Comparison

NotateMe vs Ribn

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

Head to head
About

NotateMe

Compose and edit music notation using handwritten input. This app recognizes a wide range of musical symbols, allowing for creation of scores for various ensembles. Export your work in multiple formats or share it via email.

Highlights
  • Handwritten music recognition
  • Compose for solo instruments and ensembles
  • Edit and playback scores
  • Export as PDF, MusicXML, MIDI
  • Import MusicXML files
  • Dropbox synchronization
  • PhotoScore Add-In for printed music
Features
Read full description

Ground-breaking music composition and notation software from Neuratron, featuring handwritten music recognition. Top 10 Music App in 62 countries! iPad Pro & Apple Pencil recommended for best results. - Quickly and accurately enter music notation with your finger or stylus. - Write music on the train, in a plane, by a lake, or just sitting comfortably on your sofa! - Simple, intuitive interface with little to distract you from your creativity - similar to writing with pen and paper, but with instant playback, editing and a score suitable for publishing at the end! - Write music for solo instruments (including voice and piano), drums or ensembles from string quartets and choirs to full orchestral scores. Includes support for transposing instruments. - PhotoScore Add-In (In-App Purchase): Take photos of printed sheet music with your device's camera, so you can play back and edit them with NotateMe! Recognizes 5-line staves and most markings including chords, flags, beams, rests, accidentals, articulation marks, clefs, key signatures, time signatures, tuplets, slurs, ties, hairpins and text including lyrics, dynamics and instrument names. Note: Requires 5MP camera & 1 GB RAM - so not for iPad 2, iPhone 4S, iPad Mini (1st gen) or earlier. - Email PDF, MusicXML and MIDI files of your scores to friends or other musicians. Open in other apps and desktop notation packages. Print to paper. - Import and edit MusicXML files (most music symbols supported). - Automatically sync your scores to Dropbox so you can edit them on your phone whilst you are out, and then on your tablet when you get back. - Great when learning or teaching music notation. - NotateMe recognises a wide range of music symbols, including notes (with solid, open, and slanted noteheads), flags, beams (even cross-staff*), leger lines, multiple voices per staff, chords, rests, accidentals (natural, sharp, double sharp & flat), articulation marks, augmentation dots, ties, slurs, hairpins, clef changes, key signatures. Barlines, clefs, time signatures and tuplets are added automatically. - Drag and drop (or set selected drawings to) further music symbols including cross noteheads, pedal markings, ornaments and appoggiatura. - Add chord-symbols, dynamics, technique, tempo changes and lyrics to your score. Write comments or ideas in 'red pen'. - If NotateMe doesn’t recognize your style immediately, keep at it, as it will adjust. Leave clear space between symbols and make markings clearer with further strokes if any transcription errors occur. If you experience problems, tap 'Help Improve NotateMe' from the Export menu and we will analyze your handwriting to help us improve NotateMe further. * Cross-staff beaming requires an iPad DEVICE REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM RECOMMENDED: iPhone 5/s/c, iPad (3rd gen onwards, iPad mini (2nd gen onwards), iPod Touch 5 onwards Screen size - 4 inches diagonal Writing implement - Finger or stylus PhotoScore Add-In: 5MP rear facing camera with auto-focus, 1 GB RAM. Good lighting conditions. Note: It may take a short while for you to become accustomed to aligning parts of musical symbols when writing using a finger, particularly on a smaller screen. WILL NOT RUN ON iPhone 3GS OR iPod Touch 4th Gen or earlier. RECOMMENDED: iPad Pro with Apple Pencil Screen size - 9.7+ inches diagonal PhotoScore Add-In: 5MP rear facing camera with auto-focus, 1 GB RAM. Good lighting conditions.

About

Ribn

This app provides a unique MIDI controller experience with 8 assignable ribbons. It allows you to record and loop finger movements, adding organic modulation to synthesizers and effects. Control various MIDI-responsive gear, from hardware synths to software instruments.

Highlights
  • 8 MIDI CC ribbon pads
  • Record and loop finger movement
  • Configurable MIDI channel and CC# per ribbon
  • Turn off looping for regular slider functionality
  • Switch between 3 sets of configurations with presets
  • MIDI sending in background
  • iPad landscape mode
Features
Read full description

Ribn is a MIDI controller with 8 assignable ribbons. What makes Ribn unique is its ability to record and loop your finger movement. This allows you to add organic repeating modulation to your synths and effects, kind of like complex LFOs. You can assign a unique MIDI channel and CC# to each ribbon. As long as your gear responds to MIDI CC messages you will be able to control it with Ribn. ** FEATURES ** • 8 MIDI CC ribbon pads • Add modulation to your MIDI hardware synths, effects, eurorack modulars, drum machines, etc. • Configurable MIDI channel and CC# per ribbon • You can name each ribbon to help you identify what parameter it's controlling • Turn off looping on individual ribbons to turn them into regular sliders • Choose any number of ribbons between 1 and 8 • Full screen mode (removes navigation bar to help you focus) • Switch between 3 sets of configurations using presets • MIDI sending works while the app is in the background • iPad landscape mode • Select multiple MIDI outputs • Ribbons record and loop your finger movement • Use a wired MIDI interface, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi • All settings are saved automatically • Works with external hardware as well as other iOS synths • Works on iPhone (including iPhone X) and iPad starting with iOS 10 ** EXAMPLE USES ** • Control hardware MIDI synths parameters like the filter cutoff frequency, resonance, oscillator octave, etc. • Control any soft synth in Ableton Live (or your favorite DAW) by connecting your iOS device to your Mac via Wi-Fi and choosing "Session 1" as the MIDI output in Ribn. • Control your Eurorack modules by running Ribn through a MIDI to CV converter. • Control other iOS synths like the Moog Model 15 or Arturia iSEM. • Control drum machines and effects. For example, try controlling the room size of a reverb effect unit with a looping ribbon or the snappiness of a snare drum on a drum machine. The possibilities are endless. • Daisy chain your MIDI hardware using MIDI Thru ports and assign each ribbon to a different MIDI channel. This way you can control more than one piece of hardware at a time. For example, you can assign the first 4 ribbons to a synth and the last 4 to an effect unit. ** HOW IT WORKS ** • Connect your MIDI gear (like a synth) to your iOS device using a MIDI interface (wired or bluetooth) • Launch Ribn and select your MIDI interface in the settings page. • Find out which CC# and MIDI channel your gear responds to (usually at the end of the manual) and enter this information in RIbn's edit view. • Slide your finger on a ribbon to send CC values and control the parameters on your MIDI gear. ** WHAT IS MIDI AND CC? ** • MIDI is just the way electronic musical instruments talk to each other. • CC (Continuous Controller) is just a way to control various parameters using MIDI. For example, a synth's filter cutoff frequency can be controlled using a MIDI CC signal. ** NOTE ** • Ribn is a MIDI controller and doesn't produce any sounds. To use Ribn you must connect it to a device that responds to MIDI CC signals (check your gear's manual to be sure). • Ribn doesn't send note data, it only sends CC signals (you can't play melodies with it, but you can control various parameters like synthesizer filters, or effects settings). • To connect your iOS device to MIDI gear you will need to buy a MIDI interface. A MIDI interface typically connects to your iOS lightning port and provides standard MIDI DIN ports to connect to your hardware. There are also bluetooth MIDI interfaces that connect wirelessly. Alternatively, you can connect to your Mac over Wi-Fi and control software synths that way. This setup is a little more complex but totally doable (I've tested controlling Ableton Live plugins over Wi-Fi with Ribn and it worked perfectly). • Audiobus and AUv3 are not supported at this time. However, you can still control other iOS synths by routing the internal MIDI ports and having Ribn run in the background.

Screenshots

NotateMe4 screens
Ribn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Ribn at 91% against NotateMe's 45%. Ribn also leads on price ($3.99 vs $39.99) and rating (4.8 vs 2.6). NotateMe's advantage is iOS requirement (6.0 vs 10.0). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

NotateMe costs $39.99 and Ribn $3.99 up front. NotateMe sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ribn asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ribn holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26 and 30 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of NotateMe's written reviews are positive against 91% of Ribn's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NotateMe ships an update every 2 weeks, Ribn every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
NotateMe versus Ribn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotateMeRibn
Price$39.99$3.99 — better
Rating2.6 (26 ratings)4.8 (30 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.5% of reviews90.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2630 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better10.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNeuratron LtdNebojsa Petrovic

Customer experience

NotateMe

All ratings26 ratings
Positive38.5%
Neutral3.8%
Negative57.7%
Written reviews173 reviews
Positive44.5%
Neutral12.1%
Negative43.4%

Ribn

All ratings30 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.1%

Bugs and requests

NotateMe

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Photoscore feature crashes frequently
  • Notes and rests sometimes get misplaced or lost
  • Inconsistent recognition of handwritten input

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to import and export MusicXML files
  • More customization options for layout and formatting
  • Support for additional articulations and notation symbols
  • Improved palm rejection and stylus compatibility
  • Transposition and chord symbol features

Ribn

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

NotateMe

One-time1
  • NotateMe PhotoScore IAP$29.99
None

Ribn

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NotateMe free?
NotateMe costs $39.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Ribn free?
Ribn costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NotateMe or Ribn?
Ribn is rated higher. NotateMe averages 2.6 out of 5 from 26 ratings, while Ribn averages 4.8 from 30 ratings.
Do NotateMe or Ribn have ads?
Neither NotateMe nor Ribn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NotateMe or Ribn?
NotateMe ships an update every 2 weeks, and Ribn every 3 days. Most recently, NotateMe was updated on September 9, 2026 and Ribn on September 28, 2026.

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