Comparison of scorewriters

Last updated

This is a comparison of music notation computer programs .

Contents

General information

NameGuitar tablature WYSIWYG editorMIDI entry [a] PlaybackFile formatsDeveloper(s)Stable release; review date License CostOperating system(s)
ImportExport
Canorus NoYes MIDI CanorusML, [b] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] simple LilyPond [e] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] LilyPond, [e] PDF Reinhard Katzmann, Matevž Jekovec, Georg Rudolph0.7.3; 18 June 2018(7 years ago)Since 0.7.3: GPL-3.0-only
0.1.0 to 0.7.2: GPL-2.0-only 		No cost Linux
Capella YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VST, SoundFontsCapella, [f] CapXML, [g] MusicXML, [c] MIDI [d] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, Truevision TGA, PCX, HTML capella-software AG10.0-07; 21 January 2026(43 days ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS
Denemo YesYesStep-timeMIDIDenemo, [h] limited LilyPond, [e] MusicXML [c] LilyPond, [e] MusicXML, WAV, Ogg, PDF, PNG, MIDI Jeremiah Benham, Richard Shann2.6.0; 11 March 2022(3 years ago) GPL-3.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
Dorico YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VSTDorico, [i] MusicXML, [c] MIDI [d] MIDI, [d] MusicXML, [c] WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, TIFF, SVG Steinberg 6.1.10; 13 October 2025(4 months ago) Proprietary No cost up to 8 staves [1] Windows, macOS
Early Notation Typesetter NoYesNoNo ENT [j] ENT, [j] PDF Samuel Gossner, Daniel West, Dieter Theuns0.9.6; 20 October 2020(5 years ago) Proprietary No charge for single fontWindows, macOS, Linux
Encore YesYesMIDIEncore, [k] MusicTime, [l] Rhapsody, [m] Compressed MusicXML [n] MIDI, [d] Cakewalk MIDI, [o] Master Tracks Pro, [p] PDF Passport Music Software5.0.4 (Windows); 5.0.7 (macOS); 2015(11 years ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS
Finale YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VST, AU, [q] Garritan libraryFinale, [r] MusicXML, [c] MIDI [d] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] WAV, MP3, AIFF, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, BMP, GIF, PICT [q] MakeMusic, Inc.27.4.1; 12 December 2023(2 years ago) final release Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS
FlatYesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VST, AU MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] MuseScore, TuxGuitar, Guitar Pro (versions 3–8), Power Tab MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, SVGTutteo37.9.0; 17 October 2024(16 months ago) Proprietary Freemium Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Forte YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VSTForte, [s] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] CapXML [g] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] BMP, JPEG Lugert Verlag GmbH12.1; 12 February 2021(5 years ago) final release Proprietary Non-freeWindows
FrescobaldiNo WYSIWYM NoMIDI LilyPond, [e] MusicXML, [c] ABC MusicXML, [c] PDF Wilbert Berendsen4.0.5; 11 February 2026(22 days ago) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
Guitar Pro YesYesMIDI, RSE Guitar Pro (versions 1–8), [t] MusicXML, [c] Compressed MusicXML, [n] MIDI, [d] ASCII tab, [u] Power Tab, [v] TablEdit [w] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] ASCII tab, [u] PNG, PDF, WAV Arobas Music8.1.5; 27 October 2025(4 months ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS, Linux
Harmony AssistantYesYesStep-time and real-timeIntegrated free soundbank (Gold 2 sold separately), SoundFonts, MIDI, partial support of VST (Windows and Mac only)Myriad, [x] MusicXML, [c] Compressed MusicXML, [n] MIDI, [d] Karaoke, [y] CMF, [z] , Module, [aa] Encore, [k] MusicTime, [l] Rhapsody, [m] NoteWorthy, [ab] ABC, [ac] Guitar Pro (versions 1–5), [t] TablEdit, [w] Finale (.mus), [r] ETF [ad] , audio formats imported as sound "digital" track MusicXML, [c] Compressed MusicXML, [n] HTML (MyrWeb), MIDI, [d] Karaoke, [y] ABC, [ac] WAV, MP3, Ogg, AIFF, PDF, PNG, SVG, TIFF, video using FFmpeg Myriad Software9.9.9i; 11 October 2025(4 months ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS, Linux
Impro-Visor NoYesStep-time and real-timeMIDIImpro-Visor [ae] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] PDF Bob Keller10.2; 1 August 2019(6 years ago) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
LilyPond YesNoNoMIDI LilyPond; [e] using converters: ABC, [ac] ETF, [ad] MIDI, [d] MusicXML [c] PDF, PNG, PS, SVG Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan Nieuwenhuizen2.24.4; 21 July 2024(19 months ago) GPL-3.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD
MagicScore YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, SoundFontsSFD, [af] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] Karaoke, [y] WAV, MP3 MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] Karaoke, [y] WAV, MP3, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, EMF, WMF Maestro Music Software8.280; 2017(9 years ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows
Mozart YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDIMozart, [ag] MusicXML, [c] NIFF, [ah] MIDI, [d] Karaoke, [y] ABC [ac] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] ABC, [ac] BMP, EMF, GIF, JPEG, PBM, PNG, TIFF Mozart Music Software17.0.6; January 2026(2 months ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows
Mus2 NoYesMIDIMus2 [ai] MIDI, [d] AIFF, WAV, PDF, SVG, BMP, JPEG, PNG Utku Uzmen (Data-Soft Ltd.)3.3.1; 23 September 2025(5 months ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS
MuseScore StudioYesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, SoundFonts, SFZ, VST3 MuseScore, [aj] MusicXML, [c] Compressed MusicXML, [n] MEI, [ak] MIDI, [d] Karaoke, [y] MuseData, [al] Bagpipe Music Writer, [am] Band-in-a-Box, [an] Overture, [ao] Capella, [f] CapXML, [g] Guitar Pro (versions 1–6), [t] Power Tab (experimental), [v] PDF (experimental), ABC [ac] (with plugin) MusicXML, [c] Compressed MusicXML, [n] MEI, [ak] PDF, PNG, SVG, MIDI, [d] WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 The MuseScore developer community 4.6.5; 18 December 2025(2 months ago) GPL-3.0-only for desktop tools; online and mobile tools are proprietary and freemium No cost for most tools Windows, macOS, Linux
MusiCAD NoYesMIDIMusiCAD, [ap] MIDI, [d] ABC [ac] MIDI, [d] ABC, [ac] PDF, JPEG, PNG, BMP Musys Software4.0; 1 May 2015(10 years ago) Proprietary Prompt to purchase license appears when saving [3] Windows
MusicEase YesYesMIDIMusicEase, [aq] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] ABC, [ac] SongWright [ar] MIDI, [d] PDF MusicEase Software10.1m; November 2024(1 year ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS
MusinkNo WYSIWYM MIDIMusink [as] MIDI, [d] PDF, PNG, XPS Lee Reid1.3.0.3; 21 March 2025(11 months ago) Proprietary No cost Windows, macOS
MusiXTeX YesNoNoNo TeX (incl. PMX and M-Tx), [at] MusicXML [c] (with converters)DVI, [au] PS, PDF, MIDI [d] (for PMX input)Daniel Taupin, Ross Mitchell, Andreas Egler1.41; 15 November 2025(3 months ago) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
Notation Composer NoYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, SoundFonts Notation, [av] MusicXML, [c] Compressed MusicXML, [n] MIDI, [d] Karaoke [y] MusicXML, [c] Compressed MusicXML, [n] PDF, MIDI, [d] Karaoke, [y] PNG, BMP, JPEG, GIF, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 Notation Software5.1.3; 3 November 2025(4 months ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS, Linux
NoteWorthy Composer YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDINWC, [ab] MIDI, [d] Karaoke [y] MIDI [d] NoteWorthy Software2.75a.2; 2017(9 years ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows
Notion YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VST MusicXML, [c] Compressed MusicXML, [n] MIDI, [d] Guitar Pro [t] (versions 4–5) MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] WAV PreSonus 6.8.2; 24 August 2021(4 years ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS, Android, iOS
Overture YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VST, AU [q] Overture, [ao] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] Score Writer [aw] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] WAV, MP3 Sonic Scores5.6.1.1; 2 December 2019(6 years ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS
Philip's Music Writer YesNoNoMIDIPMW [ax] MIDI, [d] PS Philip Hazel 5.33; 22 December 2025(2 months ago) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Linux (older versions for RISC OS)
Power Tab Editor YesYesMIDIPower Tab, [v] MIDI [d] MIDI, [d] ASCII tab, [u] BMP, HTML Brad Larsen2.0.22; 29 June 2025(8 months ago) GPL-3.0-or-later for version 2.0 and later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
Rosegarden NoYesStep-time and real-timeMIDIRosegarden, [ay] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] Hydrogen [az] LilyPond, [e] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] Csound, [ba] Mup, [bb] PDF Chris Cannam, Richard Bown, Guillaume Laurent25.12; 3 December 2025(3 months ago) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Linux
SCORE YesNoStep-timeMIDISCORE (.mus) EPS Leland Smith,
San Andreas Press		5.01; 1 November 2013(12 years ago) Proprietary Non-freeMS-DOS, Windows
ScoreCloud StudioNoYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VST MIDI, [d] live audio MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] WAV, PDF Doremir Music Research AB4.10; January 2026(2 months ago) Proprietary Free without file savingWindows, macOS, iOS
Sibelius YesYesStep-time and real-timeMIDI, VST, AU, [q] Avid librarySibelius, [bc] MusicXML, [c] MIDI [d] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] MP3, PDF, SVG, EPS, PNG Avid Technology, Inc. 2026.2; 25 February 2026(8 days ago) Proprietary No cost up to 8 staves [4] Windows, macOS, RISC OS, Android, iOS
SmartScore 64 NE YesYesMIDISmartScore, [bd] scanned images, MusicXML, [c] NIFF [ah] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] Finale, [r] NIFF, [ah] PDF Musitek Corporation11.6.113 (Windows); 11.6.115 (macOS); 13 October 2025(4 months ago) Proprietary Non-freeWindows, macOS
TuxGuitar YesYesMIDITuxGuitar, [be] MusicXML, [c] MIDI, [d] Guitar Pro (versions 1–6), [t] Power Tab, [v] TablEdit [w] MIDI, [d] Guitar Pro (versions 3–5), [t] LilyPond, [e] ASCII tab, [u] PDF Julian Gabriel Casadesus2.0.1; 27 December 2025(2 months ago) LGPL-2.1-only No cost Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Android
NameGuitar tablature WYSIWYG editorMIDI entry [a] PlaybackImportExportDeveloper(s)Stable release; review date License CostOperating system(s)
File formats

File formats and extensions

  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 MusicXML, open standard XML-based music notation exchange format, .xml or (version 3.1 or later) .musicxml
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Standard MIDI file format, .mid or .midi
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 LilyPond plain text native format, .ly
  6. 1 2 Capella native format, binary file, .cap
  7. 1 2 3 Capella native format, compressed ZIP containing XML, .capx
  8. ↑ Denemo native format, .denemo
  9. ↑ Dorico native format, .dorico
  10. 1 2 Early notation typesetter native format, .ent
  11. 1 2 Encore native format, .enc
  12. 1 2 MusicTime (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .mto, .mus (different to Finale .mus)
  13. 1 2 Rhapsody (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .rhp
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 MusicXML version 2.0 or later, compressed as a ZIP, .mxl
  15. ↑ Cakewalk MIDI file format, .mff[ clarification needed ]
  16. ↑ Master Tracks Pro (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .mts
  17. 1 2 3 4 Mac version only
  18. 1 2 3 Finale native format, .mus (2012 and earlier) or .musx (2014 and later)
  19. ↑ Forte native format, .fnf
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Guitar Pro native format version 1–2, .gtp; version 3, .gp3; version 4, .gp4; version 5, .gp5; version 6, .gpx; version 7, .gp
  21. 1 2 3 4 ASCII tablature plain text format, .txt, .tab, or .btab
  22. 1 2 3 4 Power Tab Editor native format, .ptb
  23. 1 2 3 TablEdit native format, .tef
  24. ↑ Harmony Assistant native format, .myr (formerly .mus), .mux (sound bank independant), .mu3 (compressed)
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Standard MIDI file format including standard MIDI lyrics, used for karaoke, .kar
  26. ↑ Creative Music File, a cut-down MIDI format by Creative Labs, .cmf
  27. ↑ Module file, .mod, .s3m (ScreamTracker 3)
  28. 1 2 NoteWorthy Composer native format, .nwc or .nwctxt
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ABC plain text format, .abc
  30. 1 2 Finale Enigma Transport Format, .etf [2]
  31. ↑ Impro-Visor native format, .ls
  32. ↑ Maestro software family native format, .sfd
  33. ↑ Mozart native format, .mz
  34. 1 2 3 Notation Interchange File Format, .nif
  35. ↑ Mus2 notation and tuning file format, .mus2, .mu2
  36. ↑ MuseScore native format, .mscz; uncompressed XML-based format, .mscx; style sheet, .mss; score album, .album
  37. 1 2 MEI Music Encoding Initiative, .mei
  38. ↑ MuseData project format, .md
  39. ↑ Bagpipe Music Writer native format, .bww
  40. ↑ Band-in-a-Box native format, .mgu or .sgu
  41. 1 2 Overture native format, .ove
  42. ↑ MusiCAD plain text native format, .mc
  43. ↑ MusicEase native format, .mez
  44. ↑ SongWright native format, .sw
  45. ↑ Musink native format, .musink
  46. ↑ PMX, preprocessor language for MusixTeX, .pmx; M-Tx, processor for PMX, .mtx
  47. ↑ TeX device independent file format, .dvi
  48. ↑ NoteSoft file, Notation Software native format, .not
  49. ↑ Score Writer (by the same developer as Overture) native format, .scw
  50. ↑ Philip's Music Writer native format, human-readable text, .pmw
  51. ↑ Rosegarden native format, .rg
  52. ↑ Hydrogen drum machine song XML file format, .h2song
  53. ↑ Csound audio domain-specific language format, without orchestra data, .csd
  54. ↑ Music Publisher Score file format, .mup
  55. ↑ Sibelius (scorewriter) native format, .sib
  56. ↑ SmartScore native format, .enf
  57. ↑ TuxGuitar native format, .tg

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Version Comparison
  2. ↑ "An incomplete description of the Enigma Transport Format". LilyPond.org. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  3. ↑ Restrictions
  4. ↑ Version Comparison
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