# Symphony Pro vs Staventabs

The clearest difference is price: Staventabs at Free against Symphony Pro's $14.99. Staventabs also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 56%). Symphony Pro's advantage is ratings volume (469 vs 70) and iOS requirement (13.5 vs 16.4). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Staventabs is free to download; Symphony Pro costs $14.99 up front. Symphony Pro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Staventabs sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. 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 3.8 for Staventabs. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Symphony Pro has 469 ratings behind it against 70, 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 65% of Staventabs's.

Symphony Pro ships an update every 4 weeks, Staventabs every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Symphony Pro | Staventabs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $14.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.8 (469 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/symphony-pro-music-notation/id412380315/reviews) | [3.8 (70 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/staventabs-compose-and-notate/id947545539/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **469** | 70 |
| Positive reviews | 55.9% of reviews | **64.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 365 MB | 123 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.5** | 16.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Xenon Labs, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/327764518) | [Ivan Korovin](https://appshunter.io/developer/937929054) |

## 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


### Staventabs

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/staventabs-compose-and-notate/id947545539)

Compose and edit musical scores and tablature with a user-friendly interface. Create new pieces from scratch or templates, input notes intuitively, and enhance your compositions with advanced editing tools. Practice your songs with playback and metronome features, and manage your projects seamlessly.

**Highlights:** Score and tablature editing, Intuitive note input, Virtual piano and fingerboard, Instrument previews, Playback and metronome, AI-powered scale suggestions, MIDI and MusicXML import/export

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Advanced composing | $9.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited projects | $10.99 | one-time |
| Additional instruments | $10.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient music notation
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 🎨 Customizable chord diagrams
- 💾 Supports multiple file formats
- 🎶 Realistic instrument sounds

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 💰 Paywall for basic features
- 🔀 Inconsistent note/chord handling
- 🔍 Unclear documentation
- 🔊 Lagging playback

**Reported bugs**

- Imported MIDI files lose instrument assignments
- Disappearing projects after updates
- Inability to adjust note lengths in piano roll
- Metronome not audible over instrument playback

**Requested features**

- Add support for grace notes and ornaments
- Implement repeat/coda symbols
- Allow custom font and layout options
- Integrate MIDI input and output
- Improve chord recognition accuracy


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Symphony Pro free?

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

### Is Staventabs free?

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

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

Symphony Pro and Staventabs are both rated 3.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 469 and 70 ratings respectively.

### Do Symphony Pro or Staventabs have ads?

Neither Symphony Pro nor Staventabs shows ads.

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

Symphony Pro ships an update every 4 weeks, and Staventabs every 3 weeks. Most recently, Symphony Pro was updated on October 20, 2026 and Staventabs on October 19, 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.*