# Ensemble Composer vs Staventabs

The clearest difference is price: Staventabs at Free against Ensemble Composer's $14.99. Staventabs also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Ensemble Composer's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Staventabs is free to download; Ensemble Composer costs $14.99 up front. Staventabs sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Ensemble Composer asks for nothing beyond the download.

Ensemble Composer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 276 and 71 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Ensemble Composer's written reviews are positive against 65% of Staventabs's.

Ensemble Composer ships an update every 2 months, Staventabs every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ensemble Composer | Staventabs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $14.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.6 (276 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ensemble-composer/id724167960/reviews)** | [3.8 (71 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/staventabs-compose-and-notate/id947545539/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **276** | 71 |
| Positive reviews | **77.4% of reviews** | 64.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 15 MB | 128 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [N. Wheeler](https://appshunter.io/developer/312350021) | [Ivan Korovin](https://appshunter.io/developer/937929054) |

## What reviewers say

### Ensemble Composer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ensemble-composer/id724167960)

Create custom drumline music with realistic recorded sounds. Compose street beats, stand jams, or entire musical books. Play along, practice, share, and edit your compositions.

**Highlights:** Compose drumline music, Realistic recorded drum sounds, Play along and practice, Share and edit compositions, Support for any time signature, Customizable rhythms

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎵 Authentic drum sounds and audio quality (older versions)
- ✍️ Intuitive composition interface for writing cadences
- 📱 All-in-one drumline app combining multiple sections
- 💾 Export functionality to sheet music and audio formats
- 🎯 Useful for educators and students to practice rhythms

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Severe audio quality degradation after recent update
- 🐛 Choppy scrolling and laggy performance
- 🐛 Audio stuttering and cutting off during playback
- 🐛 Files not saving or disappearing after updates
- 🐛 Backward compatibility issues with legacy files

**Reported bugs**

- New update prevents opening older files
- Audio stutters and cuts off in faster rhythms
- Triplet rolls don't sound even
- Bass drum subdivisions not working
- Tenor section drums moved to incorrect positions

**Requested features**

- Revert snare sounds to pre-update quality
- Multiple sound option choices for drums
- Hi-hat option for cymbals
- Single tenor drum section option
- Separate tempos within drum sections


### Staventabs

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/staventabs-compose-and-notate/id947545539)

Compose and edit musical scores and tablature with a user-friendly interface. Create new pieces from scratch or templates, input notes intuitively, and enhance your compositions with advanced editing tools. Practice your songs with playback and metronome features, and manage your projects seamlessly.

**Highlights:** Score and tablature editing, Intuitive note input, Virtual piano and fingerboard, Instrument previews, Playback and metronome, AI-powered scale suggestions, MIDI and MusicXML import/export

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Advanced composing | $9.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited projects | $10.99 | one-time |
| Additional instruments | $10.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient music notation
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 🎨 Customizable chord diagrams
- 💾 Supports multiple file formats
- 🎶 Realistic instrument sounds

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 💰 Paywall for basic features
- 🔀 Inconsistent note/chord handling
- 🔍 Unclear documentation
- 🔊 Lagging playback

**Reported bugs**

- Imported MIDI files lose instrument assignments
- Disappearing projects after updates
- Inability to adjust note lengths in piano roll
- Metronome not audible over instrument playback

**Requested features**

- Add support for grace notes and ornaments
- Implement repeat/coda symbols
- Allow custom font and layout options
- Integrate MIDI input and output
- Improve chord recognition accuracy


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ensemble Composer free?

Ensemble Composer costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Staventabs free?

Staventabs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Ensemble Composer or Staventabs?

Ensemble Composer is rated higher. Ensemble Composer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 276 ratings, while Staventabs averages 3.8 from 71 ratings.

### Do Ensemble Composer or Staventabs have ads?

Neither Ensemble Composer nor Staventabs shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Ensemble Composer or Staventabs?

Ensemble Composer ships an update every 2 months, and Staventabs every 3 weeks. Most recently, Ensemble Composer was updated on November 1, 2026 and Staventabs on November 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*