Comparison

Score Creator vs Music Reader

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Score Creator

Easily compose and edit sheet music on your mobile device. This app simplifies music creation with a text-keyboard-like interface for notes and chords, supports multiple instruments and clefs, and allows for lyric and chord symbol writing. It's ideal for songwriters, teachers, and students.

Highlights
  • Compose music scores with various clefs and symbols
  • Write lyrics and chord symbols
  • Multi-track support for different instruments
  • Playback sound for each instrument
  • Transpose songs and import/export MIDI/MusicXML
  • Export to PDF and audio files
  • Editing assistant features
Features
Read full description

Score Creator is a music composition application that is specially designed for mobile platforms. It's a simple but powerful music creation tool that caters to your need to write music on the go. *** The app's user experience is completely optimized to make composing music on mobile devices easier and faster than ever. No more "tapping and zooming" the screen just to add a music note or a chord symbol. No more "dragging and dropping" from the palette just to add a sharp/flat sign. All you need to do to write a song is tap the keyboards (notes and chords) that are designed like a text keyboard. COMPOSING MUSIC IS NOW AS SIMPLE AS TEXTING YOUR FRIENDS! *** Apart from being a songwriting app for songwriters, Score Creator also functions as a music teaching and learning tool for music teachers and students. Teachers can teach students how to read music notation by directly entering music notes into the app and playing back the song, while music students can practice by themselves by notating their favorite songs in the app and playing along with their own musical instruments. *** The app is a perfect tool for writing different types of sheet music, including lead sheets, solo instrument scores, SATB choir scores, sheet music for brass & woodwind bands, and more. *** FEATURES: - Compose music scores. The app supports treble, alto, bass and neutral clefs, with a wide range of notes and music symbols: note lengths, time signatures, key signatures, slurs, ties, dynamics, articulations & ornaments, and more. - Write lyrics. - Write chord symbols. - Multiple tracks with different instruments: piano, guitar, violin, saxophone, drums, flute, horn, tuba, ukulele, mandolin, and more. - Scores for transposing instruments: saxophone (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone), Bb clarinet, Bb trumpet, and more. - Playback sound for each instrument. - Transpose songs into any key. - Import songs from MIDI & MusicXML files. - Change clef, time/key signature and tempo in the middle of a song. - Export songs to MIDI or MusicXML files so that they can be imported into other apps such as Finale, Encore, MuseScore, and Sibelius. The files can be copied to your computer or sent via email. - Send exported MIDI files to other apps on your current device. - Import MIDI files from other apps. - Export songs to PDF files. - Export songs to audio files (.wav, .mp3). - Editing features: multi-note selection, copy & paste, undo & redo, and more. - SCAN SHEET MUSIC FROM PHOTOS. - SCAN SHEET MUSIC FROM PDF FILES. *** End User License Agreement: https://www.termsfeed.com/eula/c6cf438c81097acbfd5a7d51600b6bba *** Privacy policy: The app does not collect or store any kind of personal information.

About

Music Reader

This app is a comprehensive tool for sheet music. It allows users to view, learn, listen, mark, and play musical scores. It supports various music genres and instruments, acting as a portable songbook and powerful player.

Highlights
  • View and play sheet music
  • Mark and annotate scores
  • Import MusicXML and NotationPad files
  • Supports dark mode
  • Transposition (PRO)
  • Change instrument parts (PRO)
Features
Read full description

Music Reader provides all you need about sheet music. You could view, learn, listen, mark and play music notes and notations as you want. it is your portable songbook and a powerful sheet music reader & player. A easy-to-use painting system for you to draw any marks on sheets. From classic to popular, from rock to country, from piano to symphony, all kinds of music played well in Music Reader. *Compatible with dark mode *Supports importing MusicXML(.xml) and NotationPad(.ecz) file PRO ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION - No Ads - Transposition - Change instrument for parts - Support layers for painting marks - The subscription price is $4.99/monthly, $14.99/yearly - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that service, where applicable - Terms of use: https://service.notationpad.com/sheetmusicplus/terms_service.html

Screenshots

Score Creator4 screens
Music Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Music Reader at 4.5 against Score Creator's 3.5. Music Reader also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15). Score Creator's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 4 months). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Score Creator sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Music Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Music Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 495 and 192 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 60% of Score Creator's written reviews are positive against 51% of Music Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Score Creator ships an update every 11 days, Music Reader every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Score Creator versus Music Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScore CreatorMusic Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (495 ratings)4.5 (192 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.5% of reviews — better51.0% of reviews
Number of ratings495 — better192
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1511.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size307 MB183 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTRAN PHUONG嵩 张

Customer experience

Score Creator

All ratings495 ratings
Positive59.8%
Neutral14.9%
Negative25.3%
Written reviews615 reviews
Positive60.5%
Neutral15.6%
Negative23.9%

Music Reader

All ratings188 ratings
Positive88.3%
Neutral2.7%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive51.0%
Neutral4.1%
Negative44.9%

Bugs and requests

Score Creator

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Sudden loss of data and unsaved work
  • Playback issues, including notes not playing correctly
  • Instrument key signatures not working as expected
  • App crashing on launch or when opening certain scores
  • Inability to edit or modify existing compositions

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add more percussion instruments
  • Implement dynamics, articulations, and expression markings
  • Allow for more than 2 instruments in the free version
  • Improve the drum notation and playback
  • Add support for chords, trills, and other advanced notation
Show 2 more
  • Implement a swing/shuffle feature
  • Improve the transposition and key signature handling

Music Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Score Creator

Subscriptions5
  • One-month full version$4.991 Month
  • Basic user - one year$6.993 Months
  • Three-month full version$10.993 Months
Show 2 more
  • Basic user - one year$20.991 Year
  • One-year full version$33.491 Year
One-time2
  • Basic user - full version$69.99
  • Lifetime full version$98.99
3 purchases

Music Reader

Subscriptions3
  • Pro Access$2.991 Month
  • Pro Access7 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Pro Access$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Score Creator free?
Score Creator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Music Reader free?
Music Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Score Creator or Music Reader?
Music Reader is rated higher. Score Creator averages 3.5 out of 5 from 495 ratings, while Music Reader averages 4.5 from 192 ratings.
Do Score Creator or Music Reader have ads?
Music Reader shows ads; Score Creator does not.
Which is updated more often, Score Creator or Music Reader?
Score Creator ships an update every 11 days, and Music Reader every 4 months. Most recently, Score Creator was updated on November 1, 2026 and Music Reader on October 26, 2026.

Other comparisons