# Musicnotes vs Newzik

The clearest difference is ads: Newzik at none against Musicnotes's shown. Newzik also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 55%). Musicnotes's advantage is ratings volume (43K vs 1.6K) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Musicnotes sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year and Newzik sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Musicnotes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Musicnotes has 43K ratings behind it against 1.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of Musicnotes's written reviews are positive against 65% of Newzik's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Musicnotes ships an update fortnightly, Newzik every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Musicnotes | Newzik |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (43K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musicnotes-sheet-music-reader/id924050984/reviews)** | [4.6 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newzik-sheet-music-reader/id966963109/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **43K** | 1.6K |
| Positive reviews | 54.9% of reviews | **65.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 122 MB | 208 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Musicnotes](https://appshunter.io/developer/369741037) | [Syncsing - Newzik](https://appshunter.io/developer/470159089) |

## What reviewers say

### Musicnotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/musicnotes-sheet-music-reader/id924050984)

Access and play over 500,000 sheet music arrangements. This digital library offers interactive playback, annotation tools, and transposition features to aid in practice, performance, and learning. Organize your music, scan printed scores, and sync notes across devices.

**Highlights:** Sheet music player and reader, Interactive playback, Transpose songs, Annotation tools, Organize into set lists, Access over 500,000 arrangements, Offline access

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Musicnotes Pro | $14.99 | per year |
| PDF Sheet Music Arrangement | $2.99 | one-time |
| Sheet Music Arrangement | $3.99 | one-time |
| Sheet Music Arrangement | $4.99 | one-time |
| Sheet Music Arrangement | $5.99 | one-time |
| Sheet Music Arrangement | $6.99 | one-time |
| Sheet Music Arrangement | $7.99 | one-time |
| Sheet Music Arrangement + PDF | $8.99 | one-time |
| Sheet Music Arrangement + PDF | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great convenience
- 🎹 Fantastic range of music
- 🎶 Adjustable to skill level
- 💻 Reliable and responsive
- 🎨 Helpful playback and annotation features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Overpriced compared to other options
- 🔒 Restrictive printing and usage policies
- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🖥️ Inconsistent pricing between app and website
- 📱 Poor iPad and iPhone X support

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Newzik

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newzik-sheet-music-reader/id966963109)

Digitize your sheet music with AI-powered conversion, playback, and transposition. Collaborate with other musicians in real-time and access your library across all devices. Includes essential performance tools like a metronome and tuner.

**Highlights:** AI music recognition for scores, Real-time collaboration with musicians, PDF score transposition, Embedded metronome, tuner, and recorder, Bluetooth pedal support for hands-free page turning, Cloud storage for library access on any device

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Newzik Pro (monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Newzik Premium (Yearly) | $44.99 | per year |
| Newzik Essentials | $24.99 | one-time |
| Newzik Premium (lifetime) | $179.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app for musicians
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
- 💡 Useful features like tuner, metronome, and live score playback
- 🚀 Reliable and stable performance
- 👍 Excellent customer support

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Inaccurate live score playback, especially for rhythms and dynamics
- 🐛 Limited free version with restricted features
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with older devices
- 🐛 Unreliable page turning with Bluetooth pedals

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes when opening new scores
- Incorrect tempo and pitch playback
- Inability to properly import and read certain music file formats
- Syncing issues between devices and lost data

**Requested features**

- Add support for sorting music by genre, origin, or type
- Improve live score playback accuracy, especially for jazz and swing styles
- Implement a dark mode option for better visibility
- Allow more flexibility in organizing and rearranging setlists
- Provide a desktop app or better web integration


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Musicnotes free?

Musicnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Newzik free?

Newzik is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Musicnotes or Newzik?

Musicnotes is rated higher. Musicnotes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 43K ratings, while Newzik averages 4.6 from 1.6K ratings.

### Do Musicnotes or Newzik have ads?

Musicnotes shows ads; Newzik does not.

### Which is updated more often, Musicnotes or Newzik?

Musicnotes ships an update fortnightly, and Newzik every 3 weeks. Most recently, Musicnotes was updated on November 8, 2026 and Newzik on November 6, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*