Comparison

ScoreCloud Express HD vs Sibelius

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

Head to head
About

ScoreCloud Express HD

Instantly transform melodies played, sung, or whistled into music notation. Edit your scores, change playback sounds, and share your creations. Synchronize with desktop software for further arrangement and editing.

Highlights
  • Monophonic melody to notation conversion
  • Intelligent audio interpretation
  • Score editing and sound changes
  • Cloud and in-app song storage
  • Cross-platform synchronization
  • Sharing via email and social media
Read full description

Straight from musical idea to music notation - wherever you are! • EuroBest 2013 Gold winner for best user experience (UX) • Cannes Lions Gold winner 2013 "Media, Entertainment & Leisure" • Cannes Lions Silver medalist 2013 "Other Technology for Mobile" With this app you can: • Play, sing or whistle any monophonic melody and instantly turn it into music notation. • Edit score and change playback sound. • Share results with your friends and synchronize it with ScoreCloud Studio on your computer in order to arrange or edit it further. Features: • Displays your monophonic input in standard notation. • Intelligent interpretation of pitch, time signature, rhythm & meter, and tempo directly from monophonic audio input. • In-App and cloud-based storage of your songs. • Works with a wide range of musical instruments. • Playback with a number of different sounds or the original recording. • Designed for recording also in noisy environments. • No limitations with regards to musical style – ScoreCloud Express can track composite meters, syncopation, free rhythm etc. • Share your song with your friends by email, Twitter or Facebook (iOS 6 or higher) for anyone to view and listen to in a web browser. • Synchronize your songs with ScoreCloud Studio on your computer in order to edit and arrange them. ScoreCloud Express requires a free account and an Internet connection, since the analysis of your recordings is performed in the cloud.

About

Sibelius

Professional music notation software is now available on mobile devices. Create, edit, and hear your compositions anywhere with a full suite of tools optimized for touch and stylus input. Seamlessly sync across platforms and access different feature tiers to suit your needs.

Highlights
  • Professional music notation
  • Cross-platform synchronization
  • High-quality sample library
  • Apple Pencil and touch optimization
  • Innovative note entry
  • Command Search functionality
  • Scalable subscription tiers
Features
Read full description

Sibelius brings professional music notation to iPad and iPhone, putting the workflows used by countless composers, orchestrators, and arrangers at your fingertips. Seamlessly move between iPad, iPhone and desktop, and from studio to coffeeshop to scoring stage, and write anywhere inspiration strikes. # Work on scores anywhere Sibelius for mobile puts the #1 selling music notation program at your fingertips—literally. Work with the same tools and features used by countless composers and production houses every day on your iPad and iPhone. Whether writing down ideas, creating full-blown compositions, or reviewing scores, you have the freedom to create wherever you’re comfortable. #Take your portfolio to go Forget having to bring and break out your laptop when meeting with clients and collaborators. Instead, you can conveniently take the world’s most powerful notation toolset and your entire music portfolio with you wherever you go—ideal for those unexpected opportunities. And for tandemly working through last-minute revisions. # Hear your music in stunning detail Sibelius includes a high-quality sample library filled with a variety of musical instrumentation, so you can hear what your music will sound like when performed by real musicians. The Espressivo advanced notation interpretation even lets you adjust rhythm and swing to create a more humanistic feel. # Speed your workflow Sibelius for mobile is designed to take full advantage of Apple Pencil and iPad touch capabilities. Its elegant, streamlined interface provides the most intuitive and efficient workflows possible while supporting the same keyboard shortcuts you know and love from working on the desktop version, so you’ll feel right at home. # Get innovative note entry Experience the pen and paper workflow reimagined. Enter notes with the onscreen Keypad or a keyboard, and Sibelius takes care of all note layout. Touch a note and drag up or down to change its value, or drag left or right to add a flat or sharp. With an Apple Pencil, tap a note and tilt up or down to add a flat or sharp, or tilt left or right to choose the note value. # Have everything you need In addition to the Keypad, Sibelius for mobile features a Create menu that’s optimized for iOS, making it easy to add clefs, key signatures, time signatures, barlines, symbols, text styles, and more to your score from searchable galleries. You can also quickly search through all Sibelius commands using the Command Search, putting the entire app at your fingertips. # Move tiers to meet needs Sibelius is designed to grow with you to support your creative aspirations and project needs. From the introductory (and free) Sibelius First to the industry-standard Sibelius Ultimate, you can add more notation capabilities and instrument parts to take on more creative opportunities by simply upgrading your subscription tier. # Have everything on one creative platform Seamlessly move from desktop to tablet and back without ever having to import or export files. That’s because whether on mobile or desktop, you’re always in Sibelius. With files saved to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or other iOS-supported cloud service, you have easy anywhere access to all your ideas and scores. # Enable a hybrid workflow While Sibelius for mobile is fully featured, providing many of the same tools as its desktop counterpart, there are some notation and layout features only available in the desktop version, making it an integral part of a complete workflow (compare versions). Plus, the mobile version comes free with the desktop version, enabling you to work where and how you want.

Screenshots

Sibelius4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sibelius at Free against ScoreCloud Express HD's $2.99. Sibelius also leads on rating (4.2 vs 1.8) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 44). ScoreCloud Express HD's advantage is iOS requirement (6.0 vs 13.4). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Sibelius is free to download; ScoreCloud Express HD costs $2.99 up front. ScoreCloud Express HD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sibelius sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sibelius holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sibelius has 1.8K ratings behind it against 44, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of ScoreCloud Express HD's written reviews are positive against 36% of Sibelius's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScoreCloud Express HD ships an update every 3 months, Sibelius every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
ScoreCloud Express HD versus Sibelius: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScoreCloud Express HDSibelius
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating1.8 (44 ratings)4.2 (1.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews29.5% of reviews35.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings441.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS6.0 — better13.4
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB1.4 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDoReMIR Music Research ABAvid®

Customer experience

ScoreCloud Express HD

All ratings43 ratings
Positive18.6%
Neutral4.7%
Negative76.7%
Written reviews105 reviews
Positive29.5%
Neutral10.5%
Negative60.0%

Sibelius

All ratings1,796 ratings
Positive78.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative16.5%
Written reviews591 reviews
Positive35.7%
Neutral11.3%
Negative53.0%

Bugs and requests

ScoreCloud Express HD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Sibelius

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Scores disappearing or not saving properly
  • Subscription issues and inability to log in
  • Crashes when performing basic actions
  • Compatibility problems with newer iPad OS versions

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to enlarge chord symbols
  • More time signature options
  • Support for MIDI input
  • Better Apple Pencil integration
  • Autosave and improved file management
Show 2 more
  • Export options like MusicXML and PDF
  • Customizable shortcuts and toolbars

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ScoreCloud Express HD

One-time1
  • month of PLUS$4.99
2 purchases

Sibelius

Subscriptions2
  • Sibelius Artist for iOS1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Sibelius Ultimate for iOS1 Month trial$12.991 Month

Questions

Is ScoreCloud Express HD free?
ScoreCloud Express HD costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Sibelius free?
Sibelius is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ScoreCloud Express HD or Sibelius?
Sibelius is rated higher. ScoreCloud Express HD averages 1.8 out of 5 from 44 ratings, while Sibelius averages 4.2 from 1.8K ratings.
Do ScoreCloud Express HD or Sibelius have ads?
Neither ScoreCloud Express HD nor Sibelius shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScoreCloud Express HD or Sibelius?
ScoreCloud Express HD ships an update every 3 months, and Sibelius every 2 months. Most recently, ScoreCloud Express HD was updated on October 21, 2026 and Sibelius on October 29, 2026.

Other comparisons