Comparison of scorewriters

This is a comparison of music notation programs.

General information
Name Guitar tablature WYSIWYG editor MIDI entry[1] Playback File formats Developer(s) Stable release; review date License Cost (USD) Operating systems
Import Export
Canorus No Yes MIDI CanorusML,[lower-alpha 1] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] simple LilyPond[lower-alpha 4] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] LilyPond,[lower-alpha 4] PDF Reinhard Katzmann, Matevž Jekovec, Georg Rudolph 0.7.1; 21 April 2013 (2013-04-21) GPL Free Linux
Denemo Yes Yes Step-time MIDI Denemo,[lower-alpha 5] limited LilyPond,[lower-alpha 4] MusicXML[lower-alpha 2] LilyPond,[lower-alpha 4] WAV, Ogg, PDF, PNG, Jeremiah Benham, Richard Shann 2.3.0; 23 July 2019 (2019-07-23) GPL Free Windows, macOS, Linux
Frescobaldi No WYSIWYM MIDI LilyPond,[lower-alpha 4] MusicXML[lower-alpha 2] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] PDF Wilbert Berendsen 3.1.1; 4 January 2020 (2020-01-04) GPL Free Windows, macOS, Linux
Impro-Visor No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI Impro-Visor[lower-alpha 6] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] PDF Bob Keller 10.2; 1 August 2019 (2019-08-01) GPL Free Windows, macOS, Linux
LilyPond Yes No No MIDI LilyPond;[lower-alpha 4] using converters: ABC,[lower-alpha 7] ETF,[lower-alpha 8] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] MusicXML[lower-alpha 2] PDF, PNG, PS, SVG Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan Nieuwenhuizen 2.20.0; 1 March 2020 (2020-03-01) GPL Free Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD
MuseScore Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, SoundFonts, SFZ MuseScore,[lower-alpha 9] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 10] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 11] MuseData,[lower-alpha 12] Bagpipe Music Writer,[lower-alpha 13] Band-in-a-Box,[lower-alpha 14] Overture,[lower-alpha 15] Capella,[lower-alpha 16] CapXML,[lower-alpha 17] Guitar Pro (versions 1–6),[lower-alpha 18] PDF (experimental), ABC[lower-alpha 7] (with plugin) MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 10] PDF, PNG, SVG, MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 The MuseScore developer community 3.4.2; 7 February 2020 (2020-02-07) GPL v2 Free Windows, macOS, Linux
MusiCAD No Yes MIDI MusiCAD,[lower-alpha 19] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] ABC[lower-alpha 7] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] ABC,[lower-alpha 7] PDF, JPEG, PNG, BMP Musys Software 4.0 Proprietary Free,[3] license for €45 Windows
Musink No WYSIWYM MIDI Musink[lower-alpha 20] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] PDF, PNG, XPS Lee Reid 1.2 Proprietary Free Windows
MusiXTeX Yes No No No TeX (incl. PMX and M-Tx),[lower-alpha 21] MusicXML[lower-alpha 2] (with converters) DVI,[lower-alpha 22] PS, PDF, MIDI[lower-alpha 3] (for PMX input) Daniel Taupin, Ross Mitchell, Andreas Egler 1.29; 4 August 2018 (2018-08-04) GPL Free Windows, macOS, Linux
Philip's Music Writer Yes No No MIDI PMW[lower-alpha 23] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] PS Philip Hazel 4.31; 28 January 2019 (2019-01-28) GPL Free Linux (older versions for RISC OS)
Power Tab Editor Yes Yes MIDI Power Tab,[lower-alpha 24] MIDI[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 25] BMP, HTML Brad Larsen 1.0.0.175; 26 August 2006 (2006-08-26) Proprietary Free Windows
Rosegarden No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI Rosegarden,[lower-alpha 26] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Hydrogen[lower-alpha 27] LilyPond,[lower-alpha 4] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Csound,[lower-alpha 28] Mup,[lower-alpha 29] PDF Chris Cannam, Richard Bown, Guillaume Laurent 19.12; 11 December 2019 (2019-12-11) GPL Free Linux
ScoreCloud Studio No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] live audio MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] WAV, PDF Doremir Music Research AB 4.1 Proprietary Freemium (no file saving), $139/yr for full version Windows, macOS, iOS
TuxGuitar Yes Yes MIDI TuxGuitar,[lower-alpha 30] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Guitar Pro (versions 1–6),[lower-alpha 18] Power Tab,[lower-alpha 24] TablEdit[lower-alpha 31] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Guitar Pro (versions 3–5),[lower-alpha 18] LilyPond,[lower-alpha 4] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 25] PDF Julian Gabriel Casadesus 1.5.2; 3 August 2018 (2018-08-03) LGPL Free Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD
Capella Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, SoundFonts Capella,[lower-alpha 16] CapXML,[lower-alpha 17] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI[lower-alpha 3] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, Truevision TGA, PCX, HTML Capella Software AG 8.0-11; 10 July 2019 (2019-07-10) Proprietary $228 Windows, macOS
Dorico Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST Dorico,[lower-alpha 32] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, TIFF, SVG Steinberg 3.1.10; 25 February 2020 (2020-02-25) Proprietary $559 Windows, macOS
Encore Yes Yes MIDI Encore,[lower-alpha 33] MusicTime,[lower-alpha 34] Rhapsody,[lower-alpha 35] Compressed MusicXML[lower-alpha 10] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Cakewalk MIDI,[lower-alpha 36] Master Tracks Pro,[lower-alpha 37] PDF Passport Music Software 5.0.4/5.0.7 Proprietary $280 Windows, macOS
Finale Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, AU,[4] Garritan library Finale,[lower-alpha 38] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI[lower-alpha 3] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] WAV, MP3, AIFF, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, BMP, GIF, PICT[4] MakeMusic 26.2.1.468; 21 November 2019 (2019-11-21) Proprietary $600 Windows, macOS
Forte Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST Forte,[lower-alpha 39] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] CapXML[lower-alpha 17] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] BMP, JPEG Lugert Verlag GmbH 11; October 2019 (2019-10) Proprietary $229 Windows
Guitar Pro Yes Yes MIDI, RSE Guitar Pro (versions 1–7),[lower-alpha 18] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 10] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 25] Power Tab,[lower-alpha 24] TablEdit[lower-alpha 31] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 25] PNG, PDF, WAV Arobas Music 7.5.0 Proprietary $70 Windows, macOS, Linux
MagicScore Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, SoundFonts SFD,[lower-alpha 40] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 11] WAV, MP3 MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 11] WAV, MP3, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, EMF, WMF Maestro Music Software 8 Proprietary $70 Windows
Mozart Yes Yes Real-time and step-time MIDI Mozart,[lower-alpha 41] MusicXML[lower-alpha 2] NIFF[lower-alpha 42] MIDI[lower-alpha 3] Karaoke[lower-alpha 11] ABC[lower-alpha 7] MusicXML[lower-alpha 2] MIDI[lower-alpha 3] ABC[lower-alpha 7] 
BMP, EMF, GIF, JPEG, PBM, PNG, TIFF
 Mozart Music Software 14.0.20.0; 6 January 2020 (2020-01-06) Proprietary $130 Windows
Mus2 No Yes MIDI Mus2[lower-alpha 43] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] AIFF, WAV, PDF, SVG, BMP, JPEG, PNG, Utku Uzmen (Data-Soft Ltd.) 2.1.5 Proprietary $60 Windows, macOS
MusicEase Yes Yes MIDI MusicEase,[lower-alpha 44] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] ABC,[lower-alpha 7] SongWright[lower-alpha 45] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] PDF MusicEase Software 9.0 Proprietary $250 Windows, macOS
Notation Composer No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, SoundFonts Notation,[lower-alpha 46] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 10] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Karaoke[lower-alpha 11] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 10] PDF, MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 11] PNG, BMP, JPEG, GIF, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 Notation Software 3.1.1; 27 February 2018 (2018-02-27) Proprietary $98 Windows
NoteWorthy Composer Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI NWC,[lower-alpha 47] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Karaoke[lower-alpha 11] MIDI[lower-alpha 3] NoteWorthy Software 2.75a.2; 2017 (2017) Proprietary $49 Windows
Notion Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 10] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Guitar Pro[lower-alpha 18] (versions 4–5) MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] WAV PreSonus 6.5.470; 15 January 2019 (2019-01-15) Proprietary $149 Windows, macOS, iOS (iPad)
Overture Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, AU,[4] Overture,[lower-alpha 15] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Score Writer,[lower-alpha 48] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] WAV, MP3 Sonic Scores 5.6.1.1; 2 December 2019 (2019-12-02) Proprietary $249 Windows, macOS
Sibelius Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, AU,[4] Avid library Sibelius,[lower-alpha 49] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI[lower-alpha 3] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] MP3, PDF, SVG, EPS, PNG, Avid Technology Inc. 2020.3; 26 March 2020 (2020-03-26) Proprietary $599, or $239/yr Windows, macOS, RISC OS
SmartScore Pro Yes Yes MIDI SmartScore,[lower-alpha 50] scanned images, MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] NIFF[lower-alpha 42] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 2] MIDI,[lower-alpha 3] Finale,[lower-alpha 38] NIFF,[lower-alpha 42] PDF Musitek Corporation 10.5.8; June 2015 (2015-06) Proprietary $399 Windows, macOS
Name Guitar tablature WYSIWYG editor MIDI entry[1] Playback Import Export Developer(s) Stable release; review date License Cost (USD) Operating systems
File formats

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

See also

Notes
  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. "An incomplete description of the Enigma Transport Format". LilyPond.org. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  3. Prompt to purchase license appears when saving. See Tryware and Restrictions for full details.
  4. Mac version only
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