Comparison of scorewriters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a comparison of music notation computer programs.
File formats and extensions
| Name | Guitar tablature | WYSIWYG editor | MIDI entry[a] | Playback | File formats | Developer(s) | Stable release; review date | License | Cost | Operating system(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Import | Export | ||||||||||
| Canorus | No | Yes | MIDI | CanorusML,[b] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] simple LilyPond[e] | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] LilyPond,[e] PDF | Reinhard Katzmann, Matevž Jekovec, Georg Rudolph | 0.7.3; 18 June 2018 (7 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,[f] CapXML,[g] MusicXML,[c] MIDI[d] | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, Truevision TGA, PCX, HTML | capella-software AG | 10.0-08; 20 April 2026 (4 days ago) (2026-04-20) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS |
| Denemo | Yes | Yes | Step-time | MIDI | Denemo,[h] limited LilyPond,[e] MusicXML[c] | LilyPond,[e] MusicXML, WAV, Ogg, PDF, PNG, MIDI | Jeremiah Benham, Richard Shann | 2.6.0; 11 March 2022 (4 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,[i] MusicXML,[c] MIDI[d] | MIDI,[d] MusicXML,[c] WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, TIFF, SVG | Steinberg | 6.2.10; 31 March 2026 (24 days ago) (2026-03-31) | Proprietary | No cost up to 8 staves[1] | Windows, macOS |
| Early Notation Typesetter | No | Yes | No | No | ENT[j] | ENT,[j] PDF | Samuel Gossner, Daniel West, Dieter Theuns | 0.9.6; 20 October 2020 (5 years ago) (2020-10-20) | Proprietary | No charge for single font | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Encore | Yes | Yes | MIDI | Encore,[k] MusicTime,[l] Rhapsody,[m] Compressed MusicXML[n] | MIDI,[d] Cakewalk MIDI,[o] Master Tracks Pro,[p] PDF | Passport Music Software | 5.0.4 (Windows); 5.0.7 (macOS); 2015 (11 years ago) (2015) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS | |
| Finale | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST, AU,[q] Garritan library | Finale,[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) (2023-12-12) final release | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS |
| Flat | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST, AU | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] MuseScore, TuxGuitar, Guitar Pro (versions 3–8), Power Tab | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, SVG | Tutteo | 37.9.0; 17 October 2024 (18 months ago) (2024-10-17) | Proprietary | Freemium | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS |
| Forte | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST | Forte,[s] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] CapXML[g] | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] BMP, JPEG | Lugert Verlag GmbH | 12.1; 12 February 2021 (5 years ago) (2021-02-12) final release | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows |
| Frescobaldi | No | WYSIWYM | No | MIDI | LilyPond,[e] MusicXML,[c] ABC | MusicXML,[c] PDF | Wilbert Berendsen | 4.0.5; 11 February 2026 (2 months ago) (2026-02-11) | GPL-2.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Guitar Pro | Yes | Yes | MIDI, 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 Music | 8.1.5; 27 October 2025 (5 months ago) (2025-10-27) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS, Linux | |
| Harmony Assistant | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | Integrated 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 Software | 9.9.9i; 11 October 2025 (6 months ago) (2025-10-11) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Impro-Visor | No | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI | Impro-Visor[ae] | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] PDF | Bob Keller | 10.2; 1 August 2019 (6 years ago) (2019-08-01) | GPL-2.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| LilyPond | Yes | No | No | MIDI | LilyPond;[e] using converters: ABC,[ac] ETF,[ad] MIDI,[d] MusicXML[c] | PDF, PNG, PS, SVG | Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan Nieuwenhuizen | 2.26.0; 21 April 2026 (3 days ago) (2026-04-21) | GPL-3.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD |
| MagicScore | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, SoundFonts | SFD,[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 Software | 8.280; 2017 (9 years ago) (2017) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows |
| Mozart | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI | Mozart,[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 Software | 17.0.7; April 2026 (0 months ago) (2026-04) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows |
| Mus2 | No | Yes | MIDI | Mus2[ai] | MIDI,[d] AIFF, WAV, PDF, SVG, BMP, JPEG, PNG | Utku Uzmen (Data-Soft Ltd.) | 3.3.1; 23 September 2025 (7 months ago) (2025-09-23) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS | |
| MuseScore Studio | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, 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 (4 months ago) (2025-12-18) | 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,[ap] MIDI,[d] ABC[ac] | MIDI,[d] ABC,[ac] PDF, JPEG, PNG, BMP | Musys Software | 4.0; 1 May 2015 (10 years ago) (2015-05-01) | Proprietary | Prompt to purchase license appears when saving[3] | Windows | |
| MusicEase | Yes | Yes | MIDI | MusicEase,[aq] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] ABC,[ac] SongWright[ar] | MIDI,[d] PDF | MusicEase Software | 10.1m; November 2024 (1 year ago) (2024-11) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS | |
| Musink | No | WYSIWYM | MIDI | Musink[as] | MIDI,[d] PDF, PNG, XPS | Lee Reid | 1.3.0.3; 21 March 2025 (13 months ago) (2025-03-21) | Proprietary | No cost | Windows, macOS | |
| MusiXTeX | Yes | No | No | No | 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 Egler | 1.41; 15 November 2025 (5 months ago) (2025-11-15) | GPL-2.0-or-later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Notation Composer | No | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, 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 Software | 5.1.4; 15 April 2026 (9 days ago) (2026-04-15) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| NoteWorthy Composer | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI | NWC,[ab] MIDI,[d] Karaoke[y] | MIDI[d] | NoteWorthy Software | 2.75a.2; 2017 (9 years ago) (2017) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows |
| The Note Processor | No | Yes | Step-time | MIDI | MIDI, DARMS | MIDI, TIFF, DARMS, PostScript | Stephen Dydo, ThoughtProcessors | 2.3; 1991 (35 years ago) (1991) | Proprietary | Non-free | MS-DOS |
| Notion | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, 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) (2021-08-24) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS |
| Overture | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST, AU[q] | Overture,[ao] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Score Writer[aw] | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] WAV, MP3 | Sonic Scores | 5.6.1.1; 2 December 2019 (6 years ago) (2019-12-02) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS |
| Philip's Music Writer | Yes | No | No | MIDI | PMW[ax] | MIDI,[d] PS | Philip Hazel | 5.33; 22 December 2025 (4 months ago) (2025-12-22) | GPL-2.0-or-later | No cost | Linux (older versions for RISC OS) |
| Power Tab Editor | Yes | Yes | MIDI | Power Tab,[v] MIDI[d] | MIDI,[d] ASCII tab,[u] BMP, HTML | Brad Larsen | 2.0.22; 29 June 2025 (9 months ago) (2025-06-29) | GPL-3.0-or-later for version 2.0 and later | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux | |
| Rosegarden | No | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI | Rosegarden,[ay] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Hydrogen[az] | LilyPond,[e] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Csound,[ba] Mup,[bb] PDF | Chris Cannam, Richard Bown, Guillaume Laurent | 25.12; 3 December 2025 (4 months ago) (2025-12-03) | 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 (12 years ago) (2013-11-01) | Proprietary | Non-free | MS-DOS, Windows |
| ScoreCloud Studio | No | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST | MIDI,[d] live audio | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] WAV, PDF | Doremir Music Research AB | 4.10.2; April 2026 (0 months ago) (2026-04) | Proprietary | Free without file saving | Windows, macOS, iOS |
| Sibelius | Yes | Yes | Step-time and real-time | MIDI, VST, AU,[q] Avid library | Sibelius,[bc] MusicXML,[c] MIDI[d] | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] MP3, PDF, SVG, EPS, PNG | Avid Technology, Inc. | 2026.2; 25 February 2026 (58 days ago) (2026-02-25) | Proprietary | No cost up to 8 staves[4] | Windows, macOS, RISC OS, Android, iOS |
| SmartScore 64 NE | Yes | Yes | MIDI | SmartScore,[bd] scanned images, MusicXML,[c] NIFF[ah] | MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Finale,[r] NIFF,[ah] PDF | Musitek Corporation | 11.6.113 (Windows); 11.6.115 (macOS); 13 October 2025 (6 months ago) (2025-10-13) | Proprietary | Non-free | Windows, macOS | |
| TuxGuitar | Yes | Yes | MIDI | TuxGuitar,[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 Casadesus | 2.0.1; 27 December 2025 (3 months ago) (2025-12-27) | LGPL-2.1-only | No cost | Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Android | |
| Name | Guitar tablature | WYSIWYG editor | MIDI entry[a] | Playback | Import | Export | Developer(s) | Stable release; review date | License | Cost | Operating system(s) |
| File formats | |||||||||||
- 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.
- ↑ Canorus native format, .can
- 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
- 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
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 LilyPond plain text native format, .ly
- 1 2 Capella native format, binary file, .cap
- 1 2 3 Capella native format, compressed ZIP containing XML, .capx
- ↑ Denemo native format, .denemo
- ↑ Dorico native format, .dorico
- 1 2 Early notation typesetter native format, .ent
- 1 2 Encore native format, .enc
- 1 2 MusicTime (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .mto, .mus (different to Finale .mus)
- 1 2 Rhapsody (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .rhp
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 MusicXML version 2.0 or later, compressed as a ZIP, .mxl
- ↑ Cakewalk MIDI file format, .mff[clarification needed]
- ↑ Master Tracks Pro (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .mts
- 1 2 3 4 Mac version only
- 1 2 3 Finale native format, .mus (2012 and earlier) or .musx (2014 and later)
- ↑ Forte native format, .fnf
- 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
- 1 2 3 4 ASCII tablature plain text format, .txt, .tab, or .btab
- 1 2 3 4 Power Tab Editor native format, .ptb
- 1 2 3 TablEdit native format, .tef
- ↑ Harmony Assistant native format, .myr (formerly .mus), .mux (sound bank independant), .mu3 (compressed)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Standard MIDI file format including standard MIDI lyrics, used for karaoke, .kar
- ↑ Creative Music File, a cut-down MIDI format by Creative Labs, .cmf
- ↑ Module file, .mod, .s3m (ScreamTracker 3)
- 1 2 NoteWorthy Composer native format, .nwc or .nwctxt
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ABC plain text format, .abc
- 1 2 Finale Enigma Transport Format, .etf[2]
- ↑ Impro-Visor native format, .ls
- ↑ Maestro software family native format, .sfd
- ↑ Mozart native format, .mz
- 1 2 3 Notation Interchange File Format, .nif
- ↑ Mus2 notation and tuning file format, .mus2, .mu2
- ↑ MuseScore native format, .mscz; uncompressed XML-based format, .mscx; style sheet, .mss; score album, .album
- 1 2 MEI Music Encoding Initiative, .mei
- ↑ MuseData project format, .md
- ↑ Bagpipe Music Writer native format, .bww
- ↑ Band-in-a-Box native format, .mgu or .sgu
- 1 2 Overture native format, .ove
- ↑ MusiCAD plain text native format, .mc
- ↑ MusicEase native format, .mez
- ↑ SongWright native format, .sw
- ↑ Musink native format, .musink
- ↑ PMX, preprocessor language for MusixTeX, .pmx; M-Tx, processor for PMX, .mtx
- ↑ TeX device independent file format, .dvi
- ↑ NoteSoft file, Notation Software native format, .not
- ↑ Score Writer (by the same developer as Overture) native format, .scw
- ↑ Philip's Music Writer native format, human-readable text, .pmw
- ↑ Rosegarden native format, .rg
- ↑ Hydrogen drum machine song XML file format, .h2song
- ↑ Csound audio domain-specific language format, without orchestra data, .csd
- ↑ Music Publisher Score file format, .mup
- ↑ Sibelius (scorewriter) native format, .sib
- ↑ SmartScore native format, .enf
- ↑ TuxGuitar native format, .tg
See also
Notes
- ↑ Version Comparison
- ↑ "An incomplete description of the Enigma Transport Format". LilyPond.org. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ↑ Restrictions
- ↑ Version Comparison
| Free and open-source | |
|---|---|
| Proprietary | |
| No longer developed | |
