Comparison

iWriteMusic SE vs Guitar Notation

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

Head to head
About

iWriteMusic SE

Create professional-quality sheet music efficiently, even on small screens. This app offers intuitive interfaces and powerful tools for musicians of all levels, from beginners to professionals. Easily compose, edit, and share your musical ideas.

Highlights
  • Intuitive and simple user interface
  • Highly efficient input systems (One-Flick & Traditional)
  • Professional quality sheet music creation
  • Supports major notation elements
  • Useful playback options for practice
  • Data and sheet music sharing (PDF, JPG, MIDI)
Features
Read full description

Music Writing is easy and fun when you use iWriteMusic! Ever wished you could quickly create sheet music in your small free time? Ever thought smartphones were too small to create sheet music? iWriteMusic enables efficient sheet music creation even on small smartphone screens. Unlike other cramped and cumbersome apps, it is designed meticulously for small screens,comprehensive suite of essential tools for concerts, lessons, and music classes! Best fit for professional musicians, music teachers and students. For songwriters, composers and arrangers. For both singers and instrumentalists (piano, violin, cello, guitar, flute, saxophone, trumpet, drums, etc.). Great for writing down ideas, creating lesson materials, creating lead sheets, or creating scores and parts for chorus groups, choirs, chamber orchestras, jazz bands, Latin bands, orchestras, and more. For daily practice, rehearsals, concerts, iWriteMusic will help you enrich your musical life! Check out 8 reasons to choose iWriteMusic SE (Special Edition) 1. You can understand this app almost instantly! Because of Truly Intuitive and Extremely Simple user interface, you barely need to read pages of manuals nor watching numbers of instruction videos. Unlike Finale, Sibelius and other similar apps, you just have a few things to learn to be able to use this app pretty well. 2.Double your productivity with our Highly Efficient Input System. If you’re already familiar with notation apps and looking for faster & more efficient entry system, try our innovative One-Flick Entry System along with Traditional Entry System to get your job done in no time! What is Traditional Entry System? - The choices will appear with ToolBox. - Select a value and the location separately. - Recommended to those who are not yet familiar with any music notation apps. What is OneFlick Entry System? - The choices will appear when you touch the screen. - Select a location and the value at once. - The selection will change as you slide your finger to left/right. - Recommended to those who are familiar with music notation apps and looking for faster and more efficient entry system. 3. Creates beautiful sheet music - absolutely professional quality! - rich options for page layout adjustment - easy parts creation - easy score/parts management - direct print-out via AirPrint 4. Supports most of major notation elements - multi-track writing - multi-voice writing - percussion/drums notation - chord symbols and lyrics - multi-bar rest - time change - key change - clef change - tempo change - grace note - articulations and dynamics marks - easy song transpose - partial transpose and many more! 5. Useful playback options for practice - mixer with solo, mute and voice select - loop and swing options 6. Data & sheet music sharing - exports/Imports iWriteMusic data file - exports PDF or JPG - exports Standard MIDI file which can be imported by other apps such as GarageBand 7. Extremely Compact Size (15 MB) You can save your device storage space for photos and other apps. 8. Best of all, it's Free! Yes, it's Free and Over 1.4 Million people all over the world has created music with this app family. Let's get started now! Note: This is for iPhone (iPad version sold separately) ATTENTION:  Latency during playback and drawing may occur by device capacity or number of tracks and background applications. Limitations on SE (Special Edition): 1. Water mark appears on page views and printouts. 2. Can’t save more than 5 songs. 3. Can't play more than 30 seconds at a time. 4. Can't import iWriteMusic data file. (export only) 5. Can't export Standard MIDI file.

About

Guitar Notation

This app allows guitar enthusiasts to read, compose, edit, and play back guitar sheet music. It supports multi-track tabs, chord charts, and various notation elements, enabling users to create music on the go.

Highlights
  • Read, compose, and edit guitar sheet music
  • Playback functionality with high-quality sound
  • Multi-track tab support
  • Chord chart configuration
  • Export in MusicXML, MIDI, PNG, and PDF formats
  • Supports up to 8 staff for editing
Features
Read full description

A great guitar tabs and chords notation app on iOS. For any guitar music lover, Guitar Notation gives you the ability to read, compose, edit, and playback guitar sheet music scores. With it you can be a talented composer and great musician anywhere. As long as you have a little knowledge of sheet music, you can write music composition simply by touch and move. Of course it could help you to learn guitar notations. It can handle multi-track tabs, also it supports for chord chart configuration. With the help of it you could easily record the flashes of inspiration wherever they strike. Are you ready to compose music in a simple way? ----------------------- Features: -Export in the industry-popular MusicXML file format, allowing for exchanging sheet music with other software (Finale, Sibelius, Encore, MuseScore, etc). -Export MIDI file. -Export PNG image and PDF document. -High quality sound for playback. -Support editing up to 8 staff at the same time. -Support many kinds of guitar and bass instrument. ----------------------- Supported notation: *A variety of note types, from whole note to 128th note and dotted note *Chord chart configuration *A variety of time signatures *All standard key signatures *Adjustable tempo *All accidentals (sharps, flats, double sharps, double flats, and naturals) *Tie, slur, and tuplet *Many types of ornament *A wide range of dynamics ----------------------- UNLIMITED ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION - Support up to 8 staff - Config parts(add, delete, reorder) - Config chord freely - Change beat type and tempo - A wide variety of guitar types - Config sound for each part - No watermark image export - No Ads - Support 2nd voice part - Config capo for each line - Import data file - The subscriptions are $9.99 monthly - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that service, where applicable - Terms of use: https://service.notationpad.com/terms_service.html

Screenshots

iWriteMusic SE4 screens
Guitar Notation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: iWriteMusic SE at none against Guitar Notation's 6. iWriteMusic SE also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). Guitar Notation's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and 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

Both are free to download. Guitar Notation sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. iWriteMusic SE asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iWriteMusic SE holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 148 and 248 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of iWriteMusic SE's written reviews are positive against 58% of Guitar Notation's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iWriteMusic SE ships an update monthly, Guitar Notation every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
iWriteMusic SE versus Guitar Notation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriWriteMusic SEGuitar Notation
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (148 ratings) — better4.0 (248 ratings)
Positive reviews56.8% of reviews58.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings148248 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB153 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperiWriteMusicProject嵩 张

Customer experience

iWriteMusic SE

All ratings148 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral4.7%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive56.8%
Neutral18.0%
Negative25.2%

Guitar Notation

All ratings246 ratings
Positive75.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative19.9%
Written reviews191 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative35.6%

User reviews

iWriteMusic SE

From 148 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎼 Comprehensive notation tools and features
  • 👍 Intuitive interface for music composition
  • 🎵 Wide range of instruments available
  • 💾 Easy saving and exporting to PDF
  • 🎹 Playback functionality for reviewing compositions

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 😤 Difficult and unintuitive note input
  • 🔧 Poor user interface design
  • 📖 Confusing and poorly organized help documentation
  • ⚠️ Inaccurate instrument sound playback

Guitar Notation

From 248 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good app
  • 🚀 Useful
  • 👍 Simple and effective
  • 🚀 Excellent tool
  • 👍 Nice app

Room to improve

  • 💰 Excessively paid version
  • 🐛 Buggy and constantly asking to pay
  • 🚫 Free version is basically unusable
  • 🚫 Can't even use anything but 4/4
  • 🚫 No tutorial on how to use

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
Show 15 more
  • 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
Show 15 more
  • 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

Guitar Notation

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Audio playback only works through Bluetooth
  • Can't create a D chord, forces barre chord
  • Freezes on login screen
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to change tuning
  • Add palm muting feature
  • Add more examples
  • Add instructions/tutorial
  • Add ability to transpose
Show 1 more
  • Add ability to input chord symbols

In-app purchases

None

iWriteMusic SE

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Guitar Notation

Subscriptions3
  • Unlimited Access7 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Unlimited Access Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Unlimited Access Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time3
  • Guitar Instrument Group$0.99
  • Bass Instrument Group$0.99
  • Extras Package$14.99

Questions

Is iWriteMusic SE free?
iWriteMusic SE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Guitar Notation free?
Guitar Notation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iWriteMusic SE or Guitar Notation?
iWriteMusic SE is rated higher. iWriteMusic SE averages 4.4 out of 5 from 148 ratings, while Guitar Notation averages 4.0 from 248 ratings.
Do iWriteMusic SE or Guitar Notation have ads?
Neither iWriteMusic SE nor Guitar Notation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iWriteMusic SE or Guitar Notation?
iWriteMusic SE ships an update monthly, and Guitar Notation every 4 months. Most recently, iWriteMusic SE was updated on October 24, 2026 and Guitar Notation on October 24, 2026.

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