Comparison

Sheet Music Scanner vs PiaBookPlayer

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

PiaBookPlayer

This app displays musical scores from built-in lesson songs and practice pieces on Kawai digital pianos. It allows users to view scores, listen to playback through the instrument, and utilize features like phrase repetition and hands-free page turning via pedals.

Highlights
  • View musical scores
  • Listen to built-in songs
  • Digital score viewer
  • Repeat phrase function
  • Hands-free page turning
  • Bluetooth MIDI connectivity
Read full description

"PiaBookPlayer" is a musical score display app for Kawai digital pianos. It allows you to view the notated scores of the many lesson songs and practise pieces built into the digital piano, and listen to them playing back through the instrument. [*] *^ Music playback requires the digital piano be connected to an iPhone/iPad. ・View various lesson song scores Access high quality music scores for the wide variety of lesson songs/practise pieces built into Kawai's digital pianos. ・Listen to built-in songs easily Select the lesson song/practise piece you wish to listen to using the familiar music player app interface. ・Digital musical score viewer Transform your iPad or iPhone into a digital musical score viewer, allowing immediate access to hundreds of professionally created scores. ・Repeat phrase function feature Tap a bar on the score to specify the play position or playing range.  Once the start and stop points are set, the passage will repeat continuously until stopped. ・Hands-free page turning using pedals Turn pages of the musical score using the sostenuto or soft pedals, allowing players to concentrate on their performance. ・Bluetooth MIDI connectivity PiaBookPlayer takes advantage of the wireless Bluetooth MIDI feature built into many Kawai digital pianos, allowing players to enjoy listening to classical pieces and viewing their musical scores from the comfort of an armchair. ■ Included lesson songs/practise pieces Beyer 106 (Vorschule im Klavierspiel, Opus 101) Burgmüller 25 (25 Etudes Faciles, Opus 100) Czerny 100 (Hundert Übungsstücke, Opus 139) Czerny 30 (Etudes de Mécanisme, Opus 849) Sonatinen Album 1 J.S. Bach: Inventionen Chopin Walzer (Chopin waltzes series) Chopin Etudes (Opus 10) ■ Compatible models Please check our website. www.kawai-global.com/piabookplayer

Screenshots

Sheet Music Scanner4 screens
PiaBookPlayer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sheet Music Scanner at 4.5 against PiaBookPlayer's 3.8. Sheet Music Scanner also leads on review sentiment (61% vs 23%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). PiaBookPlayer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Sheet Music Scanner sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. PiaBookPlayer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sheet Music Scanner holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sheet Music Scanner has 6.5K ratings behind it against 5, 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 23% of PiaBookPlayer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sheet Music Scanner ships an update every 3 weeks, PiaBookPlayer every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Sheet Music Scanner versus PiaBookPlayer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSheet Music ScannerPiaBookPlayer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (6.5K ratings) — better3.8 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews61.0% of reviews — better22.7% of reviews
Number of ratings6.5K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#136 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB197 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApp Sub 1 LLCKawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Sheet Music Scanner

All ratings6,456 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral4.0%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews539 reviews
Positive61.0%
Neutral8.5%
Negative30.4%

PiaBookPlayer

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive22.7%
Neutral4.5%
Negative72.7%

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)

PiaBookPlayer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Sheet Music Scanner

Subscriptions13
  • Notation Scanner$4.991 Month
  • Notation Scanner$9.991 Year
  • Notation Scanner$14.991 Year
Show 10 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 Scanner$34.991 Year
  • Notation Scanner7 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • Notation Scanner7 Days trial$44.991 Year
None

PiaBookPlayer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sheet Music Scanner free?
Sheet Music Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PiaBookPlayer free?
PiaBookPlayer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sheet Music Scanner or PiaBookPlayer?
Sheet Music Scanner is rated higher. Sheet Music Scanner averages 4.5 out of 5 from 6.5K ratings, while PiaBookPlayer averages 3.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Sheet Music Scanner or PiaBookPlayer have ads?
Neither Sheet Music Scanner nor PiaBookPlayer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sheet Music Scanner or PiaBookPlayer?
Sheet Music Scanner ships an update every 3 weeks, and PiaBookPlayer every 5 months. Most recently, Sheet Music Scanner was updated on October 29, 2026 and PiaBookPlayer on October 25, 2026.

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