Comparison

Guitabs vs Drumr Notate

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

Head to head
About

Guitabs

Features
Read full description

Ditch the messy binders and confusing group chats. Guitabs is the modern songbook designed for the gigging musician and the bedroom guitarist. Whether you are practicing solo or jamming with your band, Guitabs keeps your music organized, accessible, and beautiful. COLLABORATE WITH YOUR BAND Stop texting PDF files back and forth. Create a Shared Setlist, send an invite code to your bandmates, and keep everyone in sync. When you add a song or change the order, it updates on everyone’s device instantly. HANDS-FREE PERFORMANCE Never stop playing to swipe the screen. The built-in Auto-Scroll feature moves the lyrics and chords at your pace. Pause simply by touching the screen, and resume automatically when you let go. SMART IMPORT Find songs on the web using the built-in browser or paste from your clipboard. Guitabs automatically detects chords, lyrics, and artist information, formatting them into a clean, readable view. BEAUTIFUL & MODERN Experience a stunning interface with frosted glass elements, dynamic artist backgrounds, and full Dark Mode support. Your chords have never looked this good. KEY FEATURES: Personal & Shared Tabs: Keep your private practice songs separate from your band's gig list. Chord Pro Formatting: clear, monospaced font ensures your chords stay exactly where they belong over the lyrics. Capo Support: Save capo positions for every song so you never forget the key. Notes: Add personal performance notes or amp settings to any track. Instant Search: Find any song in your library in seconds. Download Guitabs today and focus on what matters: the music.

About

Drumr Notate

Create and share drum music compositions quickly. This app offers a comprehensive set of notation tools for various drum instruments, allowing you to hear your music and export it as a PDF or MusicXML file. It integrates with a practice tool for enhanced learning.

Highlights
  • Compose drum music with detailed notation
  • Multiple instrument palettes (Drum Kit, Marching Snare, Tenors, Bassline)
  • Playback with built-in drum sounds
  • Export scores as PDF and MusicXML
  • Integrates with Drumr for interactive practice
  • Keyboard shortcuts and intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

Notation software made exclusively for drums. Write a groove, work out a fill, or build a part for the line. Write it. Hear it. Share it. Made for speed Drag a note over the score to see where it fits before you drop it. You can also tap notes into place or use keyboard shortcuts. Repeat notes, duplicate measures, and copy and paste to build the part fast. Notate handles beams and rests as you write. Hear it back Hit play to hear your part, accents and ghost notes included. Built-in drum sounds follow your tempo marks from 30 to 300 bpm, with a metronome to keep the beat. Everything you need to compose. - Note values from whole notes to 32nd notes - Tuplets — triplets, quintuplets, sextuplets, septuplets, and ninelets - Dynamics from ppp to fff, crescendo and decrescendo hairpins, and score-wide Accent/Tap dynamics - Accents, marcatos, tenutos, staccatos, flams, drags, ruffs, diddles, ghost notes, and open hi-hat markings - Add sticking and text to explain how the part should be played, or show sticking with Berger notation on Marching Snare - Per-measure tempo marks from 30 to 300 bpm and time signatures from 2/4 to 13/8 - Beams group themselves from the meter, compound meters included, with manual override - Rests consolidate automatically Built for the whole drumline. Four complete instrument palettes, with more than 100 sound and technique combinations. - Drum Kit — snare, bass drum, hi-hats, toms, and cymbals, plus cowbell, tambourine, clave, and gock block - Marching Snare — rimshots, cross-sticks, buzz and press rolls, backsticks, stick shots, stick clicks, ping shots, gock blocks, cowbell, and ribbon crasher - Marching Tenors — all six drums, with rim clicks, rimshots, buzz and press rolls, crossovers, stick shots, stick clicks, and skank - Marching Bassline — all five drums, with rim clicks, rimshots, buzz rolls, stick clicks, and unison hits Wrote it? Now practice it. Take the part to the pad or kit. Tap Open in Drumr to follow every note, loop the hard bars, build the tempo with speed training, and get Performance Analysis on your own music. Available on iPhone, iPad, and Macs with Apple silicon. Requires Drumr Premium, with a free 7-day trial. PDF and MusicXML Your scores live in the Files app or iCloud Drive as standard MusicXML files. Send one to another drummer and they can open and play it free in Notate. You can also share or print a PDF. Appearance Choose Light, Dark, or System, with preset or custom theme colors. Start writing Try writing and editing free for 7 days, then subscribe to keep composing. Opening, playing, and printing scores is free. No account needed. — Help/feedback: https://support.drumr.app Privacy: https://privacy.drumr.app Terms: https://terms.drumr.app Apple EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Guitabs4 screens
Drumr Notate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Drumr Notate at Free against Guitabs's $1.99. Drumr Notate also leads on update cadence (daily vs monthly). Guitabs's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Drumr Notate is free to download; Guitabs costs $1.99 up front. Drumr Notate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Guitabs asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Guitabs ships an update monthly, Drumr Notate daily. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Guitabs versus Drumr Notate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGuitabsDrumr Notate
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating—4.8 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB44 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperSeaStackDrumr Inc.

In-app purchases

None

Guitabs

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Drumr Notate

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Guitabs free?
Guitabs costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Drumr Notate free?
Drumr Notate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Guitabs or Drumr Notate have ads?
Neither Guitabs nor Drumr Notate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Guitabs or Drumr Notate?
Guitabs ships an update monthly, and Drumr Notate daily. Most recently, Guitabs was updated on October 26, 2026 and Drumr Notate on October 25, 2026.

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