# Symphony Pro vs Crescendo Music

The clearest difference is price: Crescendo Music at Free against Symphony Pro's $14.99. Crescendo Music also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.5). Symphony Pro's advantage is review sentiment (56% vs 29%) and ratings volume (474 vs 15). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Crescendo Music is free to download; Symphony Pro costs $14.99 up front. Symphony Pro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Crescendo Music sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.8 for Symphony Pro against 3.7 for Crescendo Music. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Symphony Pro has 474 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Symphony Pro's written reviews are positive against 29% of Crescendo Music's.

Symphony Pro ships an update every 4 weeks, Crescendo Music every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Symphony Pro | Crescendo Music |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $14.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[3.8 (474 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/symphony-pro-music-notation/id412380315/reviews)** | [3.7 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crescendo-music/id1641673174/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **474** | 15 |
| Positive reviews | **55.9% of reviews** | 28.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 weeks** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Size | 365 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.5 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Xenon Labs, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/327764518) | [NCH Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/349888537) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Crescendo Music

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crescendo-music/id1641673174)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Access All Features (Monthly) | $2.99 | per month |
| Access Transpose Feature | $2.99 | one-time |
| All Current Features | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Symphony Pro free?

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

### Is Crescendo Music free?

Crescendo Music is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Symphony Pro or Crescendo Music?

Symphony Pro is rated higher. Symphony Pro averages 3.8 out of 5 from 474 ratings, while Crescendo Music averages 3.7 from 15 ratings.

### Do Symphony Pro or Crescendo Music have ads?

Neither Symphony Pro nor Crescendo Music shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Symphony Pro or Crescendo Music?

Symphony Pro ships an update every 4 weeks, and Crescendo Music every 5 weeks. Most recently, Symphony Pro was updated on November 6, 2026 and Crescendo Music on November 7, 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.*