iWriteMusic SE vs ScoreCloud Express
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
ScoreCloud Express
Transform melodies played, sung, or whistled into standard music notation instantly. Edit your scores, change playback sounds, and share your creations. Synchronize with desktop software for further arrangement and editing.
- Monophonic melody to notation conversion
- Score editing and playback sound change
- Cloud storage and synchronization
- Supports various instruments and styles
- Share via email, Twitter, Facebook
- Intelligent audio analysis
Read full descriptionHide full description
Straight from musical idea to music notation - wherever you are! • EuroBest 2013 Gold winner for best user experience (UX) • Cannes Lions Gold winner 2013 "Media, Entertainment & Leisure" • Cannes Lions Silver medalist 2013 "Other Technology for Mobile" With this app you can: • Play, sing or whistle any monophonic melody and instantly turn it into music notation. • Edit score and change playback sound. • Share results with your friends and synchronize it with ScoreCloud Studio on your computer in order to arrange or edit it further. Features: • Displays your monophonic input in standard notation. • Intelligent interpretation of pitch, time signature, rhythm & meter, and tempo directly from monophonic audio input. • In-App and cloud-based storage of your songs. • Works with a wide range of musical instruments. • Playback with a number of different sounds or the original recording. • Designed for recording also in noisy environments. • No limitations with regards to musical style – ScoreCloud Express can track composite meters, syncopation, free rhythm etc. • Share your song with your friends by email, Twitter or Facebook (iOS 6 or higher) for anyone to view and listen to in a web browser. • Synchronize your songs with ScoreCloud Studio on your computer in order to edit and arrange them. ScoreCloud Express requires a free account and an Internet connection, since the analysis of your recordings is performed in the cloud.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: iWriteMusic SE at Free against ScoreCloud Express's $2.99. iWriteMusic SE also leads on rating (4.4 vs 2.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). ScoreCloud Express's advantage is chart position (#80 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 16.0). On ratings volume, ads and device support 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
iWriteMusic SE is free to download; ScoreCloud Express costs $2.99 up front. ScoreCloud Express sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iWriteMusic SE asks for nothing beyond the download.
iWriteMusic SE holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 148 and 258 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of iWriteMusic SE's written reviews are positive against 25% of ScoreCloud Express's.
iWriteMusic SE ships an update every 2 weeks, ScoreCloud Express every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.
| Parameter | iWriteMusic SE | ScoreCloud Express |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (148 ratings) — better | 2.0 (258 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.8% of reviews — better | 25.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 148 | 258 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #80 — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 6.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | iWriteMusicProject | DoReMIR Music Research AB |
Customer experience
iWriteMusic SE
ScoreCloud Express
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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
ScoreCloud Express
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iWriteMusic SE
No in-app purchases
ScoreCloud Express
- month of PLUS$4.99
Questions
Is iWriteMusic SE free?
Is ScoreCloud Express free?
Which has better reviews, iWriteMusic SE or ScoreCloud Express?
Do iWriteMusic SE or ScoreCloud Express have ads?
Which is updated more often, iWriteMusic SE or ScoreCloud Express?
Other comparisons
