Comparison

Musicnotes vs capella score reader

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

Head to head
About

Musicnotes

Access and play a vast library of digital sheet music. Practice with interactive tools, transpose keys, and annotate scores. Organize your music into set lists for lessons, rehearsals, or performances.

Highlights
  • Interactive sheet music player
  • Key transposition tool
  • Annotation and markup
  • Set list organization
  • 500,000+ sheet music arrangements
  • Personal sheet music upload
  • Interactive playback with tempo control
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Musicnotes is your digital sheet music reader, player and music library for practice, performance, and learning. Access and print over 500,000 officially licensed printable sheet music arrangements, scores, and practice materials to play, study, and build your skills wherever you go. Whether you're a student, teacher, hobbyist, or professional musician, Musicnotes provides reliable, interactive annotation tools to support your musical education, rehearsal, and personal growth. Musicnotes brings sheet music and scores to life with interactive playback, helping you follow the notation as you listen, learn, and practice. WHY MUSICNOTES? • Sheet music player and reader for practice, rehearsal, lessons, and performance • Read, play, organize, annotate, perform, and print from one of the most trusted sheet music apps • Transpose songs into different keys for vocal training, music theory study, and instrument practice • Mark up your sheet music with a stylus or finger to improve sight-reading, interpretation, and recall skills • Organize your sheet music and scores into set lists for lessons, recitals, rehearsals, performances or group practice • Browse over 500,000 officially licensed printable sheet music arrangements, study scores and practice sheets • Receive 100 free sheet music titles, blank sheet music and scales, to support your learning and education journey • Upload and store your personal sheet music PDFs online for easy access • Easily import your Music notes sheet music pieces into the ForScore Pro app for note management • Discover popular musicals and artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, La La Land, Lady Gaga, and Bruno Mars ACCESS A WORLD OF EDUCATIONAL MUSIC RESOURCES • Take your digital sheet music library offline—perfect for students, teachers, and performers seeking reliable music reference material • Scan printed scores and convert them into digital study material • Explore free and paid music for all skill levels, instruments and voice: piano, guitar, drums, flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello, accordion, percussion, banjo, saxophone, tuba, baritone horn and more • Learn classical repertoire, lullabies, jazz standards, christmas classics or modern pop • Perfect for use in private lessons, school programs, and conservatory training PRACTICE TOOLS FOR MUSIC EDUCATION • Customize key and tempo for vocal range exercises or skill development • Use interactive playback with the music note player to improve rhythm, timing, and accuracy • Loop difficult sections for targeted repetition and muscle memory • Practice music theory fundamentals with harmony playback and tempo control • Organize your music note sheets into set lists to prepare for lessons, practice routines, or recitals ANNOTATE & TEACH MORE EFFECTIVELY • Highlight, write, and add custom markings to reinforce learning points • Switch between annotated and clean sheet music scores • Sync notes across devices with Musicnotes Pro, ideal for teachers & students THE BEST TOOL FOR TEACHING, LEARNING, AND PERFORMING • Tap or swipe to turn pages—or use AirTurn & Pageflip for hands-free playing • Customize paper backgrounds to mirror physical sheet music • Print purchased scores for classroom or in-person lessons • Use Musicnotes Pro Credits to redeem arrangements for your music curriculum • High-resolution PDFs available with Pro membership Try Musicnotes today and discover why music teachers, students, and performers trust it as the #1 sheet music reader, player, and performance app Musicnotes Pro is an annual subscription that will charge to your App Store Account & auto-renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your App Store Account will be charged within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Your subscription & auto-renewal can be managed in your Account Settings. Terms of Use: https://www.musicnotes.com/TermsOfUseApp.html

About

capella score reader

This app allows musicians to read, listen to, and practice music scores on their mobile devices. It offers features like solo voice playback, voice muting, and tempo control for efficient practice and study.

Highlights
  • Read and listen to music scores
  • Practice individual parts
  • Mute specific voices
  • Extract single voices
  • Two-finger zoom for scores
  • One-finger page turning
  • Adjustable tempo control
Features
Read full description

capella score reader Read and listen to music scores anywhere at any time Open your scores and read, listen, practice, study, perform when and where you like. Practice your part for choir or orchestra. As choir director or conductor study scores. Use capella score reader as digital music stand. capella score reader is the most recent offshoot of the capella family. With many practicing musicians, capella is known to be THE notation software which has been around for more than 25 years. capella is available for Windows and for Mac. Several additional programs, for example for scanning sheet music, complement the capella family – and now it’s capella score reader. Solo - tutti Select the Solo button to listen to one single voice. Solo on/off – this can be done during playback at any position in the piece. This way you learn your part efficiently. Voice filter When you’re almost there: Mute one or several voices to sing or play along yourself. Voice extraction Select a voice extraction for one or several voices – all others are hidden. Two-finger zoom With two-finger scroll zoom single spots or get an overview of the entire page. Page turning with one finger Slide across the screen as if you would turn pages – the notes will follow. Change tempo Control the tempo according to your needs for rehearsal: Slower at the beginning, next time faster. Navigation Open your own files. The last used files will be displayed. Exchange of scores Receive scores from other musicians, for example via WhatsApp or eMail. Share your scores with other musicians as capella file or PDF. capella score reader reads these score formats: - capXML (capella format) - cap (older capella format) - MusicXML - MIDI Video introduction A short video introduction shows the most important features. It’s really simple! We are looking forward to your feedback. Please use the feedback button in the help menu for questions about the app or error reports.

Screenshots

Musicnotes4 screens
capella score reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Musicnotes at 55% against capella score reader's 0%. Musicnotes also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 18 months). capella score reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. Musicnotes sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. capella score reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Musicnotes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Musicnotes has 43K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Musicnotes's written reviews are positive against 0% of capella score reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Musicnotes ships an update every 3 weeks, capella score reader every 18 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Musicnotes versus capella score reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusicnotescapella score reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (43K ratings) — better2.2 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews54.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings43K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 18 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#207 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB59 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperMusicnotescapella-software AG

Customer experience

Musicnotes

All ratings43,029 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral1.3%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews601 reviews
Positive54.7%
Neutral12.6%
Negative32.6%

capella score reader

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral66.7%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Musicnotes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues and inability to access purchased content
  • Crashes and performance problems, especially on newer devices
  • Inconsistent behavior when navigating and scrolling sheet music
  • Unreliable playback and sync features

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to permanently delete pre-installed songs
  • Improve note-taking and annotation tools, including Apple Pencil support
  • Implement better browsing and search functionality
  • Allow more flexible printing and copying options
  • Add seamless syncing between app and website purchases

capella score reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Musicnotes

Subscriptions1
  • Musicnotes Pro$14.991 Year
One-time11
  • PDF Sheet Music Arrangement2 variants$2.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$3.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$4.99
Show 8 more
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$5.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$6.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$7.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$8.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement + PDF$8.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement + PDF$9.99
  • Sheet Music Arrangement$12.99
  • Pro Credit Pack (3 Credits)$12.99
None

capella score reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Musicnotes free?
Musicnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is capella score reader free?
capella score reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Musicnotes or capella score reader?
Musicnotes is rated higher. Musicnotes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 43K ratings, while capella score reader averages 2.2 from 5 ratings.
Do Musicnotes or capella score reader have ads?
Musicnotes shows ads; capella score reader does not.
Which is updated more often, Musicnotes or capella score reader?
Musicnotes ships an update every 3 weeks, and capella score reader every 18 months. Most recently, Musicnotes was updated on September 26, 2026 and capella score reader on September 13, 2026.

Other comparisons