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This is a comparison of music notation programs.
Name | Guitar tablature | WYSIWYG editor | MIDI entry[lower-alpha 1] | Playback | File formats | Developer(s) | Stable release; review date | License | Cost | Operating systems | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Import | Export | ||||||||||
Canorus | No | Yes | MIDI | CanorusML,[lower-alpha 2] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] simple LilyPond[lower-alpha 5] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] LilyPond,[lower-alpha 5] PDF | Reinhard Katzmann, Matevž Jekovec, Georg Rudolph | 0.7.3; 18 June 2018 | 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,[lower-alpha 6] CapXML,[lower-alpha 7] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI[lower-alpha 4] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, Truevision TGA, PCX, HTML | capella-software AG | 9.0-13; 19 March 2024 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS |
Denemo | Yes | Yes | Step-time | MIDI | Denemo,[lower-alpha 8] limited LilyPond,[lower-alpha 5] MusicXML[lower-alpha 3] | LilyPond,[lower-alpha 5] MusicXML, WAV, Ogg, PDF, PNG, MIDI | Jeremiah Benham, Richard Shann | 2.6.0; 11 March 2022 | GPL-3.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Dorico | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST | Dorico,[lower-alpha 9] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI[lower-alpha 4] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, TIFF, SVG | Steinberg | 5.1.51; 7 August 2024 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS |
Early Notation Typesetter | No | Yes | No | No | ENT[lower-alpha 10] | ENT,[lower-alpha 10] PDF | Samuel Gossner, Daniel West, Dieter Theuns | 0.9.6; 20 October 2020 | Proprietary | No charge for single font | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Encore | Yes | Yes | MIDI | Encore,[lower-alpha 11] MusicTime,[lower-alpha 12] Rhapsody,[lower-alpha 13] Compressed MusicXML[lower-alpha 14] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Cakewalk MIDI,[lower-alpha 15] Master Tracks Pro,[lower-alpha 16] PDF | Passport Music Software | 5.0.4 (Windows); 5.0.7 (macOS); 2015 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS | |
Finale | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST, AU,[lower-alpha 17] Garritan library | Finale,[lower-alpha 18] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI[lower-alpha 4] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] WAV, MP3, AIFF, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, BMP, GIF, PICT[lower-alpha 17] | MakeMusic, Inc. | 27.4; 29 November 2023 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS |
Forte | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST | Forte,[lower-alpha 19] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] CapXML[lower-alpha 7] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] BMP, JPEG | Lugert Verlag GmbH | 12; 2020 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows |
Frescobaldi | No | WYSIWYM | MIDI | LilyPond,[lower-alpha 5] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] ABC | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] PDF | Wilbert Berendsen | 3.3.0; 26 March 2023 | GPL-2.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux | |
Guitar Pro | Yes | Yes | MIDI, RSE | Guitar Pro (versions 1–8),[lower-alpha 20] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 21] Power Tab,[lower-alpha 22] TablEdit[lower-alpha 23] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 21] PNG, PDF, WAV | Arobas Music | 8.1; 27 March 2023 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS, Linux | |
Impro-Visor | No | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI | Impro-Visor[lower-alpha 24] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] PDF | Bob Keller | 10.2; 1 August 2019 | GPL-2.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux |
LilyPond | Yes | No | No | MIDI | LilyPond;[lower-alpha 5] using converters: ABC,[lower-alpha 25] ETF,[lower-alpha 26] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] MusicXML[lower-alpha 3] | PDF, PNG, PS, SVG | Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan Nieuwenhuizen | 2.24.4; 21 July 2024 | GPL-3.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD |
MagicScore | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, SoundFonts | SFD,[lower-alpha 27] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 28] WAV, MP3 | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 28] WAV, MP3, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, EMF, WMF | Maestro Music Software | 8.280; 2017 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows |
Mozart | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI | Mozart,[lower-alpha 29] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] NIFF,[lower-alpha 30] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 28] ABC[lower-alpha 25] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ABC,[lower-alpha 25] BMP, EMF, GIF, JPEG, PBM, PNG, TIFF | Mozart Music Software | 16.1.4; June 2024 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows |
Mus2 | No | Yes | MIDI | Mus2[lower-alpha 31] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] AIFF, WAV, PDF, SVG, BMP, JPEG, PNG | Utku Uzmen (Data-Soft Ltd.) | 3.2.3; November 2022 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS | |
MuseScore Studio | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, SoundFonts, SFZ | MuseScore,[lower-alpha 32] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 28] MuseData,[lower-alpha 33] Bagpipe Music Writer,[lower-alpha 34] Band-in-a-Box,[lower-alpha 35] Overture,[lower-alpha 36] Capella,[lower-alpha 6] CapXML,[lower-alpha 7] Guitar Pro (versions 1–6),[lower-alpha 20] Power Tab (experimental),[lower-alpha 22] PDF (experimental), ABC[lower-alpha 25] (with plugin) | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] PDF, PNG, SVG, MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 | The MuseScore developer community | 4.4.0; 27 August 2024 | 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,[lower-alpha 37] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ABC[lower-alpha 25] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ABC,[lower-alpha 25] PDF, JPEG, PNG, BMP | Musys Software | 4.0; 1 May 2015 | Proprietary | Prompt to purchase license appears when saving[2] | Windows | |
MusicEase | Yes | Yes | MIDI | MusicEase,[lower-alpha 38] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ABC,[lower-alpha 25] SongWright[lower-alpha 39] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] PDF | MusicEase Software | 10.1g; February 2024 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS | |
Musink | No | WYSIWYM | MIDI | Musink[lower-alpha 40] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] 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),[lower-alpha 41] MusicXML[lower-alpha 3] (with converters) | DVI,[lower-alpha 42] PS, PDF, MIDI[lower-alpha 4] (for PMX input) | Daniel Taupin, Ross Mitchell, Andreas Egler | 1.38; 29 March 2024 | GPL-2.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Notation Composer | No | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, SoundFonts | Notation,[lower-alpha 43] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke[lower-alpha 28] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] PDF, MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 28] PNG, BMP, JPEG, GIF, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 | Notation Software | 4.0.3; 2022 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS, Linux |
NoteWorthy Composer | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI | NWC,[lower-alpha 44] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke[lower-alpha 28] | MIDI[lower-alpha 4] | NoteWorthy Software | 2.75a.2; 2017 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows |
Notion | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Guitar Pro[lower-alpha 20] (versions 4–5) | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] WAV | PreSonus | 6.8.2; 24 August 2021 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS, iOS (iPad) |
Overture | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST, AU[lower-alpha 17] | Overture,[lower-alpha 36] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Score Writer[lower-alpha 45] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] WAV, MP3 | Sonic Scores | 5.6.1.1; 2 December 2019 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS |
Philip's Music Writer | Yes | No | No | MIDI | PMW[lower-alpha 46] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] PS | Philip Hazel | 5.22; 21 December 2023 | GPL-2.0-or-later | No cost | Linux (older versions for RISC OS) |
Power Tab Editor | Yes | Yes | MIDI | Power Tab,[lower-alpha 22] MIDI[lower-alpha 4] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 21] BMP, HTML | Brad Larsen | 1.0.0.175; 26 August 2006 | Proprietary | No cost | Windows | |
Rosegarden | No | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI | Rosegarden,[lower-alpha 47] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Hydrogen[lower-alpha 48] | LilyPond,[lower-alpha 5] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Csound,[lower-alpha 49] Mup,[lower-alpha 50] PDF | Chris Cannam, Richard Bown, Guillaume Laurent | 24.06; 5 June 2024 | 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 | Proprietary | Non-free | MS-DOS Windows |
ScoreCloud Studio | No | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] live audio | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] WAV, PDF | Doremir Music Research AB | 4.7.12; January 2024 | Proprietary | Free without file saving | Windows, macOS, iOS |
Sibelius | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST, AU,[lower-alpha 17] Avid library | Sibelius,[lower-alpha 51] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI[lower-alpha 4] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] MP3, PDF, SVG, EPS, PNG | Avid Technology, Inc. | 2024.6; 20 June 2024 | Proprietary | No cost up to 4 staves[3] | Windows, macOS, RISC OS, iOS |
SmartScore 64 NE | Yes | Yes | MIDI | SmartScore,[lower-alpha 52] scanned images, MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] NIFF[lower-alpha 30] | MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Finale,[lower-alpha 18] NIFF,[lower-alpha 30] PDF | Musitek Corporation | 11.6.109; 6 August 2024 | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS | |
TuxGuitar | Yes | Yes | MIDI | TuxGuitar,[lower-alpha 53] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Guitar Pro (versions 1–6),[lower-alpha 20] Power Tab,[lower-alpha 22] TablEdit[lower-alpha 23] | MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Guitar Pro (versions 3–5),[lower-alpha 20] LilyPond,[lower-alpha 5] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 21] PDF | Julian Gabriel Casadesus | 1.6.4; 23 August 2024 | LGPL-2.1-only | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD | |
Name | Guitar tablature | WYSIWYG editor | MIDI entry[lower-alpha 1] | Playback | Import | Export | Developer(s) | Stable release; review date | License | Cost | Operating systems |
File formats |
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