Comparison

GarageScoreFree vs Sibelius

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

Sibelius

Professional music notation software is now available on mobile devices. Create, edit, and hear your compositions anywhere with a full suite of tools optimized for touch and stylus input. Seamlessly sync across platforms and access different feature tiers to suit your needs.

Highlights
  • Professional music notation
  • Cross-platform synchronization
  • High-quality sample library
  • Apple Pencil and touch optimization
  • Innovative note entry
  • Command Search functionality
  • Scalable subscription tiers
Features
Read full description

Sibelius brings professional music notation to iPad and iPhone, putting the workflows used by countless composers, orchestrators, and arrangers at your fingertips. Seamlessly move between iPad, iPhone and desktop, and from studio to coffeeshop to scoring stage, and write anywhere inspiration strikes. # Work on scores anywhere Sibelius for mobile puts the #1 selling music notation program at your fingertips—literally. Work with the same tools and features used by countless composers and production houses every day on your iPad and iPhone. Whether writing down ideas, creating full-blown compositions, or reviewing scores, you have the freedom to create wherever you’re comfortable. #Take your portfolio to go Forget having to bring and break out your laptop when meeting with clients and collaborators. Instead, you can conveniently take the world’s most powerful notation toolset and your entire music portfolio with you wherever you go—ideal for those unexpected opportunities. And for tandemly working through last-minute revisions. # Hear your music in stunning detail Sibelius includes a high-quality sample library filled with a variety of musical instrumentation, so you can hear what your music will sound like when performed by real musicians. The Espressivo advanced notation interpretation even lets you adjust rhythm and swing to create a more humanistic feel. # Speed your workflow Sibelius for mobile is designed to take full advantage of Apple Pencil and iPad touch capabilities. Its elegant, streamlined interface provides the most intuitive and efficient workflows possible while supporting the same keyboard shortcuts you know and love from working on the desktop version, so you’ll feel right at home. # Get innovative note entry Experience the pen and paper workflow reimagined. Enter notes with the onscreen Keypad or a keyboard, and Sibelius takes care of all note layout. Touch a note and drag up or down to change its value, or drag left or right to add a flat or sharp. With an Apple Pencil, tap a note and tilt up or down to add a flat or sharp, or tilt left or right to choose the note value. # Have everything you need In addition to the Keypad, Sibelius for mobile features a Create menu that’s optimized for iOS, making it easy to add clefs, key signatures, time signatures, barlines, symbols, text styles, and more to your score from searchable galleries. You can also quickly search through all Sibelius commands using the Command Search, putting the entire app at your fingertips. # Move tiers to meet needs Sibelius is designed to grow with you to support your creative aspirations and project needs. From the introductory (and free) Sibelius First to the industry-standard Sibelius Ultimate, you can add more notation capabilities and instrument parts to take on more creative opportunities by simply upgrading your subscription tier. # Have everything on one creative platform Seamlessly move from desktop to tablet and back without ever having to import or export files. That’s because whether on mobile or desktop, you’re always in Sibelius. With files saved to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or other iOS-supported cloud service, you have easy anywhere access to all your ideas and scores. # Enable a hybrid workflow While Sibelius for mobile is fully featured, providing many of the same tools as its desktop counterpart, there are some notation and layout features only available in the desktop version, making it an integral part of a complete workflow (compare versions). Plus, the mobile version comes free with the desktop version, enabling you to work where and how you want.

Screenshots

GarageScoreFree4 screens
Sibelius4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sibelius at 4.2 against GarageScoreFree's 1.0. Sibelius also leads on ratings volume (1.8K vs 1) and review sentiment (36% vs 25%). GarageScoreFree's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 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. Sibelius sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. GarageScoreFree asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sibelius holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sibelius has 1.8K 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 36% of Sibelius's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GarageScoreFree ships an update every 2 weeks, Sibelius every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
GarageScoreFree versus Sibelius: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGarageScoreFreeSibelius
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.2 (1.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews35.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better13.4
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB1.4 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAtsushi UchidaAvid®

Customer experience

GarageScoreFree

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

Sibelius

All ratings1,796 ratings
Positive78.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative16.5%
Written reviews591 reviews
Positive35.7%
Neutral11.3%
Negative53.0%

Bugs and requests

GarageScoreFree

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Sibelius

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Scores disappearing or not saving properly
  • Subscription issues and inability to log in
  • Crashes when performing basic actions
  • Compatibility problems with newer iPad OS versions

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to enlarge chord symbols
  • More time signature options
  • Support for MIDI input
  • Better Apple Pencil integration
  • Autosave and improved file management
Show 2 more
  • Export options like MusicXML and PDF
  • Customizable shortcuts and toolbars

In-app purchases

None

GarageScoreFree

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Sibelius

Subscriptions2
  • Sibelius Artist for iOS1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Sibelius Ultimate for iOS1 Month trial$12.991 Month

Questions

Is GarageScoreFree free?
GarageScoreFree is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sibelius free?
Sibelius is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GarageScoreFree or Sibelius?
Sibelius is rated higher. GarageScoreFree averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Sibelius averages 4.2 from 1.8K ratings.
Do GarageScoreFree or Sibelius have ads?
Neither GarageScoreFree nor Sibelius shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GarageScoreFree or Sibelius?
GarageScoreFree ships an update every 2 weeks, and Sibelius every 2 months. Most recently, GarageScoreFree was updated on October 6, 2026 and Sibelius on October 29, 2026.

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