Comparison

Espressivo vs MIDI Scribe

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

Head to head
About

Espressivo

Features
Read full description

This app enables you to dynamically control the following musical elements: - Tempo - Velocity - Articulation All you need to get a first impression of the app is a MIDI player such as GarageBand or Numa Player. The app already comes with a collection of musical pieces. To get the best out of the app, consider connecting a gamepad or a camera. With this app you will be able to: - Import musical data in formats such as MusicXML and others - Assign analog sticks, sensors, buttons and gestures to musical elements and functions - Use profiles to store device configurations - Control the display of the musical score - Transpose pieces of music - Manage musical repertoires Among others the app offers you: - An interactive musical score that follows the progress of the performance - An interactive piano roll and a table view of the score - A visualization of the controllers' actions - An interface for a remote performance control over Bluetooth and UDP - Numerous settings to control the performance of musical instructions - A collection of sound examples Detailed instructions are contained within the app. Enjoy your musical performance!

About

MIDI Scribe

This app automatically records practice sessions from MIDI instruments, segmenting takes by breaks or specific MIDI commands. Review and organize your recordings with a piano roll, star favorites, and export them as MIDI files. It prioritizes user privacy with no ads or data collection.

Highlights
  • Automatic take capture
  • Configurable idle time for new takes
  • Manual take control via MIDI commands
  • Piano roll for reviewing takes
  • Starring favorite takes
  • Configurable retention policy for unstarred takes
  • Export as MIDI files
Read full description

MIDI Scribe is a free productivity app for capturing and organizing practice takes from your MIDI-capable musical instrument. Run it while you practice, and it will automatically start new takes after every session break, with a configurable auto-take idle time, as well as support for specific MIDI commands (such as a middle or left piano pedal press) to manually start and end takes. A piano roll is provided to review and scrub individual takes. Star the takes that you want to keep indefinitely, while unstarred takes are cleaned up over time based on a configurable retention policy. All takes can be exported as MIDI files for use in other programs. MIDI Scribe is completely private. Connect your instrument, capture your takes, and keep everything securely on your device . No ads, no analytics, no snooping on your usage, and nothing ever leaves your device unless you export it. MIDI Scribe is completely free and open source for you to enjoy.

Screenshots

Espressivo4 screens
MIDI Scribe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: MIDI Scribe at every 3 weeks against Espressivo's every 9 months. MIDI Scribe also leads on iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Espressivo ships an update every 9 months, MIDI Scribe every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Espressivo versus MIDI Scribe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEspressivoMIDI Scribe
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.018.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHansruedi BarJames Ranson

In-app purchases

None

Espressivo

No in-app purchases

None

MIDI Scribe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Espressivo free?
Espressivo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MIDI Scribe free?
MIDI Scribe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Espressivo or MIDI Scribe have ads?
Neither Espressivo nor MIDI Scribe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Espressivo or MIDI Scribe?
Espressivo ships an update every 9 months, and MIDI Scribe every 3 weeks. Most recently, Espressivo was updated on October 8, 2026 and MIDI Scribe on October 28, 2026.

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