Subwavr vs ChoirXML
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Subwavr
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Subwavr is a Navidrome music client built for listeners who run their own music server. Connect to any Navidrome or Subsonic-compatible server, browse your full library, and stream or download to your device — without giving your music to a third party. **Your music, your server** Subwavr mirrors your Navidrome library directly to your phone. Artists, albums, playlists, and songs are all stored in a local database, so browsing feels instant even on a slow connection — and your library is fully available offline. **Block Shuffler** A smarter kind of shuffle. A Block Shuffler is a named collection of albums or playlists — your "blocks." When you hit Block Shuffle, Subwavr randomizes the order of the blocks but plays the tracks inside each block in their original album order. You get variety across your whole collection without an album being torn apart mid-listen. Build one for your favorite jazz era, your workout stack, a road-trip rotation — then hit shuffle and let it run. **Stream and download** • Stream any song directly from your Navidrome server • Download albums and playlists for fully offline listening • HTTP servers only connect on WiFi, keeping your data off metered connections **Playlists, your way** Create, edit, and delete playlists directly from the app. Changes sync back to Navidrome automatically in the background. NSP smart playlists are recognized and treated as read-only. **Scrobbling** Every play is scrobbled back to your Navidrome server at the 50% mark. Scrobbles are queued locally if the server is unreachable, so your listening history stays accurate even offline. **Analytics** See your top songs and top artists by week, month, or all time — straight from your own listening data. **Privacy by design** Subwavr talks only to your Navidrome server. There are no analytics SDKs, no advertising networks, and no third-party backends involved. Your music stays between you and your server.
ChoirXML
Transform printed sheet music into an editable digital format. Convert PDFs, scans, or photos into MusicXML, allowing playback, transposition, and sharing with notation apps. All processing is done locally on your device.
- Import sheet music from PDF, images, or camera
- Automatic page straightening
- Recognizes notes, rests, dynamics, and lyrics
- Editable score with bar-by-bar correction
- Playback with piano and choir sounds
- Export to MusicXML for notation apps
- On-device processing for privacy
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ChoirXML reads printed choral scores and turns them into MusicXML – the file every common notation app can open. An old sheet, a scan or a photo becomes an editable score you can listen to, transpose, re-engrave or share with your choir. IMPORT • PDF or image from Files, a photo from your library, or scan with the camera • several pages into one song • pages are straightened automatically • choose the kind of score or let ChoirXML tell: choir, piano, choir with piano, instrumental RECOGNITION • staves, clefs, key and time signatures, including changes along the way • notes and rests down to sixteenths, dots, triplets, chords and several voices per staff • ties, slurs, fermatas, multi-bar rests and pickup bars • lyrics with several verses – even when printed once for all voices • dynamics (pp to ff), crescendo and diminuendo hairpins, accents, staccato, tenuto and breath marks • chord symbols above the notes • pale, grey photocopies too CHECK AND CORRECT Your original on top, the recognised music below – bar by bar in the same place. Only what was uncertain is marked in red, and ChoirXML asks exactly about it: Is the length right? Is the pitch right? Does this syllable belong to this note? A loupe shows that spot of the original. • tap a note to change pitch, length, accidental, voice or expression • delete single notes of a chord • insert missing notes for one voice or for both – also onto the stem of a note where the voice divides • insert missing bar lines, set or remove a pickup bar • confirm a voice that sings only a few notes of its own right where they stand • assign a syllable by tapping its note • set clefs, keys, time signatures, slurs, fermatas, final bars and repeats • undo and redo every change LISTEN Play back what was recognised before you share it: with a recorded grand piano and a choir sound, the singing voices as a choir or as a piano. The sounding notes light up, and you set the tempo. EXPORT MusicXML with all voices, verses, markings and chord symbols – with one staff per voice (soprano, alto, tenor, bass, each with its own sound and part in your notation app) or like a piano score on two staves. Save it to Files or share it straight to your notation app. PRIVATE Everything happens on your iPad. No account, no subscription, no ads, no data collection. Your music leaves the device only when you share it. GOOD TO KNOW Recognition works best with cleanly printed music. Handwriting, smudged copies or very dense scores need more corrections – ChoirXML shows you exactly where. Please respect the rights to the music you scan.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Subwavr at 15.1 against ChoirXML's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Subwavr ships an update every 2 weeks, ChoirXML every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Subwavr | ChoirXML |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Benjamin Wright | Jonathan Froese |
In-app purchases
Subwavr
No in-app purchases
ChoirXML
No in-app purchases









