Comparison

Notalune vs Note Names

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

Head to head
About

Notalune

Features
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Notalune shows the name of every note, right on your own sheet music. Point your iPhone or iPad at printed sheet music and Notalune overlays the note names directly above the notes: English (C D E F G A B), German and Czech (C D E F G A H), solfège (do re mi) or Japanese katakana (ド レ ミ). No typing, no searching, no flipping through theory books. BUILT ON TRUST Notalune follows one rule: blank beats wrong. If it is not sure about a note, it leaves it unnamed instead of guessing. One tap on the traffic light shows how confident every name is (green, orange, red). Every scan starts with a quick clef check, and any name can be corrected in two taps. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Quick reading: point at one measure or a whole page and get the names in seconds. Nothing to create first; keep the reading or let it go • Any measure opens in place, with practice, editing, re-reading and sharing tools around it • Pieces: build your own library, piece by piece, measure by measure • Whole pages: photograph a full page or import a scan, map its measures, and read them one tap at a time • PDF import: title, composer and tempo fill in from the file, and every measure reads itself in while you watch • Open in Notalune: send a PDF from Mail, Files or WhatsApp straight into the app • Octave numbers, if you want them: c¹ c² in the Central European style, C4 C5 elsewhere • Annotated page: the assembled page with every name in place; practice from it with pinch-zoom and free pan • Print and share: export the annotated page or the whole piece as a PDF (Pro) • Metronome: a real mechanical metronome with tap tempo, free and unlimited • Corrections: fix any name, change the clef or key, or revert; uncertain notes are easy to spot FOR REAL SHEET MUSIC From method books and first songbooks up to harder repertoire. Recognition works best on printed music photographed up close, one measure at a time. In My Sheet Music you can assemble and read whole pages, measure by measure. A SCAFFOLD, NOT A CRUTCH The names are made to be hidden. In practice mode, tap a single name to hide just that note and test yourself. Tap again to reveal it, or bring them all back at once. The goal is the day you read without Notalune. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything happens on your device. Photos are processed on-device and stored only in the app. No accounts, no ads, no analytics, no tracking. The app never connects to the internet. If you opt in to help improve recognition, correction snippets are stored locally on your device; you decide if and when to share them, manually. FREE AND PRO Free: 10 quick readings in total, 3 pieces with one page each, the full metronome, practice mode, and every reading and correction tool. The 10 readings are a one-off allowance, not a daily quota - nothing resets, and nothing expires. Pro: Notalune Pro is a one-time purchase - no subscription, no trial to expire - that removes the limits and adds printing & sharing of annotated PDFs. Family Sharing included. IPHONE AND IPAD One purchase covers both. On iPad the reading page shows at close to print size, so you can play straight from the stand. LANGUAGES Seven: English, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese. Note naming in English (B), German and Czech (H), solfège, or Japanese katakana. The naming follows your choice, not your phone's language: a fixed-do player keeps do re mi on an English phone. Notalune reads notes so you can play them.

About

Note Names

Features
Read full description

Like subtitles for sheet music: every note's letter name, written right on the page. Play first. The notation sinks in as you go. For beginner and returning piano players who can play from letter names but stall on reading notation, and for parents helping kids practice. Import any sheet-music PDF and your iPhone or iPad reads it in seconds, fully offline. Or start from the Verified library: classical pieces by Bach, Mozart, and Chopin, their note names checked, note by note, against their source before shipping. HOW IT WORKS • Each note gets a small letter pill, above the staff for the right hand and below for the left. Accidentals like F# and C# are marked too. • Zoom into a dense passage and the letters hold their size, so crowded bars open up instead of shrinking. • Wrong read? Fix the letter with a tap and it sticks with the piece. WEAN OFF AT YOUR OWN PACE The reliance dial turns support down as a piece becomes familiar. Six steps take you from every letter, through landmarks and bar starts, down to ledger notes only, and finally none. Each piece remembers its own setting, and surprise accidentals stay marked until the very last step. MAKE THE SCORE YOURS Write fingering and reminders with your finger or Apple Pencil. The eraser lifts a whole stroke in one tap, undo brings it back, and markings save with the piece. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything happens on your device. No account, no ads, no tracking, no internet needed. Your sheet music never leaves your device. PAY ONCE One price. No subscription, no in-app purchases. For iPhone and iPad. On iPhone, turn it sideways and the page opens up to read like it does on an iPad. Also runs on Apple Silicon Macs.

Screenshots

Notalune4 screens
Note Names4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Notalune at Free against Note Names's $6.99. On update cadence, 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

Notalune is free to download; Note Names costs $6.99 up front. Notalune sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Note Names sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notalune ships an update every 10 days, Note Names fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Notalune versus Note Names: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotaluneNote Names
PriceFree — better$6.99
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDAVID CHRISTIAN LICHTAGLionel Teo

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Notalune

One-time1
  • Notalune Pro$9.99
1 purchases

Note Names

One-time1
  • Unlimited Imports$6.99

Questions

Is Notalune free?
Notalune is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Note Names free?
Note Names costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do Notalune or Note Names have ads?
Neither Notalune nor Note Names shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notalune or Note Names?
Notalune ships an update every 10 days, and Note Names fortnightly. Most recently, Notalune was updated on October 11, 2026 and Note Names on October 6, 2026.

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