Comparison

unrealBook vs NoteBeat

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

Head to head
About

unrealBook

This app digitizes your music library, replacing bulky binders with your iPad. Easily organize, search, and access your music or lyrics with features like indexing, bookmarks, and setlists. Ideal for gigging musicians seeking a convenient and portable solution.

Highlights
  • Digitize music and lyrics PDFs
  • Alphabetized and indexed song list
  • Create bookmarks and setlists
  • Hot spots for navigation
  • Built-in music player
  • Annotation tools
  • Wireless syncing between iPads
Read full description

unrealBook allows you to access your entire library of music or lyrics on your iPad with ease. Replace your bulky and heavy binders with a small and light device filled with your music PDF files. The alphabetized and indexed list makes it easy to find the song you are looking for. unrealBook is the answer for the gigging musician! Please check the reviews. 4.5 stars!!!!!! unrealBook is being used on tour with Billy Joel - see October 2014 and July 2016 Keyboard Magazine! unrealBook was one of the first apps for displaying music charts on stage. The evolution continues as many musicians use it on stage every day (and many since day 1!). This product is the result of input from many users. unrealBook does not come with songs or charts, you must add your own PDF files. The screenshots are samples of what you can do with unrealBook. Yes, unrealBook supports PDF Table of contents, user created indexes, bookmarks, keywords. You can even convert the PDF table of contents into indexes. It has been able to do these features for a while. "I LOVE unrealBook" "unrealbook is just an awesome app" "On gigs people are always asking about it and I am always telling them about unrealBook. Thanks for the great app and the great support. Awesome!" "Have been using unrealBook in live band set up for a year or so – really useful app my man, thank you." "I want to thank you for creating unrealBook! I love it!" "I just wanted to let you know that I used unrealBook extensively on my most recent rehearsal and show….couple of weeks ago and it performed flawlessly" "I absolutely LOVE your APP on my iPad" "I love the page turning, it's instant and also the Index is the right size for my fingers! Love not having to carry big books to work! It's so neat!" "I love unrealBook so thanks !!" •Replace your bulky and heavy binders with a small and light iPad filled with your music PDF files. The alphabetized and indexed list makes it easy to find the song you are looking for. •No more asking for a light for your music stand on dark stages. •No more worrying about a breeze turning a page by accident. •Search for a song quickly and easily. •Create bookmarks that allow you to easily load up a large PDF and go directly to a page within. •Use bookmarks and PDF files together to create set lists for different gigs. •Hot spots allow you place highlighted areas on the page that allow you to jump from one page or document to another when pressed (think To Coda and D.S. signs). •There is a built in music player so you can listen to your music while you check out the score! •Connect to the world via email, AirDrop, Dropbox and Box support. •Annotate your scores with auto-highlighted text and colored pens with different sizes. •Create set lists easily. Jump to any song in a set list directly or step through the set list sequentially. •Assign an iPad as a master and have multiple iPads slaved via bluetooth or WiFi! •Record your rehearsals or your band on stage, all while reading music in unrealBook! •Take pictures of a chart on a gig and create a PDF that you can use on stage. • Airturn Support for turning pages. • Use the iRig BlueBoard to jump directly to D.S. and CODA in a document via foot switches. • AirDrop an entire set list of files between two AirDrop compatible devices - including unrealBook Mobile on iPhone.

About

NoteBeat

Create music with this intuitive beat-making app. It offers dual audio track playback, an 88-key piano sound, and precise note and rhythm input. Preview your arrangements and export them as m4a audio files.

Highlights
  • Dual audio track playback
  • 88-key piano sound
  • Precise note and rhythm input
  • Automatic arrangement preview
  • M4a audio export
Features
Read full description

NoteBeat is a simple music arrangement and beat-making app with zero-threshold operation.It supports independent playback of dual audio tracks, with a full 88-key piano sound. You can precisely input notes, rhythms and track information, and preview your arrangement automatically.Once finished, you can export audio in m4a format directly. NoteBeat 是一款简单易用的音乐编曲与节拍制作应用,操作零门槛、轻松上手。应用支持双音轨独立播放,搭载完整 88 键钢琴音色,可精准录入音符、节奏与音轨信息,支持编曲自动播放预览,完成创作后可直接导出 m4a 格式音频。

Screenshots

NoteBeat3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NoteBeat at Free against unrealBook's $14.99. NoteBeat also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (100% vs 85%). unrealBook's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 1). On 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

NoteBeat is free to download; unrealBook costs $14.99 up front. NoteBeat sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. unrealBook asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NoteBeat holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: unrealBook has 1.3K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of unrealBook's written reviews are positive against 100% of NoteBeat's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

unrealBook ships an update monthly, NoteBeat every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
unrealBook versus NoteBeat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterunrealBookNoteBeat
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.3K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.3K — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size192 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAron Nelson剑 陈

Customer experience

unrealBook

All ratings1,272 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.2%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews188 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral4.8%
Negative10.6%

NoteBeat

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

Bugs and requests

unrealBook

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Inconsistent page resizing and zooming
  • Unexpected behavior when editing lyrics or text

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved annotation tools with Apple Pencil support
  • Ability to selectively clear annotations
  • Automatic song indexing for PDF songbooks
  • Larger transport controls and more intuitive navigation

NoteBeat

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

unrealBook

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

NoteBeat

One-time1
  • NoteBeat$1.99

Questions

Is unrealBook free?
unrealBook costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NoteBeat free?
NoteBeat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, unrealBook or NoteBeat?
NoteBeat is rated higher. unrealBook averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while NoteBeat averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do unrealBook or NoteBeat have ads?
Neither unrealBook nor NoteBeat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, unrealBook or NoteBeat?
unrealBook ships an update monthly, and NoteBeat every 3 days. Most recently, unrealBook was updated on October 9, 2026 and NoteBeat on October 8, 2026.

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