NoteTrace vs SheetScope
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NoteTrace
Read full descriptionHide full description
Every note you play flows across the staff. The app listens through your microphone and shows the note you're playing on a musical staff. The staff scrolls to the right, so your playing leaves a visible trail behind it. ■ What it does ・Shows the note you're playing on the staff, with its name ・Displays how far off the pitch is, in cents ・Colors the trail: green when in tune, orange when sharp, blue when flat ・Switches between treble, bass, and alto clefs ・Adjusts the reference pitch (415–443 Hz) ・Adjusts scroll speed and direction ■ For any instrument Strings, winds, keyboards, or voice. If it produces a single pitch, it works. The range covers low C (around 65 Hz) up through the high register. ■ Who it's for ・Anyone practicing intonation ・Anyone connecting the sound they make to its place on the staff ・Anyone checking the stability of long tones or vibrato ・Anyone who wants more than a number on a tuner ■ How to use it Open the app and it starts listening. There are no buttons to press. Allow microphone access and play. ■ Notes ・Designed for single notes. Chords and double stops are not supported. ・Audio is analyzed on your device. Nothing is recorded, stored, or sent anywhere. ・Quieter rooms give more accurate results. If it isn't picking up your sound, adjust Sensitivity in Settings.
SheetScope
Read full descriptionHide full description
Turn a sheet-music PDF, photo, or scan into an editable digital score. Drop in a MIDI file and get sheet music the other way round. Recognition runs entirely on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and results export as MusicXML, MIDI, and PDF. ■ Free · Score recognition — the first page of a PDF, photo, or camera scan, shown on screen to check and edit · MIDI → score — MIDI files exported from a DAW become sheet music, with no bar limit · Editing — select notes, move them up or down, fix accidentals, listen · Add and delete notes, change durations, swap rests and notes, set repeats and 1st/2nd endings by hand · Playback — hear the recognised score right away ■ Pro (one-time lifetime purchase, not a subscription) · Recognise every page of a document · Export — MusicXML (opens in MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale and others), MIDI, PDF ■ What it reads · Lead sheets and single-line melodies with chord symbols · Piano grand staff · SATB choir systems · Drum notation · Key and time signatures, ties, slurs, triplets, chord symbols · Repeat barlines (1st/2nd endings, D.C. and coda are not read automatically — endings can be entered by hand in the editor) ■ About accuracy — please read before buying Measured against scores with known answers (our own tests, September 2026). · Clean printed lead sheets: notes (pitch and duration) 90-99%. Dense sixteenth-note songs around 80% · SATB choir: about 93% · Piano: simple pieces 95%+, complex pieces around 80% — treat as a guide · Drums: hi-hat and snare nearly exact; kick drum misses about half the hits in busy bars — treat as a guide · Ties about 87%, slurs about 60% · Photos: straight, well-lit photos match PDF results; tilted or blurry photos drop sharply · Handwritten and tablature scores are not supported · MIDI → score: quantised MIDI is exact. Piano with up to two voices is accurate; three or more voices and performed (unquantised) MIDI are a guide only Automatic recognition is a first draft. The app is built for checking and correcting in the editor, and it removes most of the time you would spend entering notes by hand. Try your own scores in the free tier before you decide. ■ No internet needed Recognition, editing, and export all happen on your device. Score images are never uploaded. No account, no ads. ■ Copyright Convert only scores you own the rights to, public-domain scores, or scores you have permission to use. The app is made for personal study and practice and has no sharing or upload features. ■ Made for · Players and arrangers moving paper scores into editable files · Producers turning lead sheets into MIDI for a DAW · Choir directors and singers making part-practice audio · Composers tidying MIDI sketches into notation
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NoteTrace at none against SheetScope's 1. SheetScope's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 10 days). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. SheetScope sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NoteTrace asks for nothing beyond the download.
NoteTrace ships an update every 10 days, SheetScope every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NoteTrace | SheetScope |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SHIGETAKA NISHIDA | HYO SEOP LEE |
In-app purchases
NoteTrace
No in-app purchases
SheetScope
- Pro Lifetime$5.99









