Show|Ready vs PlayScore 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Show|Ready
This app provides essential music rehearsal tools for musical theater productions. It offers playback features on iOS devices and director's editing on iPads. A license from a theatrical publisher is required to use the app.
- Music playback
- Director's editing (iPad)
- iOS compatibility
- License integration
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Show|Ready Mobile is the ultimate music rehearsal solution for musical theater. Show|Ready Mobile gives you all the playback features of the desktop Show|Ready on your iOS device. Additionally The director's editing features are available only on the iPad. A valid license of Show|Ready must be purchased first from Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Samuel French, Steele Spring or Plays for Young Audiences before you can use Show|Ready Mobile. Show|Ready Mobile only needs to be purchased once and then can be used with multiple Show|Ready licenses.
PlayScore 2
Scan sheet music from photos or PDFs and have it played back. Adjust instruments, tempo, and transposition. Export your scores as MusicXML and MIDI for further editing.
- Scan music from photos and PDFs
- Playback with scrolling notation
- Adjust volume, instrument, and transposition
- Smart metronome with time signature recognition
- Export as MusicXML and MIDI
- Create 'Playable Score' documents
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Play all kinds of music direct from photos, images and PDF scores. Export as MusicXML and MIDI Snap music with your camera or import images and PDFs. PlayScore will play them right back to you, scrolling through the song following measure by measure • Adjust volume, instrument and transposition for each staff • Accompany yourself while you sing or play your instrument - PlayScore 2 will even count you in! • Playback with smart metronome that understands time signatures • Create Playable Score Documents that anyone can play back by downloading PlayScore 2 • Export Full Notation MusicXML to score editors with text, dynamics, articulation and more PlayScore 2 reads and plays all kinds of music straight off the page† such as: • Songs • Piano, organ, guitar • Hymns • Solos and Sonatas • Chamber, band and orchestral Choirs and ensembles - Learning a new piece? Create a Playable Score, so each member can listen to their part on its own or standing out from the others. • 19 high quality instruments per staff to choose from • Change tempo (even while playing) • Tap anywhere to play, or drag with a finger to create a loop • Mute and adjust volume, and change instrument for each staff individually • Transpose the whole song or by instrument (transposing instruments) * Adjustable multi-measure count-in and metronome * Swing playback • Adjustable dynamic range PlayScore 2 makes it easy to create multi-page Playable Scores: • Rearrange recapture or delete pages • Select a page range in a PDF • Clip and mask • Search and sort by title or composer Subscriptions - Even without a subscription you can • Play and interact with any PlayScore Playable Score • Play pages of music in unlimited staves from a photo • Create and share single page playable documents PlayScore 2 Productivity subscription • Create and play multi-staff, multi-page scores captured with the camera or imported as images • Export your documents for anyone to play • Interact with scores, auto-transpose transposing instruments, export MIDI files PlayScore 2 Professional subscription • Create Playable Score documents from PDF scores that anyone can play • Export any score as MIDI and MusicXML containing full notation and text Productivity and Professional versions are available as 1-month or 12-month auto-renewing subscriptions. • The payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • You may manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings on-line after purchase Important: Capturing copyrighted music without the copyright holder's permission is illegal. PlayScore 2 recognises full music notation – see full spec at playscore.co † please see online help for exclusions Terms of use: https://playscore.co/terms-of-use
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: PlayScore 2 at 4.2 against Show|Ready's 2.8. PlayScore 2 also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 26%) and ratings volume (4.5K vs 81). Show|Ready's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. PlayScore 2 sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Show|Ready asks for nothing beyond the download.
PlayScore 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PlayScore 2 has 4.5K ratings behind it against 81, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Show|Ready's written reviews are positive against 50% of PlayScore 2's.
Show|Ready ships an update every 4 months, PlayScore 2 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Show|Ready | PlayScore 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.8 (81 ratings) | 4.2 (4.5K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.4% of reviews | 50.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 81 | 4.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #128 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 16 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 93 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Right On Cue Services, LLC | Organum Limited |
Customer experience
Show|Ready
PlayScore 2
User reviews
Show|Ready
From 81 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Handy tool for learning parts
- 👍 Useful for theater kids
- 👍 Good for practicing songs
- 👍 Helpful for learning harmonies
- 👍 Can layer voices in/out
Room to improve
- 🐛 Constantly crashing
- 🐛 Glitchy and buggy
- 🐛 App freezes often
- 🐛 Hard to play transition tracks
- 🐛 Sound stops instead of restarting
PlayScore 2
From 4.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent app for learning music
- 👍 User-friendly and easy to use
- 🎉 Impressive music recognition capabilities
- 💡 Helpful for practicing and isolating parts
- 🎨 Versatile playback options (tempo, instrument)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inconsistent note/rhythm recognition
- 🔢 Limitations on number of pages scanned
- 🔇 Issues with volume and audio quality
- 🤔 Struggles with complex or handwritten scores
- 💰 Subscription-based model
Bugs and requests
Show|Ready
Reported bugs
31 issues- App crashes constantly
- App freezes frequently
- App glitches
- App randomly kicks user out
- Buttons not visible on iPhone screen
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- Passcode entry crashes app
- Settings do not save
- App disappears from phone
- App needs to be reloaded
- Crashes when trying to repeat songs
- Music stops playing, only click track
- Tempo changes disappear after freeze
- Glitches on vamps/repeats/cesuras
- Needs complete reboot
- UI issues on iPhone/iPad
- No vocal tracks
- App crashes on login
- Tracks not loading
- App closes immediately upon opening
- Audio freezes
- Tempo issues or song stops briefly
- Song comes in/out at specific measures
- Adjustments do not save
- Parts not playing sometimes
- Cannot play parts after repeat/fermata
- Constantly crashing when opening app
- Doesn't show music
- Randomly mutes everything
- New update hides song title
- Instruments sound bad
- Laggy performance
Requested features
10 requests- More musical sounds than synth
- Minute/seconds counter for song length
- Ability to move tab bar to bottom
- Mobile view score
- Ability to make notes on the score
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- Option to mute metronome in mixer tab
- Score in the app
- Ability to loop sections
- Dark mode option
- Better quality instruments
PlayScore 2
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes and freezes when scanning/importing
- Playback issues with timing and note accuracy
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
- Exporting to MIDI/MusicXML not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to import PDFs and multiple pages
- Improved support for transposition and clef changes
- Metronome functionality and count-in feature
- Annotation and score editing capabilities
- Organizational tools (folders, playlists)
In-app purchases
Show|Ready
No in-app purchases
PlayScore 2
- PlayScore Productivity$5.991 Month
- PlayScore 2 Professional month$6.991 Month
- PlayScore Productivity$34.991 Year
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- PlayScore 2 Professional year$59.991 Year
Questions
Is Show|Ready free?
Is PlayScore 2 free?
Which has better reviews, Show|Ready or PlayScore 2?
Do Show|Ready or PlayScore 2 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Show|Ready or PlayScore 2?
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