Comparison

GarageScoreFree vs Guitar Notation

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

Head to head
About

GarageScoreFree

Create and share band music scores on your iPad. This app displays chord names on a notation window, offering different font sets for display and printing. Easily compose original songs and collaborate with band members.

Highlights
  • Chord name notation
  • Display and print font sets
  • Original song creation
  • Band score sharing
  • One Page for One Song (OPOS)
  • High Quality Print Out (HQPO)
Features
Read full description

I guess your first experience (in your school life) of a music score of your band was look like this. The band score was (and still “is”) a very cool tool for us to learning for our favorite songs. Even you have created your original songs with using the band score. “Intro, A, B, C, repeat, solo, and ending…”. It was very easy to create and share music among the band members. “We still need it on iOS, don’t we?” “Why don’t we make the band score for our iPad?” Yes, we made it! GarageScore show you not musical note but chord name on the notation window. GarageScore has two font sets. Draft for display and high-reso for print out. Let’s share your band score via iPad. You can also print out the score and write down your ideal notes on that. We make the notation score for your rhythm section and so on. Important Concepts for GarageScore. OPOS~One Page for One Song~ HQPO~High Quality Print Out~ CCW~Complexed Chord Welcome~

About

Guitar Notation

This app allows guitar enthusiasts to read, compose, edit, and play back guitar sheet music. It supports multi-track tabs, chord charts, and various notation elements, enabling users to create music on the go.

Highlights
  • Read, compose, and edit guitar sheet music
  • Playback functionality with high-quality sound
  • Multi-track tab support
  • Chord chart configuration
  • Export in MusicXML, MIDI, PNG, and PDF formats
  • Supports up to 8 staff for editing
Features
Read full description

A great guitar tabs and chords notation app on iOS. For any guitar music lover, Guitar Notation gives you the ability to read, compose, edit, and playback guitar sheet music scores. With it you can be a talented composer and great musician anywhere. As long as you have a little knowledge of sheet music, you can write music composition simply by touch and move. Of course it could help you to learn guitar notations. It can handle multi-track tabs, also it supports for chord chart configuration. With the help of it you could easily record the flashes of inspiration wherever they strike. Are you ready to compose music in a simple way? ----------------------- Features: -Export in the industry-popular MusicXML file format, allowing for exchanging sheet music with other software (Finale, Sibelius, Encore, MuseScore, etc). -Export MIDI file. -Export PNG image and PDF document. -High quality sound for playback. -Support editing up to 8 staff at the same time. -Support many kinds of guitar and bass instrument. ----------------------- Supported notation: *A variety of note types, from whole note to 128th note and dotted note *Chord chart configuration *A variety of time signatures *All standard key signatures *Adjustable tempo *All accidentals (sharps, flats, double sharps, double flats, and naturals) *Tie, slur, and tuplet *Many types of ornament *A wide range of dynamics ----------------------- UNLIMITED ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION - Support up to 8 staff - Config parts(add, delete, reorder) - Config chord freely - Change beat type and tempo - A wide variety of guitar types - Config sound for each part - No watermark image export - No Ads - Support 2nd voice part - Config capo for each line - Import data file - The subscriptions are $9.99 monthly - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that service, where applicable - Terms of use: https://service.notationpad.com/terms_service.html

Screenshots

GarageScoreFree4 screens
Guitar Notation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Guitar Notation at 4.0 against GarageScoreFree's 1.0. Guitar Notation also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 25%) and ratings volume (249 vs 1). GarageScoreFree's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). 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. Guitar Notation sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. GarageScoreFree asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Guitar Notation holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Guitar Notation has 249 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of GarageScoreFree's written reviews are positive against 58% of Guitar Notation's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GarageScoreFree ships an update every 2 weeks, Guitar Notation every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
GarageScoreFree versus Guitar Notation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGarageScoreFreeGuitar Notation
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.0 (249 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews58.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1249 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better13
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB153 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAtsushi Uchida嵩 张

Customer experience

GarageScoreFree

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative25.0%

Guitar Notation

All ratings246 ratings
Positive75.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative19.9%
Written reviews191 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative35.6%

Bugs and requests

GarageScoreFree

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Guitar Notation

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Audio playback only works through Bluetooth
  • Can't create a D chord, forces barre chord
  • Freezes on login screen
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to change tuning
  • Add palm muting feature
  • Add more examples
  • Add instructions/tutorial
  • Add ability to transpose
Show 1 more
  • Add ability to input chord symbols

In-app purchases

None

GarageScoreFree

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Guitar Notation

Subscriptions3
  • Unlimited Access7 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Unlimited Access Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Unlimited Access Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time3
  • Guitar Instrument Group$0.99
  • Bass Instrument Group$0.99
  • Extras Package$14.99

Questions

Is GarageScoreFree free?
GarageScoreFree is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Guitar Notation free?
Guitar Notation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GarageScoreFree or Guitar Notation?
Guitar Notation is rated higher. GarageScoreFree averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Guitar Notation averages 4.0 from 249 ratings.
Do GarageScoreFree or Guitar Notation have ads?
Neither GarageScoreFree nor Guitar Notation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GarageScoreFree or Guitar Notation?
GarageScoreFree ships an update every 2 weeks, and Guitar Notation every 4 months. Most recently, GarageScoreFree was updated on November 1, 2026 and Guitar Notation on November 6, 2026.

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