iWriteMusic SE vs i
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iWriteMusic SE
Create professional music notation quickly and easily. This app offers fast note entry, extensive notation options, and playback for checking your work. Turn your musical ideas into finished scores with intuitive controls.
- Fast note entry with OneFlick
- Extensive notation options
- Scores and individual parts
- Flexible page layouts
- Playback for checking and practice
- Intuitive controls
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Less learning. More music. Professional notation without the lengthy learning process. Fast note entry with OneFlick, extensive notation options, scores and individual parts, flexible page layouts, and playback for checking and practice. With clear, intuitive controls, iWriteMusic helps you turn inspiration into finished notation. If you’re getting started with iWriteMusic, we recommend the integrated version. The integrated version is free to download, with features available through one-time in-app purchases. Future new features will also be offered in the integrated version. This SE version remains available to support existing users. For the time being, it will continue to receive bug fixes and OS compatibility updates, but it will not receive new features or support in-app purchases. Limits on the number of saved songs and playback duration, along with watermarks, apply.
i
This app simulates orchestral instruments on iOS devices, allowing users to play musical scores using on-screen or external MIDI keyboards. Multiple users can collaborate to form a virtual orchestra, with each person playing a specific part.
- Orchestral instrument simulation
- MIDI input via on-screen or external keyboard
- PDF score display and playback
- Collaborative virtual orchestra formation
- Individual orchestral part simulation
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i-Orchestra is an iOS app that enables orchestral instrument simulation on a mobile device. It voices musical instrument samples by transmitting MIDI messages to the app via the on-screen MIDI keyboard or an external MIDI keyboard connected to the iOS device through the Apple Camera Connection Kit. The screen of the iOS device displays the musical score of the users' choice in pdf format, allowing the user to scroll over the score and play the score at the same time. A virtual orchestra can therefore be formed collaboratively by a group of users, each of whom individually simulates an orchestral part using the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: iWriteMusic SE at 4.4 against i's 2.2. iWriteMusic SE also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (148 vs 5). i's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iWriteMusic SE holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iWriteMusic SE has 148 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of iWriteMusic SE's written reviews are positive against 50% of i's.
iWriteMusic SE ships an update every 2 weeks, i every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iWriteMusic SE | i |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (148 ratings) — better | 2.2 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.8% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 148 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 336 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | iWriteMusicProject | Lee Cheng |
Customer experience
iWriteMusic SE
i
Bugs and requests
iWriteMusic SE
Reported bugs
20 issues- App crashes when adding rests at beginning of measure
- App crashes when adding/removing notation
- App freezes when entering notes on certain pitches
- App randomly quits during composition
- Note placement inaccuracy on iPhone with retina display
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- Notes appear in wrong location despite correct placement
- Playback cuts off after 30 seconds
- Playback audio not working despite phone not being muted
- Incorrect note playback (different octave than entered)
- Lyric input not functioning
- Crashes after large file operations
- Data loss when closing without saving
- Crashes when using multiple staves
- Crashes during save operation
- Crashes when reinstalling after purchase
- Watermark reappears after reinstall
- App becomes laggy over time
- Staccatos, crescendos, and accents not played back
- Ritards and accelerandos ignored in playback
- Trill notation not functioning properly
Requested features
20 requests- Auto-save functionality
- MusicXML file transfer support
- Guitar tablature (TAB) notation
- Ability to change time signature mid-composition
- Better grace note controls
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- Slur and tie playback support
- Crescendo and diminuendo playback
- More instrument templates (duets, trios)
- Audio sharing/export capability
- Arpeggio playback support
- Individual grace note value assignment
- Pianissimo (ppp) dynamic marking
- Bracket notation for grouped instruments
- More percussion instruments (Baritone, Euphonium, Mellophone)
- Text formatting (bold, italic)
- Customizable bottom navigation bar
- iPad-native version
- MIDI export to Logic Pro and Sibelius
- Searchable help guide with index
- Ability to extend bar lines across measures
i
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iWriteMusic SE
No in-app purchases
i
No in-app purchases
