Sheet Music Scanner vs Henle Library
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sheet Music Scanner
Instantly listen to scanned sheet music with this app. It recognizes musical notation and plays it back on your device with various instruments and adjustable speeds. Learn music by hearing it come alive from the page.
- Scan printed sheet music with camera
- Playback from photo library or PDF
- Tap to play specific measures
- Recognizes melody, harmony, and rhythm symbols
- Supports multiple instruments and voices
- Adjustable playback speed
- Export as MIDI, MusicXML, and audio
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Scan sheet music and instantly listen with music with Sheet Music Scanner. Sheet Music Scanner makes it easy for you to scan or upload printed sheet music. Listen to the music printed on the page in a number of different formats and instruments, directly on your device. Ever wanted to know how that interesting-looking piece of sheet music actually sounds? Now you can know instantly. Just point your iPhone or iPad at the sheet and let it play the notes for you. Listen to the notes and help yourself learn along the way. Sheet Music Scanner lets you scan and playback from any part of the song, just tap the measure and listen to your sheet music. You can even choose the instrument, pick the speed and enjoy! Download Sheet Music Scanner and scan your sheet music today! 2 for 1 universal iOS app: iPhone / iPod touch and iPad - you get Sheet Music Scanner for all your iOS devices for the price of one. SHEET MUSIC SCANNER FEATURES - Scan the whole sheet instantly using your built-in camera - Scan and playback from any image in your Photo library or from a PDF * - Playback from anywhere in the song - simply tap the measure, the notes and symbols are highlighted as they're played - Reads and recognizes the following symbols of musical notation pertaining to melody, harmony, and rhythm: treble, bass, and alto (viola) clefs, notes, duration dots, rests, accidentals, note ties, triplets and other tuplets, repeat signs * - Support for voices played in tandem, e.g. both piano hands at the same time, or all the choir voices - Support for playing individual staffs separately, e.g. right or left piano hand - Support for multiple pages - Accommodates speeds between 50 and 330 beats per minute - Cloud synchronization. Access your music library on any iPhone, iPad, or Mac with iCloud Drive. * Some limitations apply - please see at the bottom of the page. EXPORT OPTIONS - Export as MIDI, MusicXML, audio (M4A / AAC, MP3, WAV), PDF to cloud storage, directly to other apps or via AirDrop - All major cloud storages supported: iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, etc. Note that the appropriate cloud storage client app has to be installed for this to work. INSTRUMENTS - Accordion, Acoustic Bass, Alto Sax, Bagpipes, Banjo, Bass Guitar, Celeste, Cello, Choir, Clarinet, Double Bass, Flute, French Horn, Guitar - Classical, Clean, Distortion, Glockenspiel, Harp, Mandolin, Marimba, Oboe, Organ (Percussive, Pipe, Reed, Rock, Tonewheel), Piano, Recorder, Tenor Sax, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Vibraphone, Viola, Violin, Xylophone - Supports actual instrument pitch for transposing instruments - Change your pitch standard based on instrument, from standard 440Hz to 380-480 Hz SUBSCRIPTIONS - 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. Limitations - Reads printed sheet music, not handwritten or mimicking handwriting, tablatures, etc. - Reads standard oval note heads only, no special symbols like shape notes. - The following symbols are not currently supported: codas, percussion notation, dynamics, double sharps, double flats, and grace notes. These are planned to come in the future updates. - Use high-quality printed sheet music and take photos under good enough light, when scanning from your camera, for optimal results. For scanning from a file, the recommended resolution is 300 DPI or 8-12 MPx per page. - Some older prints and unusual fonts may not be recognizable. If you experience any problems, please contact support at support@sheetmusicscanner.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Henle Library
Access high-quality digital Urtext editions of classical music scores on your tablet. Practice, rehearse, and perform with a range of interactive features designed for musicians of all levels. Enjoy annotations, metronome, playback, and more.
- Digital Urtext editions
- Customizable score purchases
- Print and export PDFs
- Score modification and annotations
- Metronome and recording
- Part and score switching
- Explanatory notes access
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“With the Henle Library app a new era begins for classical musicians.” Daniel Hope An indispensable app for professional musicians, amateurs, students and teachers. The Henle Library app delivers G. Henle Publishers’ reliable Urtext editions straight to your tablet. You can practise, rehearse and make music – whenever and wherever you like. And you can enjoy the many unique features of Henle’s digital scores. Features: - Filter Henle Urtext according to your individual needs and purchase as required (individual part, single movement, bundles etc.) - Free version available for music students (licences for music colleges) - Print, export PDFs, share - Modify the score to suit your needs - Superimpose alternative professional fingerings (or choose “No fingerings”) - Unlimited possibilities for your own annotations - Easily switch between the part and the score at exactly the same measure - Open explanatory notes (footnotes, Critical Report etc.) at the appropriate place in the score - Record and play back your own recordings - Use the integrated metronome - Navigate extremely rapidly - Create and use playlists Do you like our app? Please consider writing a review. Thank you!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Sheet Music Scanner at 4.5 against Henle Library's 2.9. Sheet Music Scanner also leads on review sentiment (61% vs 34%) and ratings volume (6.4K vs 91). Henle Library's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Sheet Music Scanner sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Henle Library sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sheet Music Scanner holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sheet Music Scanner has 6.4K ratings behind it against 91, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Sheet Music Scanner's written reviews are positive against 34% of Henle Library's.
Sheet Music Scanner ships an update every 3 weeks, Henle Library every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sheet Music Scanner | Henle Library |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (6.4K ratings) — better | 2.9 (91 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 61.0% of reviews — better | 34.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.4K — better | 91 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #133 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 68 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | App Sub 1 LLC | Guenter Henle Verlag |
Customer experience
Sheet Music Scanner
Henle Library
User reviews
Sheet Music Scanner
From 6.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Game changing app
- 👍 Helpful for learning music
- 💡 Useful for singers and musicians
- 🚀 Accurate scanning and playback
- 👍 Great value for the price
Room to improve
- 🐛 Misses notes, rhythms, and symbols
- 🐛 Struggles with complex music
- 🔒 Requires subscription to fully use
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance
Henle Library
From 91 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 High-quality Henle urtext editions
- ✏️ Annotation and marking capabilities
- 🎵 Beautiful score formatting and rendering
- 🎚️ Customizable spacing and sizing options
- 🎹 Multiple fingering/bowing variants available
Room to improve
- 🐛 Annotations frequently disappear or get lost
- ✏️ Eraser function unreliable and non-intuitive
- 🖊️ Apple Pencil annotation tools difficult to use
- 📖 Multi-movement scores split into individual pieces
- 🖨️ Poor print quality with severe aliasing
Bugs and requests
Sheet Music Scanner
Reported bugs
3 issues- Misses key signatures and accidentals
- Struggles with handwritten or low-quality sheet music
- Separates hands/voices incorrectly in multi-staff scores
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to manually edit scanned music
- Improve support for repeats, codas, and complex rhythms
- Allow selecting/isolating individual instrument/voice parts
- Add count-in and metronome features
- Improve export options (e.g. separate instrument tracks)
Henle Library
Reported bugs
20 issues- Annotations deleted after app updates or restarts
- Eraser function fails to remove marks consistently
- Marks don't record when crossing between staff lines
- App crashes when opening purchased scores
- Purchased scores disappear from library
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- Blank pages appear when turning pages
- App freezes during export to PDF
- Infinite loading screen in online store
- Confirmation emails for credit purchases don't arrive
- App takes 40+ seconds to start
- Scores don't load immediately after purchase
- Annotation dots appear randomly when lifting pen
- Fingering annotations shrink in upper ledger lines
- Score skips to random pages during performance
- Export PDF quality is low resolution and fuzzy
- Annotation layer prevents writing in certain areas
- Zoom function jumps back to start of page
- Eraser requires tapping far from annotation to delete
- Palm rejection fails with Apple Pencil
- Print layout produces single-line pages for multi-movement pieces
Requested features
20 requests- Undo/redo functionality for annotations
- Ability to print entire multi-movement pieces together
- Half-page turning option for performers
- Playlist or collection grouping system
- Individual score parts (not just full scores)
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- Better annotation layer management
- Improved Apple Pencil support and sensitivity
- Customizable eraser behavior
- Page turn animation or visual cues
- Ability to hide specific staves or parts
- Microphone-activated page turning commands
- Difficulty ratings visible before purchase
- Digital-physical score bundling/discounts
- Better search and filtering in store
- Support for foot pedal page turners
- Ability to import scores from other sources
- Multiple annotation layers with visibility toggle
- Customizable metronome settings
- Landscape orientation improvements
- Persistent user settings and preferences
In-app purchases
Sheet Music Scanner
- Notation Scanner$4.991 Month
- Notation Scanner$9.991 Year
- Notation Scanner$14.991 Year
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- Notation Scanner$17.991 Year
- Notation Scanner7 Days trial$22.991 Year
- Notation Scanner1 Month trial$22.991 Year
- Notation Scanner$22.991 Year
- Notation Scanner14 Days trial$22.991 Year
- Notation Scanner$24.991 Year
- Notation Scanner2 variants$29.991 Year
- Notation Scanner7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Notation Scanner7 Days trial$44.991 Year
Henle Library
- 10 Credits$0.99
- 22 Credits$1.99
- 55 Credits2 variants$5.99
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- 100 Credits2 variants$9.99
- 200 Credits2 variants$19.99
- 300 Credits$29.99
- 500 Credits$49.99
- 1000 Credits$79.99
Questions
Is Sheet Music Scanner free?
Is Henle Library free?
Which has better reviews, Sheet Music Scanner or Henle Library?
Do Sheet Music Scanner or Henle Library have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sheet Music Scanner or Henle Library?
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