Comparison

forScore vs Beam Music

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

Head to head
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.

About

Beam Music

Easily import, organize, and annotate music files for ensembles. Share access and collaborate with section leaders. Live Mode synchronizes music across all devices instantly without internet.

Highlights
  • Import PDFs from cloud storage and local files
  • Edit and crop music pages
  • Annotate with pencil, highlighter, and text tools
  • Collaborative notes for section leaders
  • Real-time music synchronization via Live Mode
  • Organize music into collections and set lists
  • Backup music library
Features
Read full description

IMPORT AND ASSIGN FILES WITH EASE - Import PDFs from Dropbox, Google Drive, and Local Storage - Assign full files or single pages - Crop, cut, and edit parts - Give edit access to student leaders ANNOTATE YOUR MUSIC - Pencil tool: Draw on the music - Highlighter: Mark key areas - Text tool: Add important notes - Shared notes: Section leaders can add notes for the entire section STAY IN SYNC WITH LIVE MODE Activate Live Mode to automatically connect everyone in the ensemble to your device. When you select a piece of music, everyone’s individual parts for that song are instantly displayed on their personal device. All without the need for internet. ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY - Create a collection of songs - Add songs to a set list in a specific order - Add the duration of the song - Back up your library with Beam Backup

Screenshots

forScore4 screens
Beam Music4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Beam Music at Free against forScore's $24.99. Beam Music also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). forScore's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (43K vs 296). On ads 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

forScore holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: forScore has 43K ratings behind it against 296, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of forScore's written reviews are positive against 36% of Beam Music's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

forScore ships an update every 9 days, Beam Music every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
forScore versus Beam Music: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterforScoreBeam Music
Price$24.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (43K ratings) — better4.4 (296 ratings)
Positive reviews49.8% of reviews — better36.0% of reviews
Number of ratings43K — better296
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB159 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperforScore LLCUltimate Drill Book

Customer experience

forScore

All ratings43,219 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews905 reviews
Positive49.8%
Neutral11.7%
Negative38.5%

Beam Music

All ratings283 ratings
Positive83.0%
Neutral3.5%
Negative13.4%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive36.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative54.0%

User reviews

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

Beam Music

From 296 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📱 Centralized music library in one app
  • 🎵 Convenient for marching band use
  • ✍️ Annotation and note-taking features
  • 📋 Setlist functionality for quick song switching
  • 🔄 Live mode for synchronized performance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing
  • ⏱️ Severe lag and unresponsiveness
  • 🔋 Excessive battery drain (40-90% per hour)
  • 🌡️ Phone overheating during use
  • 📝 Annotations randomly disappear or delete

Bugs and requests

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

Beam Music

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes constantly, especially when needed
  • Lag makes page turning and note-taking difficult
  • Annotations disappear after using live mode
  • Zoom level resets when orientation changes
  • Portrait mode activates unexpectedly
Show 9 more
  • Notes from other songs appear randomly
  • Search feature fails to work reliably
  • Music fails to load when switching between pieces
  • Auto-download feature doesn't work
  • App becomes unresponsive with frozen screen
  • Battery drains excessively fast
  • Phone overheats during rehearsal
  • Annotations won't save, erase, or stick properly
  • Screenshot returns white page instead of music

Requested features

12 requests
  • Horizontal page lock (like FlipFolder)
  • Ability to save zoom level with vertical scrolling
  • Live session annotation capability
  • Auto-select correct part for user
  • Mass select parts instead of individual selection
Show 7 more
  • Highlighter tool for dynamics
  • White pen/eraser for marking corrections
  • Screenshot capability for backup
  • Access to music files in Files app
  • Rotation lock that maintains landscape orientation
  • Better customization options
  • Improved search functionality

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
None

Beam Music

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is forScore free?
forScore costs $24.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Beam Music free?
Beam Music is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, forScore or Beam Music?
forScore is rated higher. forScore averages 4.8 out of 5 from 43K ratings, while Beam Music averages 4.4 from 296 ratings.
Do forScore or Beam Music have ads?
Neither forScore nor Beam Music shows ads.
Which is updated more often, forScore or Beam Music?
forScore ships an update every 9 days, and Beam Music every 3 weeks. Most recently, forScore was updated on October 26, 2026 and Beam Music on October 24, 2026.

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