Software:Comparison of scorewriters

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This is a comparison of music notation computer programs.

General information

Name Guitar tablature WYSIWYG editor MIDI entry[lower-alpha 1] Playback File formats Developer(s) Stable release; review date License Cost Operating system(s)
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 (8 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,[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 10.0-08; 20 April 2026 (4 months ago) (2026-04-20) 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 (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,[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 6.2.10; 31 March 2026 (5 months ago) (2026-03-31) Proprietary No cost up to 8 staves[1] 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 (5 years ago) (2020-10-20) 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 (11 years ago) (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. 27.4.1; 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,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] MuseScore, TuxGuitar, Guitar Pro (versions 3–8), Power Tab MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] WAV, MP3, PDF, PNG, SVG Tutteo 37.9.0; 17 October 2024 (22 months ago) (2024-10-17) Proprietary Freemium Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
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 12.1; 12 February 2021 (5 years ago) (2021-02-12) final release Proprietary Non-free Windows
Frescobaldi No WYSIWYM No MIDI LilyPond,[lower-alpha 5] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] ABC MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] PDF Wilbert Berendsen 4.0.5; 11 February 2026 (6 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),[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 8.1.5; 27 October 2025 (10 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,[lower-alpha 24] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 25] CMF,[lower-alpha 26], Module,[lower-alpha 27] Encore,[lower-alpha 11] MusicTime,[lower-alpha 12] Rhapsody,[lower-alpha 13] NoteWorthy,[lower-alpha 28] ABC,[lower-alpha 29] Guitar Pro (versions 1–5),[lower-alpha 20] TablEdit,[lower-alpha 23] Finale (.mus),[lower-alpha 18] ETF[lower-alpha 30], audio formats imported as sound "digital" track MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] HTML (MyrWeb), MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 25] ABC,[lower-alpha 29] WAV, MP3, Ogg, AIFF, PDF, PNG, SVG, TIFF, video using FFmpeg Myriad Software 9.9.9i; 11 October 2025 (10 months ago) (2025-10-11) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS, Linux
Impro-Visor No Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI Impro-Visor[lower-alpha 31] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] PDF Bob Keller 10.2; 1 August 2019 (7 years ago) (2019-08-01) GPL-2.0-or-later No cost Windows, macOS, Linux
LilyPond Yes No No MIDI LilyPond;[lower-alpha 5] using converters: ABC,[lower-alpha 29] ETF,[lower-alpha 30] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] MusicXML[lower-alpha 3] PDF, PNG, PS, SVG Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan Nieuwenhuizen 2.26.0; 21 April 2026 (4 months 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,[lower-alpha 32] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 25] WAV, MP3 MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 25] 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,[lower-alpha 33] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] NIFF,[lower-alpha 34] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 25] ABC[lower-alpha 29] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ABC,[lower-alpha 29] BMP, EMF, GIF, JPEG, PBM, PNG, TIFF Mozart Music Software 17.0.7; April 2026 (5 months ago) (2026-04) Proprietary Non-free Windows
Mus2 No Yes MIDI Mus2[lower-alpha 35] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] AIFF, WAV, PDF, SVG, BMP, JPEG, PNG Utku Uzmen (Data-Soft Ltd.) 3.3.1; 23 September 2025 (11 months ago) (2025-09-23) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
MuseScore Studio Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, SoundFonts, SFZ, VST3 MuseScore,[lower-alpha 36] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] MEI,[lower-alpha 37] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 25] MuseData,[lower-alpha 38] Bagpipe Music Writer,[lower-alpha 39] Band-in-a-Box,[lower-alpha 40] Overture,[lower-alpha 41] 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 29] (with plugin) MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] MEI,[lower-alpha 37] PDF, PNG, SVG, MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 The MuseScore developer community 4.6.5; 18 December 2025 (8 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,[lower-alpha 42] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ABC[lower-alpha 29] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ABC,[lower-alpha 29] PDF, JPEG, PNG, BMP Musys Software 4.0; 1 May 2015 (11 years ago) (2015-05-01) Proprietary Prompt to purchase license appears when saving[3] Windows
MusicEase Yes Yes MIDI MusicEase,[lower-alpha 43] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ABC,[lower-alpha 29] SongWright[lower-alpha 44] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] PDF MusicEase Software 10.1m; November 2024 (1 year ago) (2024-11) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
Musink No WYSIWYM MIDI Musink[lower-alpha 45] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] PDF, PNG, XPS Lee Reid 1.3.0.3; 21 March 2025 (17 months ago) (2025-03-21) Proprietary No cost Windows, macOS
MusiXTeX Yes No No No TeX (incl. PMX and M-Tx),[lower-alpha 46] MusicXML[lower-alpha 3] (with converters) DVI,[lower-alpha 47] PS, PDF, MIDI[lower-alpha 4] (for PMX input) Daniel Taupin, Ross Mitchell, Andreas Egler 1.41; 15 November 2025 (9 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,[lower-alpha 48] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke[lower-alpha 25] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] Compressed MusicXML,[lower-alpha 14] PDF, MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke,[lower-alpha 25] PNG, BMP, JPEG, GIF, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 Notation Software 5.1.4; 15 April 2026 (4 months ago) (2026-04-15) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS, Linux
NoteWorthy Composer Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI NWC,[lower-alpha 28] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Karaoke[lower-alpha 25] MIDI[lower-alpha 4] 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,[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 (5 years ago) (2021-08-24) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Overture Yes Yes Step-time and real-time MIDI, VST, AU[lower-alpha 17] Overture,[lower-alpha 41] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Score Writer[lower-alpha 49] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] 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[lower-alpha 50] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] PS Philip Hazel 5.33; 22 December 2025 (8 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,[lower-alpha 22] MIDI[lower-alpha 4] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] ASCII tab,[lower-alpha 21] BMP, HTML Brad Larsen 2.0.22; 29 June 2025 (14 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,[lower-alpha 51] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Hydrogen[lower-alpha 52] LilyPond,[lower-alpha 5] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Csound,[lower-alpha 53] Mup,[lower-alpha 54] PDF Chris Cannam, Richard Bown, Guillaume Laurent 25.12; 3 December 2025 (9 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,[lower-alpha 4] live audio MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] WAV, PDF Doremir Music Research AB 4.10.2; April 2026 (5 months ago) (2026-04) 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 55] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI[lower-alpha 4] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] MP3, PDF, SVG, EPS, PNG Avid Technology, Inc. 2026.2; 25 February 2026 (6 months 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,[lower-alpha 56] scanned images, MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] NIFF[lower-alpha 34] MusicXML,[lower-alpha 3] MIDI,[lower-alpha 4] Finale,[lower-alpha 18] NIFF,[lower-alpha 34] PDF Musitek Corporation 11.6.113 (Windows); 11.6.115 (macOS); 13 October 2025 (10 months ago) (2025-10-13) Proprietary Non-free Windows, macOS
TuxGuitar Yes Yes MIDI TuxGuitar,[lower-alpha 57] 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 2.0.1; 27 December 2025 (8 months ago) (2025-12-27) LGPL-2.1-only No cost Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Android
Name Guitar tablature WYSIWYG editor MIDI entry[lower-alpha 1] Playback Import Export Developer(s) Stable release; review date License Cost Operating system(s)
File formats

File formats and extensions

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 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. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 3.36 3.37 3.38 3.39 3.40 3.41 3.42 MusicXML, open standard XML-based music notation exchange format, .xml or (version 3.1 or later) .musicxml
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 4.37 4.38 4.39 4.40 4.41 4.42 4.43 4.44 4.45 4.46 4.47 4.48 4.49 4.50 4.51 Standard MIDI file format, .mid or .midi
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 LilyPond plain text native format, .ly
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Capella native format, binary file, .cap
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Capella native format, compressed ZIP containing XML, .capx
  8. ↑ Denemo native format, .denemo
  9. ↑ Dorico native format, .dorico
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Early notation typesetter native format, .ent
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Encore native format, .enc
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 MusicTime (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .mto, .mus (different to Finale .mus)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Rhapsody (by the same developer as Encore) native format, .rhp
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 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. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Mac version only
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Finale native format, .mus (2012 and earlier) or .musx (2014 and later)
  19. ↑ Forte native format, .fnf
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 Guitar Pro native format version 1–2, .gtp; version 3, .gp3; version 4, .gp4; version 5, .gp5; version 6, .gpx; version 7, .gp
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 ASCII tablature plain text format, .txt, .tab, or .btab
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Power Tab Editor native format, .ptb
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 TablEdit native format, .tef
  24. ↑ Harmony Assistant native format, .myr (formerly .mus), .mux (sound bank independent), .mu3 (compressed)
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 25.6 25.7 25.8 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. ↑ 28.0 28.1 NoteWorthy Composer native format, .nwc or .nwctxt
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.6 29.7 29.8 ABC plain text format, .abc
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 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. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 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. ↑ 37.0 37.1 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. ↑ 41.0 41.1 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". Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130503013630/http://lilypond.org/web/devel/misc/etfformat. Retrieved 29 December 2017. 
  3. ↑ Restrictions
  4. ↑ Version Comparison



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