Comparison

Play Jazz vs StageScore.net

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

Head to head
About

Play Jazz

Features
Read full description

Play Jazz turns your iPhone or iPad into an approachable jazz instrument. Choose a sound, start a backing groove, and play notes that fit the current harmony. Features: - Scale-safe keyboard with Home Scale and Chord Scale modes - Jazz chord progressions and backing grooves - Piano, Hammond organ, guitar, brass, and other instrument sounds - Sustain controls and touch-friendly slide playing - Tempo, mix, and three-band EQ controls - No account required Play freely, explore jazz harmony, and build confidence without worrying about wrong notes. The app is free and supported by non-personalized banner advertising.

About

StageScore.net

Features
Read full description

The singer changed the key? Your chart already did. StageScore is sheet music built for the bandstand. Pick a key and your instrument, and the whole chart is re-engraved on the spot: notes, chord symbols, key signature, accidentals. No new file, no transposing in your head, no signal needed. ANY KEY, ANY INSTRUMENT • Transpose a whole chart to any key in one tap. • Read the part for Bb, Eb or F instruments (trumpet, clarinet, tenor, soprano, alto and bari sax, horn), or in concert pitch. • Clean engraving, including a handwritten jazz look. THE VIEW EACH PLAYER NEEDS • Score for horns and melody players. • Chords for the rhythm section: a bar grid big enough to read in stage light. • Lyrics for the singer: big, readable verses, one section lit at a time, plus a teleprompter. A BAND IN YOUR POCKET • Bass, drums, keys and guitar play the changes in your key, at your tempo. • Swing, bossa, ballad, funk, rock, soul and more. Pick the feel, the kit and the instruments. • The bar being played can light up, so you never lose your place. MARK IT UP • Pen, highlighter, shapes, text and dynamics stamps. With Apple Pencil, just start writing. • Marks are anchored to the bars, so they stay put when you transpose or switch parts. • Notes per song or per gig: the intro, who solos, how it ends. BRING EVERY CHART YOU OWN • Import MusicXML (.musicxml, .mxl, .xml) from your notation software, PDFs and chord chart files, from Files or any cloud drive. • PDFs stay exactly as printed, and you can mark them up too. • Start a new score from scratch in the built-in notation editor, or write a chord chart bar by bar. READ THE PAGE (BETA) • Turn a PDF lead sheet into a chart you can transpose: notes, rhythm, key and chords, read by StageScore's page reader (free account and internet connection needed). • The printed line sits above what was read, and every doubtful bar is flagged for a second look. FIX IT WHERE YOU READ IT • Open any chart in the notes editor and drop notes, rests, accidentals, ties and triplets straight onto the music. • Change the key, the meter, barlines and repeats, or the chord symbols. • Hear any line back before you save. BAND BOOKS AND SETLISTS • Build setlists in running order, one tap to the next tune. • Share them in a Band Book: the band joins with a six-digit PIN. • Change the set and it updates for everyone, each player in their own key and view. • Download the book and it works offline on the gig. ON THE STAND • Chromatic tuner that reads in your instrument's key, with a movable reference pitch. • Metronome that takes the tempo off the chart. • Turn pages with a tap or a Bluetooth page-turner pedal. • Dark, red night-vision and high-contrast themes for any room. YOUR LIBRARY, SAFE • Your library lives on your device and works offline. No account needed to play. • With a free account: cloud backup, restore on your other devices, Band Books, and a community catalog of public-domain and chords-only charts. • Export any chart or setlist as a PDF, or back up your whole library to one file. In English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. Free, with no ads and no tracking. Made by a working saxophonist who got tired of transposing on the fly.

Screenshots

Play Jazz4 screens
StageScore.net4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: StageScore.net at none against Play Jazz's shown. Play Jazz's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, 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

Play Jazz ships an update every 5 days, StageScore.net every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Play Jazz versus StageScore.net: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlay JazzStageScore.net
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB120 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMateusz SmarduchPierre Renaud

In-app purchases

None

Play Jazz

No in-app purchases

None

StageScore.net

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Play Jazz free?
Play Jazz is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is StageScore.net free?
StageScore.net is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Play Jazz or StageScore.net have ads?
Play Jazz shows ads; StageScore.net does not.
Which is updated more often, Play Jazz or StageScore.net?
Play Jazz ships an update every 5 days, and StageScore.net every 3 days. Most recently, Play Jazz was updated on October 31, 2026 and StageScore.net on October 31, 2026.

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