Comparison

NotePulse vs ChoirXML

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

Head to head
About

NotePulse

Features
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NotePulse transforms MIDI files into an interactive visual learning experience, helping you connect the music you hear with piano keys and traditional musical notation. Watch notes approach a full 88-key piano keyboard in the synchronized Notes view, or switch to the Live Grand Staff to follow the performance as written music. Keyboard and Score modes help you understand where each note belongs on both the staff and the instrument. Features include: • Synchronized MIDI playback, animated notes, piano keyboard, and grand staff • Live Grand Staff with Keyboard and Score viewing modes • Multi-track playback using SoundFont instruments • General MIDI instrument playback and per-track instrument selection • Adjustable playback speed for focused practice • A–B looping for repeating difficult sections • Track controls for mute, solo, volume, pan, transpose, color, and instrument selection • Left- and right-hand guidance • Score quantization and adjustable staff presentation • Support for user-selected MIDI and compatible SoundFont files • Online MIDI catalog with downloadable songs for offline use • Downloadable NotePulse Sound Library • Session import and export • Adaptive layouts for iPhone and iPad • Built-in starter music for getting started immediately NotePulse is designed for musicians, students, educators, and anyone interested in exploring how MIDI performances translate into piano movement and traditional musical notation. Import your own MIDI files through the Files app, explore downloadable music from the NotePulse catalog, or use the included starter collection. NotePulse remembers your practice settings, track configuration, visualization preferences, instrument selections, loops, and playback position for individual MIDI files. Your imported MIDI, SoundFont, and session files are processed locally on your device. Online catalog content and the NotePulse Sound Library are downloaded only when needed. No account is required. See the Music. Feel the Pulse.

About

ChoirXML

Features
Read full description

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

NotePulse4 screens
ChoirXML4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ChoirXML at Free against NotePulse's $0.99. 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

ChoirXML is free to download; NotePulse costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NotePulse ships an update every 10 days, ChoirXML weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 7 level
NotePulse versus ChoirXML: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotePulseChoirXML
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNoorcon Inc.Jonathan Froese

In-app purchases

None

NotePulse

No in-app purchases

None

ChoirXML

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NotePulse free?
NotePulse costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ChoirXML free?
ChoirXML is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do NotePulse or ChoirXML have ads?
Neither NotePulse nor ChoirXML shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NotePulse or ChoirXML?
NotePulse ships an update every 10 days, and ChoirXML weekly. Most recently, NotePulse was updated on October 7, 2026 and ChoirXML on October 26, 2026.

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