Comparison

Staventabs vs i

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

Head to head
About

Staventabs

Compose and edit musical scores and tablature with a user-friendly interface. Create new pieces from scratch or templates, input notes intuitively, and enhance your compositions with advanced editing tools. Practice your songs with playback and metronome features, and manage your projects seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Score and tablature editing
  • Intuitive note input
  • Virtual piano and fingerboard
  • Instrument previews
  • Playback and metronome
  • AI-powered scale suggestions
  • MIDI and MusicXML import/export
Features
Read full description

A simple notation and tab editor, Staventabs could become your indispensable helper in music creation. Use smart and convenient tools of Staventabs for composing and improving scores on your iPad or iPhone. Get inspired by viewing majestic classics scores or practicing good old jazz. Easily edit sheet music and tablature with user friendly interface like never before. Share musical inspiration with your band using Staventabs files. Create music • Start your new score from the scratch or with one of the two dozen templates² • Enter notes with intuitive instrument-independent interface or virtual Piano Keyboard • Explore and edit your score with sophisticated Piano Roll and Drums Editor • Choose from 22 groups of the instruments (keyboards, guitars, strings, drums, percussions, etc.)² listening their preview fragments • Use context-sensitive selection for bars, chords and tracks • Modify notes with dots, tuplets and ties • Make your music alive with lyrics • Customize clefs, key signatures and time signatures for bars • Change dynamics • Switch between enharmonic equivalents of the notes • Use customizable voices • Setup tunings with the large value of presets • Navigate around the score with Tracks board • Easily copy, paste and remove selected areas • Switch fast between tablature and stave inputs • Edit tabs with easy-to-use numeric keypad or virtual Fingerboard • Input notes by Staff Positions • Set the visibility for instrument parts in the score • Edit title and information about creators • Select and customize horizontal, vertical or page layout for your score • Use Scientific or Helmholtz pitch notation when entering notes • Add repeat signs and volta brackets • Don’t worry about losing data thanks to auto-saving • Connect your MIDI devices to Staventabs Practice your songs • Play the whole composition or selected fragment • Customize metronome clicking and countdown • Change track’s audio properties on-the-fly • Loop the playback of the desired part Improve compositions • Mark non-playable objects with "Highlight issues" • Use the "Starred scales" AI to determine the chromatic scales most similar to the selected area • Adjust the semitones of the selected area notes to the chromatic scale • Customize the chromatic scale for adjustment³ • Diminish, augment and subdivide note values • Transpose pitches by semitones Manage projects • Browse your projects with convenient file manager • Store your compositions in iCloud Drive and keep them up-to-date across all your iOS devices • Create new projects and duplicate existing (up to three editable projects in free version)¹ • Listen to preview fragments of the scores directly from the files menu • Open SNT, MIDI, MusicXML, Compressed MusicXML (MXL), Guitar Pro (GPX, GP5, GP4, GP3) and Karaoke (KAR) files • Edit MIDI, MusicXML, MXL, Guitar Pro and Karaoke files¹ • Organize your files from a desktop computer using iTunes or iCloud Drive • Open files from Mail and other applications (Dropbox, Box, etc.) • Convert files between supported formats¹ Share your brand-new hits with friends • Email your scores and tabs right from Staventabs • Print your score¹ • Export to PDF and MPEG-4 AAC¹ Features marked with superscript numbers are available via the corresponding in-app purchases: ¹ Unlimited Projects ² Additional Instruments ³ Advanced Composing

About

i

This app simulates orchestral instruments on iOS devices, allowing users to play musical scores using on-screen or external MIDI keyboards. Multiple users can collaborate to form a virtual orchestra, with each person playing a specific part.

Highlights
  • Orchestral instrument simulation
  • MIDI input via on-screen or external keyboard
  • PDF score display and playback
  • Collaborative virtual orchestra formation
  • Individual orchestral part simulation
Features
Read full description

i-Orchestra is an iOS app that enables orchestral instrument simulation on a mobile device. It voices musical instrument samples by transmitting MIDI messages to the app via the on-screen MIDI keyboard or an external MIDI keyboard connected to the iOS device through the Apple Camera Connection Kit. The screen of the iOS device displays the musical score of the users' choice in pdf format, allowing the user to scroll over the score and play the score at the same time. A virtual orchestra can therefore be formed collaboratively by a group of users, each of whom individually simulates an orchestral part using the app.

Screenshots

Staventabs4 screens
i4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Staventabs at 3.8 against i's 2.2. Staventabs also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (65% vs 50%). i's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.4). 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. Staventabs sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. i asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Staventabs holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Staventabs has 71 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Staventabs's written reviews are positive against 50% of i's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Staventabs ships an update every 3 weeks, i every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Staventabs versus i: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStaventabsi
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (71 ratings) — better2.2 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews64.9% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings71 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.48.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB336 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIvan KorovinLee Cheng

Customer experience

Staventabs

All ratings71 ratings
Positive66.2%
Neutral11.3%
Negative22.5%
Written reviews228 reviews
Positive64.9%
Neutral12.3%
Negative22.8%

i

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Staventabs

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Imported MIDI files lose instrument assignments
  • Disappearing projects after updates
  • Inability to adjust note lengths in piano roll
  • Metronome not audible over instrument playback

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for grace notes and ornaments
  • Implement repeat/coda symbols
  • Allow custom font and layout options
  • Integrate MIDI input and output
  • Improve chord recognition accuracy

i

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Staventabs

One-time3
  • Advanced composing$9.99
  • Unlimited projects$10.99
  • Additional instruments$10.99
None

i

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Staventabs free?
Staventabs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is i free?
i is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Staventabs or i?
Staventabs is rated higher. Staventabs averages 3.8 out of 5 from 71 ratings, while i averages 2.2 from 5 ratings.
Do Staventabs or i have ads?
Neither Staventabs nor i shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Staventabs or i?
Staventabs ships an update every 3 weeks, and i every 2 months. Most recently, Staventabs was updated on November 1, 2026 and i on November 2, 2026.

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