hide them at any time • Open scores and setlists in multiple windows or tabs to multitask with ease SIMPLIFY • Create links and buttons to handle repeats or perform common actions with a single tap • Rearrange and duplicate pages of a score to play without jumping back and forth • Connect your Bluetooth page turner for hands-free navigation EXTEND • Access integrated utilities like our metronome, pitch pipe, tuner, and piano keyboard • Link tracks to scores to loop regions, adjust pitch, and even use them to record and play back your page turns • Connect wirelessly to nearby devices and coordinate your page turns and program changes effortlessly There's much more than those highlights, though, so be sure to visit forscore.co to learn all about forScore's incredible features and find out why so many musicians agree that forScore is simply the best! Note: forScore also offers an optional, annual auto-renewing subscription called forScore Pro that unlocks additional features and content (visit forScore.co/pro for complete details). forScore Pro is a 1-year subscription that renews automatically until canceled. Should you choose to subscribe, payment will be charged to your iTunes Account upon confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will then automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions in your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. Complete terms of service are available on our website at: forScore.co/terms-of-serviceGo paperless.

Screenshots

NML4 screens
forScore4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NML at Free against forScore's $24.99. NML also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (15.3 vs 18.0). forScore's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (43K vs 66). On ads and device support 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

NML is free to download; forScore costs $24.99 up front. forScore sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. NML asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

forScore holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: forScore has 43K ratings behind it against 66, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of NML's written reviews are positive against 50% of forScore's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NML ships an update every 2 months, forScore fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
NML versus forScore: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNMLforScore
PriceFree — better$24.99
Rating3.0 (66 ratings)4.8 (43K ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.5% of reviews49.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6643K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#9 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS15.3 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNaxos Digital Services Ltd.forScore LLC

Customer experience

NML

All ratings66 ratings
Positive43.9%
Neutral12.1%
Negative43.9%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive39.5%
Neutral14.0%
Negative46.5%

forScore

All ratings43,114 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews881 reviews
Positive49.6%
Neutral11.7%
Negative38.7%

User reviews

NML

From 66 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎵 Exceptional classical music library and selection
  • 📚 Comprehensive coverage of albums and recordings
  • 🎧 High-quality audio on web/browser version
  • 📱 Offline listening capability
  • 🎯 Easy search functionality when working

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and app instability
  • 🔐 Session expires too quickly and frequent forced logouts
  • 📱 iPad/tablet UI incompatibility and portrait-only orientation
  • 🔊 Poor audio quality (robotic, glitchy, over-compressed)
  • ⚠️ Offline access requires constant re-authentication

forScore

From 43K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Efficient navigation
  • 🔒 Reliable performance
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 👍 Excellent organization
  • 👍 Seamless annotation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes
  • 🔋 Battery drain concerns
  • 👎 Unintuitive settings/features
  • 👎 Lack of customization options

Bugs and requests

NML

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App crashes during playback or when switching apps
  • Audio stops when screen goes to sleep
  • Tracks cut off mid-movement or stop arbitrarily
  • Login session expires too quickly despite 'remember me' option
  • Cannot connect to internet via WiFi (requires VPN workaround)
Show 11 more
  • Playlists disappear or fail to save
  • Back button doesn't return to previous position in list
  • Music pauses when notifications arrive
  • App freezes or becomes unresponsive
  • Search dialog has poor contrast making cursor invisible
  • Saved playlists erased after updates
  • Track information displays incorrectly during playback
  • App cuts out at end of tracks when switching focus
  • Shuffle button fails to function
  • Hiccup at beginning of each track on iPadOS
  • App only plays one track then stops

Requested features

15 requests
  • Dark mode support
  • Interactive widgets
  • Landscape orientation support for tablets/iPads
  • Chromecast and AirPlay support
  • Background music playback while using other apps
Show 10 more
  • Track scrubbing/fast-forward capability
  • Shuffle feature for favorites list
  • Custom playlist and folder organization
  • Ability to organize favorites into named categories
  • Face recognition login
  • Album-level saving instead of track-only playlists
  • Better metadata display (composer, performer information)
  • Retina display support
  • iPad-specific app version
  • Improved search with catalog number support

forScore

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Disappearing annotations
  • Unreliable page turning
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Unresponsive touch controls

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to cut and paste sections of scores
  • More flexible page turning controls
  • Customizable metronome
  • Improved backup and restore functionality
  • Easier sharing of annotated scores

In-app purchases

None

NML

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

forScore

Subscriptions1
  • forScore Pro$14.991 Year
One-time9
  • Brahms: The Mutopia CollectionFree
  • Haydn: The Mutopia CollectionFree
  • Händel: The Mutopia CollectionFree
Show 6 more
  • Liszt: The Mutopia CollectionFree
  • Satie: The Mutopia CollectionFree
  • Schumann: The Mutopia CollectionFree
  • Tchaikovsky: The Mutopia CollectionFree
  • Beethoven: The Mutopia Collection$0.99
  • forScore Pro 30-Day Pass$2.99

Questions

Is NML free?
NML is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is forScore free?
forScore costs $24.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NML or forScore?
forScore is rated higher. NML averages 3.0 out of 5 from 66 ratings, while forScore averages 4.8 from 43K ratings.
Do NML or forScore have ads?
Neither NML nor forScore shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NML or forScore?
NML ships an update every 2 months, and forScore fortnightly. Most recently, NML was updated on August 28, 2026 and forScore on October 1, 2026.

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