Reflow vs Notation Scanner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Reflow
Create, edit, and share musical scores and guitar tablature. Supports multiple instruments, realistic playback, and import/export of various file formats. Ideal for songwriters and musicians looking to compose and practice.
- Tablature and notation editor
- Import Guitar Pro and MIDI files
- Realistic instrument playback
- Instant web sharing
- Multi-track scores
- Chord diagrams
- Edit while playing
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Reflow is a tablature and notation editor for guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals. Write tabs, compose songs, import Guitar Pro and MIDI files, and hear everything played back with realistic instruments. Trusted by thousands of musicians for over a decade. Instant Web Share - Share any score as a web link — one tap, no account needed - Recipients get a full interactive player with audio playback and cursor tracking - Speed control and loop markers in the web player - Links expire after 7 days Import Your Files - Open Guitar Pro 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 files (.gp, .gp5) - Import Standard MIDI files with track mapping and quantization controls - Import MusicXML files - Access thousands of tabs shared online Tablature & Notation - Guitar, bass, banjo, ukulele, and any stringed instrument - Bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, harmonics, and all standard techniques - Lyrics with auto-advance — press Space or Hyphen to chain syllables across beats - Standard notation stays in sync above the tab staff - Custom tuning support Virtual Instruments - Interactive piano keyboard — tap to enter or preview notes - Interactive fretboard — see note names, tap to enter notes - Scale overlay — display any scale on the keyboard or fretboard Drum Notation - Full drum kit mapping on a standard percussion staff - Custom drum mapping editor — assign any MIDI note to any staff position - Enter beats with keyboard shortcuts, numeric keypad, or tap input Chord Diagrams - Built-in library with 89 chord types and voicings - Add diagrams above any beat - Chord names display automatically Multi-Track Scores - Combine guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals in one score - Solo, mute, and adjust volume and pan per track - Realistic instrument sounds across 128 instruments - Rack view with per-track controls and custom track colors Edit While It Plays - Edit your score during playback — hear changes in real time - Add notes, adjust dynamics, switch instruments without stopping Audio & Practice - High-quality instrument sounds with instant playback - Loop / A-B repeat — drag markers to loop any section - Adjustable playback speed from 0.25x to 2x - Metronome, precount, and playback tracking - MIDI input from external controllers View Modes - Continuous vertical scroll — modern reading experience - Page view with Fit Page Width - Free zoom and horizontal scroll Export & Share - Instant Web Share — temporary web link with interactive player - Export to MusicXML, GP5, GP7, MIDI, WAV, M4A, and PDF - Open your scores in Dorico, Sibelius, MuseScore, or Finale - Print your scores directly - Bundled sample songs to explore and learn from Keyboard Shortcuts - Full keyboard support on Mac and iPad with hardware keyboard - Works on all keyboard layouts — AZERTY, QWERTZ, and more Privacy First - All data stored locally on your device - iCloud backup and sync - No account, no login, no tracking - Works fully offline One-Time Purchase - Free to try — all features available in evaluation mode - Evaluation watermark and 10-measure export limit - Purchase once to remove the watermark and unlock full exports Download Reflow and start creating music today.
Notation Scanner
This app allows users to scan and recognize sheet music using their device's camera or existing images. It functions as a sheet music reader and player, supporting over 100 instruments and offering playback controls. Users can also export their recognized scores in various formats.
- Scan sheet music via camera or image library
- Recognize and playback music scores
- Support for over 100 instruments
- Adjust tempo and voice parts
- Export as MusicXML, MIDI, PNG, PDF
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A powerful scanner for sheet music lovers to recognize sheet music. A handy music OCR tool for you to scan and playback sheet music. Just try to take a photo on the printed sheet music and enjoy it. It dose the recognition process on server side, so it can recognize many more music stuffs than other apps. You could use it as a simple sheet music reader or player as you want. It supports more than 100 different types of instrument along with a very nice sound effect. ----------------------- Features: -Scan the whole sheet at once using the built-in camera or a picture from your image library. -Tap a bar to play the song from. -Support multi-page and reorder them as you wish. -Support up to 8 systems. -Support for changing tempo speed. -Turn up/down the voice of each part. -Export MusicXML, MIDI, PNG and PDF files.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Reflow at Free against Notation Scanner's $2.99. Notation Scanner's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On review sentiment, update cadence, 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
Reflow is free to download; Notation Scanner costs $2.99 up front. Reflow sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $34.99 per year. Notation Scanner asks for nothing beyond the download.
Notation Scanner holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notation Scanner has 730 ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Reflow's written reviews are positive against 50% of Notation Scanner's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Reflow | Notation Scanner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 3.5 (33 ratings) | 4.1 (730 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 44.0% of reviews | 49.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 33 | 730 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 168 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gargant | 嵩 张 |
Customer experience
Reflow
Notation Scanner
Bugs and requests
Reflow
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Notation Scanner
Reported bugs
3 issues- Cannot recognize any photos or scans of sheet music
- Playback skips notes and has timing issues
- App crashes frequently when trying to scan music
Requested features
3 requests- Allow users to manually correct scanned music
- Improve recognition accuracy for different sheet music styles
- Add more instrument options beyond just piano
In-app purchases
Reflow
- Reflow Premium7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Reflow — Full Version$14.99
Notation Scanner
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Reflow free?
Is Notation Scanner free?
Which has better reviews, Reflow or Notation Scanner?
Do Reflow or Notation Scanner have ads?
Which is updated more often, Reflow or Notation Scanner?
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