Comparison

ScoreLibrary vs Pure Score Reader

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

Head to head
About

ScoreLibrary

Features
Read full description

ScoreLibrary is a music score reader built for daily practice rather than the concert stage. It's the first score app with a real time-machine view of your annotations. 【Time Machine】 Every pen stroke is auto-snapshotted hourly. The vertical slider in the PDF viewer lets you scrub the timeline: - See only what you wrote this morning - See only the conductor's notes from last week's rehearsal - "Pin this as current" promotes a past state without losing the future snapshots This is unique among score reading apps. 【Smart Japanese Instrument Detection】 When you import PDFs, on-device OCR picks out the instrument and part number, automatically renaming "15_Trumpet3.pdf" to "Murdoch's Last Letter_Tp_3rd.pdf" or your localized equivalent. - 90+ instrument patterns (Western and Japanese) - Composer / arranger detection - Both vertical and horizontal text 【Multiple Import Paths】 - Multi-PDF picker with batched import - Whole-folder import - Camera scan to high-quality PDF - "Open in ScoreLibrary" from Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox - Files app, Mail, LINE share sheet support 【Annotations】 - Apple Pencil pen input - Two page-turn modes: paper Page Curl and smooth Slide - Attach photos anywhere on the page 【Concert / Event Management】 - Per-event annotations (your notes for Concert A don't bleed into Concert B even on the same score) - Setlists with reordering - Add multiple flyer images per event (front, back, handouts), viewable full screen - Auto-generated mute lists for what to bring 【Practice Tools】 - Chord card with audible chord lookup - Score reading card for note name / interval reference - Built-in metronome with compound-meter support (6/8, 9/8, 12/8) 【Trilingual】 Japanese / English / 简体中文 with instant in-app switching. 【Pro Tier (one-time $4.99)】 Unlocks Time Machine slider operation, "Pin this as current," paw- shaped slider thumbs, an alternate paw-stamped app icon, and a faint paw-print decoration across the tab backgrounds. Snapshots are recorded in the background for everyone, so Pro can be purchased anytime later without losing your past practice history. One-time purchase. No subscription.

About

Pure Score Reader

Features
Read full description

Your sheet music, always on stage. Pure Score Reader is a fast, distraction-free reader for your PDF scores. Import, annotate, and build setlists — then turn pages with a tap, a swipe, or a Bluetooth pedal. Everything a performer needs, and nothing in the way. ■ Distraction-free reading Read one page at a time or as a two-page spread. Smart zoom crops blank margins so the music fills the screen — nothing else gets in the way. ■ Effortless page turns Turn pages with a tap, a swipe, or a Bluetooth foot pedal — and pick up right where you left off. ■ Annotate in layers Mark up with a pressure-sensitive pen and highlighter. Keep fingerings, cuts, and cues on separate layers you can show or hide per performance. ■ Setlists Build a virtual score book — pages picked from any piece, in your running order. Jump straight to the next number. ■ Find any score fast Organize with labels and folders, and search by title or composer. Your whole library is one tap away. ■ Sync through your Drive Keep every device in sync through your own Google Drive. Your scores stay yours — there's no account to create. ■ Your library stays yours Works offline. No ads, no analytics profile, no selling your data. Just your music. ■ Simple, fair pricing Start free with up to 4 scores, 2 setlists, and PDFs up to 15 MB — annotations, layers, and Drive sync included. Unlock everything with a single one-time purchase (Essential): unlimited scores, unlimited setlists, any PDF file size, and all future updates. No subscription — pay once, keep it forever.

Screenshots

ScoreLibrary4 screens
Pure Score Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Pure Score Reader at every 3 weeks against ScoreLibrary's every 2 months. 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. ScoreLibrary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pure Score Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScoreLibrary ships an update every 2 months, Pure Score Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
ScoreLibrary versus Pure Score Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScoreLibraryPure Score Reader
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.417.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaisaku SetoSukodama Inc.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ScoreLibrary

One-time1
  • ScoreLibrary Pro$3.99
1 purchases

Pure Score Reader

One-time1
  • Pure Score Reader Essential$17.99

Questions

Is ScoreLibrary free?
ScoreLibrary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pure Score Reader free?
Pure Score Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ScoreLibrary or Pure Score Reader have ads?
Neither ScoreLibrary nor Pure Score Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScoreLibrary or Pure Score Reader?
ScoreLibrary ships an update every 2 months, and Pure Score Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, ScoreLibrary was updated on September 15, 2026 and Pure Score Reader on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons