# iWriteMusic vs Symphony Pro

The clearest difference is rating: iWriteMusic at 4.5 against Symphony Pro's 3.8. iWriteMusic also leads on price ($9.99 vs $14.99) and review sentiment (73% vs 56%). Symphony Pro's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

iWriteMusic costs $9.99 and Symphony Pro $14.99 up front. iWriteMusic sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Symphony Pro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

iWriteMusic holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 179 and 469 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of iWriteMusic's written reviews are positive against 56% of Symphony Pro's.

iWriteMusic ships an update every 2 months, Symphony Pro every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | iWriteMusic | Symphony Pro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$9.99** | $14.99 |
| Rating | **[4.5 (179 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iwritemusic/id393624808/reviews)** | [3.8 (469 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/symphony-pro-music-notation/id412380315/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 179 | **469** |
| Positive reviews | **73.2% of reviews** | 55.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 4 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 19 MB | 365 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **13.5** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [iWriteMusicProject](https://appshunter.io/developer/393551666) | [Xenon Labs, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/327764518) |

## What reviewers say

### iWriteMusic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iwritemusic/id393624808)

Create professional-quality sheet music efficiently on your smartphone. This app offers an intuitive interface and a powerful input system designed for small screens, making music notation accessible for musicians of all levels. Share your compositions as PDFs, JPGs, or MIDI files.

**Highlights:** Intuitive and simple user interface, Efficient One-Flick Entry System, Professional quality sheet music creation, Supports major notation elements, Useful playback options, Export to PDF, JPG, and MIDI

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Advanced File Management | $0.99 | one-time |


### Symphony Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/symphony-pro-music-notation/id412380315)

Compose music notation on your iPad with intuitive handwriting recognition or traditional input methods. Create scores for various ensembles, import and export in multiple formats, and utilize a wide range of notational elements. Enjoy built-in instruments for playback and auditioning.

**Highlights:** Handwriting recognition for Apple Pencil and touch, Compose for various ensembles, Import/export MusicXML, MIDI, and more, On-screen instrument input, Real-time recording and transcription, Wide range of notational elements, Print via AirPrint

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Version 4: Complete Features Bundle | Free | one-time |
| Handwriting Recognition Tool | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Handwriting recognition is great
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🎨 Flexible for composing and arranging
- 💰 Good value for the price
- 🎹 Works well with Apple Pencil

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Clunky and unintuitive interface
- 🔊 Poor sound quality of instruments
- 🔒 Issues with saving and exporting files
- 🤔 Steep learning curve for some features

**Reported bugs**

- Project menu disappears unexpectedly
- Ties and tuplets not working correctly
- Inconsistent behavior when zooming and panning
- Instruments not transposing properly
- Frequent crashes when editing complex scores

**Requested features**

- Add guitar metronome
- Improve text and lyrics handling
- Allow more customization of page layout
- Implement better transposition and chord features
- Provide more orchestral percussion instruments


## Frequently asked questions

### Is iWriteMusic free?

iWriteMusic costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Symphony Pro free?

Symphony Pro costs $14.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, iWriteMusic or Symphony Pro?

iWriteMusic is rated higher. iWriteMusic averages 4.5 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while Symphony Pro averages 3.8 from 469 ratings.

### Do iWriteMusic or Symphony Pro have ads?

Neither iWriteMusic nor Symphony Pro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, iWriteMusic or Symphony Pro?

iWriteMusic ships an update every 2 months, and Symphony Pro every 4 weeks. Most recently, iWriteMusic was updated on September 22, 2026 and Symphony Pro on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*