Comparison

Sheet Music Scanner vs SimpNote Lite

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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/

About

SimpNote Lite

Easily compose music using a numbered notation system. Write songs, create sheet music, and play your compositions with various input options for rhythm, pitch, and lyrics. Share your musical creations as images or MIDI files.

Highlights
  • Numbered notation input
  • Rhythm and pitch customization
  • Lyric and accidental input
  • Transposition and beat transfer
  • Export to image and MIDI
  • Real-time playback
Features
Read full description

Easy Numbered Notation Compose Tool Write Song, Compose, Make Music Sheet Play Your Artwork! ==FEATURE=== - Numbered Notation Input - Various Rhythm and Pitch - Lyric Input - Accidental Input - Legato, Appoggiatura, Tritone Available - Transposition, Transfer Beat - Keysignature, Beat Setting - Artwork Information Setting ==PLAY== - Sound when input - Play your notation - Play slice for your selection - Tempo Setting - Support Repeat Signature - Setting Instrument ==DESIGN== - Setting sheet background - Setting paper color and alpha - Setting notation/lyric font color - Setting font size ==SHARE== - Export to Image - Export to Midi File - Network Print - Share With Airdrop - Share to Other App 《Terms Of Use》 http://179music.com/2019/09/20/Terms_of_Service/

Screenshots

Sheet Music Scanner4 screens
SimpNote Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: SimpNote Lite at free with in-app purchases against Sheet Music Scanner's subscription. SimpNote Lite also leads on review sentiment (72% vs 61%). Sheet Music Scanner's advantage is ratings volume (6.4K vs 73) and chart position (#164 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Sheet Music Scanner sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and SimpNote Lite sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Sheet Music Scanner against 4.4 for SimpNote Lite. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sheet Music Scanner has 6.4K ratings behind it against 73, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of Sheet Music Scanner's written reviews are positive against 72% of SimpNote Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sheet Music Scanner ships an update every 3 weeks, SimpNote Lite every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Sheet Music Scanner versus SimpNote Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSheet Music ScannerSimpNote Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (6.4K ratings) — better4.4 (73 ratings)
Positive reviews61.0% of reviews72.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.4K — better73
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#164 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApp Sub 1 LLC炯龙 吴

Customer experience

Sheet Music Scanner

All ratings6,365 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral4.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews531 reviews
Positive61.0%
Neutral8.7%
Negative30.3%

SimpNote Lite

All ratings73 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral2.7%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral11.3%
Negative16.5%

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)

SimpNote Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Sheet Music Scanner

Subscriptions12
  • Notation Scanner$4.991 Month
  • Notation Scanner$9.991 Year
  • Notation Scanner$14.991 Year
Show 9 more
  • 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
3 purchases

SimpNote Lite

Subscriptions2
  • 月度会员$2.991 Month
  • 年度会员$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • 永久会员$59.99

Questions

Is Sheet Music Scanner free?
Sheet Music Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SimpNote Lite free?
SimpNote Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sheet Music Scanner or SimpNote Lite?
Sheet Music Scanner is rated higher. Sheet Music Scanner averages 4.5 out of 5 from 6.4K ratings, while SimpNote Lite averages 4.4 from 73 ratings.
Do Sheet Music Scanner or SimpNote Lite have ads?
Neither Sheet Music Scanner nor SimpNote Lite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sheet Music Scanner or SimpNote Lite?
Sheet Music Scanner ships an update every 3 weeks, and SimpNote Lite every 6 weeks. Most recently, Sheet Music Scanner was updated on September 24, 2026 and SimpNote Lite on September 23, 2026.

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