iWriteMusic SE vs Crescendo Music
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. Features fast note entry, extensive notation options, and playback for checking your work. Turn your musical ideas into finished scores without a steep learning curve.
- Fast note entry
- 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.
Crescendo Music
Compose and arrange music with a free-form sheet music layout. Easily add notes, change musical elements like key and time signatures, and export your compositions in various formats. Supports VSTi instruments for playback.
- Free-form sheet music layout
- Adjust clef, time, and key signatures
- Add various note durations and rests
- Edit notes with accidentals, slurs, and more
- Write guitar tabs and lyrics
- Supports VSTi instruments for MIDI playback
- Print or save to MIDI, PDF
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Crescendo Music Notation is the perfect software to start composing your music today. Using a free form sheet music layout, you can write your song, score, or composition your way. Create your arrangements with a variety of notation tools, where you can change the Dynamics, Clef, Key Signature, Time Signature, and more. Notes are easy to add and can quickly be transposed by key or by interval. Once finished, you can easily print your sheet music or save your score to MIDI, PDF, and more. Music Writing Features include: • Change the cleft, time signature, and key signature on your sheet music • Add whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and thirty-second notes and rests (semibreve to demisemiquaver) • Edit your notes with sharps, flats, accidentals, slurs and more • Write your own guitar tabs • Use text to specify tempo or dynamics, write lyrics, and create a title • Supports VSTi instruments for MIDI playback • Write percussion notation
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: iWriteMusic SE at 4.4 against Crescendo Music's 3.7. iWriteMusic SE also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (57% vs 29%). Crescendo Music's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On price 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
Both are free to download. Crescendo Music sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. iWriteMusic SE asks for nothing beyond the download.
iWriteMusic SE holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iWriteMusic SE has 148 ratings behind it against 15, 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 29% of Crescendo Music's.
iWriteMusic SE ships an update every 2 weeks, Crescendo Music every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iWriteMusic SE | Crescendo Music |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (148 ratings) — better | 3.7 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.8% of reviews — better | 28.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 148 — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | iWriteMusicProject | NCH Software |
Customer experience
iWriteMusic SE
Crescendo Music
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
Crescendo Music
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iWriteMusic SE
No in-app purchases
Crescendo Music
- Access All Features (Monthly)$2.991 Month
- Access Transpose Feature$2.99
- All Current Features$9.99
Questions
Is iWriteMusic SE free?
Is Crescendo Music free?
Which has better reviews, iWriteMusic SE or Crescendo Music?
Do iWriteMusic SE or Crescendo Music have ads?
Which is updated more often, iWriteMusic SE or Crescendo Music?
Other comparisons
