Comparison

forScore vs simpleMIDIController

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

simpleMIDIController

This app turns your iPhone or iPad into a 6-slider MIDI CC controller. It's ideal for live performances and studio production, allowing you to control MIDI-compatible hardware and software wirelessly or via USB.

Highlights
  • 6 full-screen sliders with value display
  • Virtual MIDI port for app connection
  • Bluetooth MIDI for wireless control
  • Color-coded sliders for easy identification
  • Prevents sleep mode during use
  • Supports Virtual, Bluetooth, USB, and Network MIDI
Features
Read full description

SimpleMIDI Controller transforms your iPhone or iPad into a 6-slider MIDI CC controller. Perfect for live performances, studio production, and controlling any MIDI-compatible hardware or software using standard MIDI. Features: • 6 Full-Screen Sliders - Smooth, responsive vertical faders with real-time value display • Virtual MIDI Port - Connect to any MIDI-compatible app on your device • Bluetooth MIDI - Wireless connection to Bluetooth LE MIDI devices (and computers that support BLE MIDI) • Color-Coded Sliders - Easy visual identification during performance • Prevent Sleep Mode - Keep the screen on during long sessions • Completely Free - All features available at no cost Perfect For: • Live electronic music performance • Controlling software synthesizers • DAW automation and mixing • Hardware synth parameter control • Music production workflows Supported Connections: • Virtual MIDI (iOS inter-app) • Bluetooth MIDI (BLE MIDI) • USB MIDI (class-compliant devices via adapters) • Network MIDI Works with multiple third-party MIDI devices and apps. No proprietary or dedicated hardware is required. (Optional) Examples: GarageBand, Logic Pro, Korg Gadget, and other MIDI-enabled DAWs/music apps.

Screenshots

forScore4 screens
simpleMIDIController4 screens

Verdict

The call

forScore and simpleMIDIController both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 50% of forScore's written reviews are positive against 0% of simpleMIDIController's. forScore also leads on ratings volume (44K vs 1) and chart position (#13 vs unranked). simpleMIDIController's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $24.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). On rating, ads and iOS requirement 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

forScore costs $24.99 and simpleMIDIController $0.99 up front. forScore sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. simpleMIDIController asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

simpleMIDIController holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: forScore has 44K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of forScore's written reviews are positive against 0% of simpleMIDIController's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
forScore versus simpleMIDIController: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterforScoresimpleMIDIController
Price$24.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.8 (44K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.9% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings44K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#13 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperforScore LLCHakaru Hirose

Customer experience

forScore

All ratings43,469 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews913 reviews
Positive49.9%
Neutral11.6%
Negative38.4%

simpleMIDIController

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

simpleMIDIController

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

simpleMIDIController

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is forScore free?
forScore costs $24.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is simpleMIDIController free?
simpleMIDIController costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, forScore or simpleMIDIController?
simpleMIDIController is rated higher. forScore averages 4.8 out of 5 from 44K ratings, while simpleMIDIController averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do forScore or simpleMIDIController have ads?
Neither forScore nor simpleMIDIController shows ads.

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