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Comparison of scorewriters

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This is a comparison of music notation programs.

General information

Name Guitar tablature WYSIWYG editor MIDI entry Playback File formats Developer(s) Stable release; review date License Cost Operating systems
Import Export
Canorus No Yes MIDI CanorusML, MusicXML, MIDI, simple LilyPond MusicXML, MIDI, LilyPond, PDF Reinhard Katzmann, Matevž Jekovec, Georg Rudolph 0.7.3; 18 June 2018 (6 years ago) (2018-06-18) Since 0.7.3: GPL-3.0-only
0.1.0 to 0.7.2: GPL-2.0-only 		No cost Linux
Capella Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, SoundFonts Capella, CapXML, MusicXML, MIDI MusicXML, MIDI, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, Truevision TGA, PCX, HTML capella-software AG 10.0-01; 25 November 2024 (24 days ago) (2024-11-25) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
Denemo Yes Yes Step-time MIDI Denemo, limited LilyPond, MusicXML LilyPond, MusicXML, WAV, Ogg, PDF, PNG, MIDI Jeremiah Benham, Richard Shann 2.6.0; 11 March 2022 (2 years ago) (2022-03-11) GPL-3.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
Dorico Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST Dorico, MusicXML, MIDI MIDI, MusicXML, WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, TIFF, SVG Steinberg 5.1.70; 20 November 2024 (29 days ago) (2024-11-20) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
Early Notation Typesetter No Yes No No ENT ENT, PDF Samuel Gossner, Daniel West, Dieter Theuns 0.9.6; 20 October 2020 (4 years ago) (2020-10-20) Proprietary No charge for single font Windows, macOS, Linux
Encore Yes Yes MIDI Encore, MusicTime, Rhapsody, Compressed MusicXML MIDI, Cakewalk MIDI, Master Tracks Pro, PDF Passport Music Software 5.0.4 (Windows); 5.0.7 (macOS); 2015 (9 years ago) (2015) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
Finale Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, AU, Garritan library Finale, MusicXML, MIDI MusicXML, MIDI, WAV, MP3, AIFF, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, BMP, GIF, PICT MakeMusic, Inc. 27.4.1; 12 December 2023 (12 months ago) (2023-12-12) final release Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
Flat Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, AU MusicXML, MIDI, MuseScore, TuxGuitar, Guitar Pro (versions 3–8), Power Tab MusicXML, MIDI, WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, SVG Tutteo 37.9.0; 17 October 2024 (2 months ago) (2024-10-17) Proprietary Freemium Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
Forte Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST Forte, MusicXML, MIDI, CapXML MusicXML, MIDI, BMP, JPEG Lugert Verlag GmbH 12.1; 2020 (4 years ago) (2020) Proprietary Non-free Windows
Frescobaldi No WYSIWYM MIDI LilyPond, MusicXML, ABC MusicXML, PDF Wilbert Berendsen 3.3.0; 26 March 2023 (20 months ago) (2023-03-26) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
Guitar Pro Yes Yes MIDI, RSE Guitar Pro (versions 1–8), MusicXML, Compressed MusicXML, MIDI, ASCII tab, Power Tab, TablEdit MusicXML, MIDI, ASCII tab, PNG, PDF, WAV Arobas Music 8.1.3; 3 September 2024 (3 months ago) (2024-09-03) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS, Linux
Impro-Visor No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI Impro-Visor MusicXML, MIDI, PDF Bob Keller 10.2; 1 August 2019 (5 years ago) (2019-08-01) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
LilyPond Yes No No MIDI LilyPond; using converters: ABC, ETF, MIDI, MusicXML PDF, PNG, PS, SVG Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan Nieuwenhuizen 2.24.4; 21 July 2024 (4 months ago) (2024-07-21) GPL-3.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD
MagicScore Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, SoundFonts SFD, MusicXML, MIDI, Karaoke, WAV, MP3 MusicXML, MIDI, Karaoke, WAV, MP3, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, EMF, WMF Maestro Music Software 8.280; 2017 (7 years ago) (2017) Proprietary Non-free Windows
Mozart Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI Mozart, MusicXML, NIFF, MIDI, Karaoke, ABC MusicXML, MIDI, ABC, BMP, EMF, GIF, JPEG, PBM, PNG, TIFF Mozart Music Software 16.1.5; September 2024 (3 months ago) (2024-09) Proprietary Non-free Windows
Mus2 No Yes MIDI Mus2 MIDI, AIFF, WAV, PDF, SVG, BMP, JPEG, PNG Utku Uzmen (Data-Soft Ltd.) 3.2.3; November 2022 (2 years ago) (2022-11) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
MuseScore Studio Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, SoundFonts, SFZ, VST3 MuseScore, MusicXML, Compressed MusicXML, MIDI, Karaoke, MuseData, Bagpipe Music Writer, Band-in-a-Box, Overture, Capella, CapXML, Guitar Pro (versions 1–6), Power Tab (experimental), PDF (experimental), ABC (with plugin) MusicXML, Compressed MusicXML, PDF, PNG, SVG, MIDI, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 The MuseScore developer community 4.4.4; 11 December 2024 (8 days ago) (2024-12-11) GPL-3.0-only for desktop tools; online and mobile tools are proprietary and freemium No cost for most tools Windows, macOS, Linux
MusiCAD No Yes MIDI MusiCAD, MIDI, ABC MIDI, ABC, PDF, JPEG, PNG, BMP Musys Software 4.0; 1 May 2015 (9 years ago) (2015-05-01) Proprietary Prompt to purchase license appears when saving Windows
MusicEase Yes Yes MIDI MusicEase, MusicXML, MIDI, ABC, SongWright MIDI, PDF MusicEase Software 10.1j; September 2024 (3 months ago) (2024-09) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
Musink No WYSIWYM MIDI Musink MIDI, PDF, PNG, XPS Lee Reid 1.3.0.3 Proprietary No cost Windows, macOS
MusiXTeX Yes No No No TeX (incl. PMX and M-Tx), MusicXML (with converters) DVI, PS, PDF, MIDI (for PMX input) Daniel Taupin, Ross Mitchell, Andreas Egler 1.38; 29 March 2024 (8 months ago) (2024-03-29) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
Notation Composer No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, SoundFonts Notation, MusicXML, Compressed MusicXML, MIDI, Karaoke MusicXML, Compressed MusicXML, PDF, MIDI, Karaoke, PNG, BMP, JPEG, GIF, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 Notation Software 5.0.1; 6 June 2024 (6 months ago) (2024-06-06) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS, Linux
NoteWorthy Composer Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI NWC, MIDI, Karaoke MIDI NoteWorthy Software 2.75a.2; 2017 (7 years ago) (2017) Proprietary Non-free Windows
Notion Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST MusicXML, Compressed MusicXML, MIDI, Guitar Pro (versions 4–5) MusicXML, MIDI, WAV PreSonus 6.8.2; 24 August 2021 (3 years ago) (2021-08-24) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS, iOS (iPad)
Overture Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, AU Overture, MusicXML, MIDI, Score Writer MusicXML, MIDI, WAV, MP3 Sonic Scores 5.6.1.1; 2 December 2019 (5 years ago) (2019-12-02) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
Philip's Music Writer Yes No No MIDI PMW MIDI, PS Philip Hazel 5.22; 21 December 2023 (11 months ago) (2023-12-21) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Linux (older versions for RISC OS)
Power Tab Editor Yes Yes MIDI Power Tab, MIDI MIDI, ASCII tab, BMP, HTML Brad Larsen 1.0.0.175; 26 August 2006 (18 years ago) (2006-08-26) Proprietary No cost Windows
Rosegarden No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI Rosegarden, MusicXML, MIDI, Hydrogen LilyPond, MusicXML, MIDI, Csound, Mup, PDF Chris Cannam, Richard Bown, Guillaume Laurent 24.12; 4 December 2024 (15 days ago) (2024-12-04) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Linux
SCORE Yes No Step-time MIDI SCORE (.mus) EPS Leland Smith,
San Andreas Press 		5.01; 1 November 2013 (11 years ago) (2013-11-01) Proprietary Non-free MS-DOS
Windows
ScoreCloud Studio No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST MIDI, live audio MusicXML, MIDI, WAV, PDF Doremir Music Research AB 4.8.3; December 2024 (0 months ago) (2024-12) Proprietary Free without file saving Windows, macOS, iOS
Sibelius Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, AU, Avid library Sibelius, MusicXML, MIDI MusicXML, MIDI, MP3, PDF, SVG, EPS, PNG Avid Technology, Inc. 2024.10; 24 October 2024 (56 days ago) (2024-10-24) Proprietary No cost up to 4 staves Windows, macOS, RISC OS, iOS
SmartScore 64 NE Yes Yes MIDI SmartScore, scanned images, MusicXML, NIFF MusicXML, MIDI, Finale, NIFF, PDF Musitek Corporation 11.6.109; 6 August 2024 (4 months ago) (2024-08-06) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
TuxGuitar Yes Yes MIDI TuxGuitar, MusicXML, MIDI, Guitar Pro (versions 1–6), Power Tab, TablEdit MIDI, Guitar Pro (versions 3–5), LilyPond, ASCII tab, PDF Julian Gabriel Casadesus 1.6.5; 13 December 2024 (6 days ago) (2024-12-13) LGPL-2.1-only No cost Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Android
Name Guitar tablature WYSIWYG editor MIDI entry Playback Import Export Developer(s) Stable release; review date License Cost Operating systems
File formats

File formats and extensions

  1. ^ When entering notes, "step-time" means one first selects the note duration then enters notes and chords one a time, while "real-time" means one plays the notes to enter with correct rhythm and the software recognizes the note durations.
  2. Canorus native format, .can
  3. ^ MusicXML, open standard XML-based music notation exchange format, .xml or (version 3.1 or later) .musicxml
  4. ^ Standard MIDI file format, .mid or .midi
  5. ^ LilyPond plain text native format, .ly
  6. ^ Capella native format, binary file, .cap
  7. ^ Capella native format, compressed ZIP containing XML, .capx
  8. Denemo native format, .denemo
  9. Dorico native format, .dorico
  10. ^ Early notation typesetter native format, .ent
  11. Encore native format, .enc
  12. MusicTime (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .mto, .mus (different to Finale .mus)
  13. Rhapsody (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .rhp
  14. ^ MusicXML version 2.0 or later, compressed as a ZIP, .mxl
  15. Cakewalk MIDI file format, .mff
  16. Master Tracks Pro (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .mts
  17. ^ Mac version only
  18. ^ Finale native format, .mus (2012 and earlier) or .musx (2014 and later)
  19. Forte native format, .fnf
  20. ^ Guitar Pro native format version 1–2, .gtp; version 3, .gp3; version 4, .gp4; version 5, .gp5; version 6, .gpx; version 7, .gp
  21. ^ ASCII tablature plain text format, .txt, .tab, or .btab
  22. ^ Power Tab Editor native format, .ptb
  23. ^ TablEdit native format, .tef
  24. Impro-Visor native format, .ls
  25. ^ ABC plain text format, .abc
  26. Finale Enigma Transport Format, .etf
  27. Maestro software family native format, .sfd
  28. ^ Standard MIDI file format including standard MIDI lyrics, used for karaoke, .kar
  29. Mozart native format, .mz
  30. ^ Notation Interchange File Format, .nif
  31. Mus2 notation and tuning file format, .mus2, .mu2
  32. MuseScore native format, .mscz; uncompressed XML-based format, .mscx; style sheet, .mss; score album, .album
  33. MuseData project format, .md
  34. Bagpipe Music Writer native format, .bww
  35. Band-in-a-Box native format, .mgu or .sgu
  36. ^ Overture native format, .ove
  37. MusiCAD plain text native format, .mc
  38. MusicEase native format, .mez
  39. SongWright native format, .sw
  40. Musink native format, .musink
  41. PMX, preprocessor language for MusixTeX, .pmx; M-Tx, processor for PMX, .mtx
  42. TeX device independent file format, .dvi
  43. NoteSoft file, Notation Software native format, .not
  44. NoteWorthy Composer native format, .nwc or .nwctxt
  45. Score Writer (by the same developer as Overture) native format, .scw
  46. Philip's Music Writer native format, human-readable text, .pmw
  47. Rosegarden native format, .rg
  48. Hydrogen drum machine song XML file format, .h2song
  49. Csound audio domain-specific language format, without orchestra data, .csd
  50. Music Publisher Score file format, .mup
  51. Sibelius (scorewriter) native format, .sib
  52. SmartScore native format, .enf
  53. TuxGuitar native format, .tg

See also

Notes

  1. "An incomplete description of the Enigma Transport Format". LilyPond.org. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  2. Restrictions
  3. Version Comparison
Scorewriters
Free and open-source
Proprietary
No longer developed
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