Comparison of scorewritersThis is a comparison of music notation programs. General information|
| Canorus | Reinhard Katzmann, Matevž Jekovec, Georg Rudolph | 0.7.R1002 | GPL | CanorusML, mxml | midi | pdf, ly | No | Yes | Free | Linux |
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| Crescendo | NCH Software | .97 | Proprietary | mxml | No | pdf (free version exports scores only as image files .bmp, .jpg, .png) | No | Yes | Free | Windows |
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| Denemo | Jeremiah Benham, Nils Gey, Richard Shann | 0.9.0 | GPL | denemo, xml, mxml | midi | pdf, ly, png | when exported to Lilypond | WYSIWYM with real Notes | Free | Linux, Windows |
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| Frescobaldi | Wilbert Berendsen | 2.0.4 | GPL | | midi | pdf, ly | No | Yes | Free | Linux, Windows[1][2] |
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| Impro-Visor | Bob Keller | 5.16 | GPL | ls | midi | pdf, ls, mid, mxml | No | Yes | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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| Laborejo | Nils Gey | 0.6 | GPL | lbjm, lbj | midi | pdf, ly, mid | No | WYSIWYM with real Notes | Free | Linux |
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| Lilypond | Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan Nieuwenhuizen | 2.16.2 | GPL | ly | midi | pdf, ps, png, svg | Yes | No | Free | Cross-platform |
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| MusEdit | Doug Rogers, Yowza Software | 4.0.3 | Proprietary | ascii, midi, mxml | midi | med, abc, midi, mxml, png, bmp | Yes | Yes | Free | Windows |
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| MuseScore | Werner Schweer | 1.2 | GPL v2 | mscz, mscx, xml, mxl, md, bww, ove, mgu, sgu, cap, kar | midi | pdf, png, ps, svg, ly, midi, wav, flac, ogg | No[3] | Yes | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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| Musink | Lee Reid | 1.1.0.1 | Proprietary | musink musTemplateExp | midi | pdf, png, xps, MIDI | No | WYSIWYM with real Notes | Free | Windows |
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| MusiXTeX | Daniel Taupin, Ross Mitchell, Andreas Egler | 1.15 | GPL | TeX | No | dvi, ps, pdf | Yes | No | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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| NoteEdit | Jörg Anders | 2.8.1 | GPL | midi, mxml, tex, abc | midi | ps, ly | Yes | Yes | Free | Linux |
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| Power Tab Editor | Brad Larsen | 1.7.0.80 | Proprietary | ptb, midi | midi | ptb, midi, ascii, html, bmp | Yes | Yes | Free | Windows |
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| PriMus Free | Christof Schardt | 1.1 | Proprietary | midi, mxml, capella, son, emil, gtp, gp3, gp4, gp5, gp6, ptb | midi | midi, mxml, emil | Yes | Yes | Free | Windows |
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| Rosegarden | Chris Cannam, Richard Bown, Guillaume Laurent | 11.11 | GPL | midi, mxml | midi | ly | No | Yes | Free | Linux |
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| TuxGuitar | Julian Gabriel Casadesus | 1.2 | LGPL | tg, ly, xml, midi, gtp, gp3, gp4, gp5, gp6, ptb, tef, | midi | tg, pdf, gp3, gp4, gp5, midi, ly, ascii | Yes | Yes | Free | Cross-platform |
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| Capella | Capella-software AG | 7.1 | Proprietary | cap, mxml, midi, txt | midi, vst | capx, cap, mxml, midi, bmp, jpeg, tiff, png, tga, pcx, html | Yes | Yes | $250 | Windows |
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| Capella Start[4] | Capella-software AG | 7.1 | Proprietary | capx, cap, mxml,[5] midi,[5] txt | midi, vst | capx, cap, midi[5] | No | Yes | $70 | Windows |
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| Encore | GVOX | 5.0.2 | Proprietary | enc, mus, mto, rhp, mxl | midi | pdf, midi, mff, mts | Yes | Yes | $400 | Mac, Windows |
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| Finale | MakeMusic | 2011 | Proprietary | mus, mxml, midi, tiff, jpeg, png, eps, pdf, bmp, gif, pict[6] | midi, vst, au,[6] Garritan library | midi, wav, mp3, aiff, pdf, tiff, jpeg, png, eps, bmp, gif, pict[6] | Yes | Yes | $600 | Mac, Windows |
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| Guitar Pro | Arobas Music | 6.0 | Proprietary | gpx, gp3, gp4, gp5, ascii, mxl, midi | midi | png, pdf, ascii, midi, wav, gpx, gp5 | Yes | Yes | $60 | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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| Maestro Notation for MS Word | Maestro Music Software | 5.600 | Proprietary | doc, sfd, musicxml, midi, kar, jpg, tiff, png, bmp | midi, sf2 | doc, pdf, sfd, musicxml, midi, kar, jpg, tiff, png, bmp, | Yes | Yes | $99.95 | Windows |
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| MagicScore Maestro | Maestro Music Software | 7.746 | Proprietary | sfd, musicxml, midi, kar, wav, mp3, jpg, tiff, png, bmp | midi, sf2 | pdf, sfd, musicxml, midi, kar, wav, mp3, jpg, tiff, png, bmp, | Yes | Yes | $79.95 | Windows |
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| Harmony Assistant | Myriad Software | 9.6.2g | Proprietary | myr, midi, kar, cmf, mus, etf, enc, rhp, mus, nwc, gtp, gp3, gp4, tef, sty, mod, s3m, mxml, xmz, mxl, abc, tab, wav, aif, aiff, mp3, ogg, pcm, raw, brt, wma,[7] mov,[6] mpeg[6] | midi | pdf, myr, midi, kar, cmf, mxml, xmz, mxl, abc, tab, wav, aif, aiff, mp3, ogg, mov,[6] mpeg[6] | Yes | Yes | $85 | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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| Melody Assistant | Myriad Software | 7.6.2m | Proprietary | myr, midi, kar, cmf, mod, s3m, mxml, xmz, mxl, abc, tab, wav, aif, aiff, mp3, ogg, pcm, raw, brt | midi | pdf, myr, midi, kar, cmf, abc, tab, wav, aif, aiff, mp3, ogg | Yes | Yes | $25 | Linux, Mac, Windows |
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| Mozart | David Webber | 11 | Proprietary | mz, mxml | midi | bmp, emf, gif, jpg, pbm, png | Yes | Yes | $155 | Windows |
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| Mus2 | Utku Uzmen (Data-Soft Ltd.) | 1.1 | Proprietary | mus2 | midi | bmp, jpeg, pdf, png, svg, aiff, midi, wav | No | Yes | $40 | Mac, Windows |
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| MusiCAD | Musys Software | 3.1 | Proprietary | ascii, abc, midi | midi | pdf | No | Yes | $55 | Windows |
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| MusicEase | MusicEase Software | 8.5 | Proprietary | mxml, midi, mez, abc, sw | midi | midi, pdf | Yes | Yes | $250 | Mac, Windows |
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| Musictime Deluxe | GVOX | 4.0.2 | Proprietary | mtp, midi | midi | mtp, midi | No | Yes | $120 | Mac, Windows |
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| NoteWorthy Composer | NoteWorthy Software | 2.5 | Proprietary | nwc, midi, kar | midi | nwctxt, midi | No | Yes | $50 | Windows |
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| Notion | NOTION Music | 3.0 | Proprietary | mxl, mxml, midi | midi, vst | mxml, wav, midi, | Yes | Yes | $250 | Mac, Windows, iOS (iPad)[8] |
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| Overture | Geniesoft | 4.1.5 | Proprietary | ove, scw, mxml, midi, enc | midi, vst | ove, midi, wav | Yes | Yes | $350 | Mac, Windows |
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| PriMus | Christof Schardt | 1.1 | Proprietary | midi, mxml, capella, son, emil, gtp, gp3, gp4, gp5, gp6, ptb | midi | midi, mxml, emil, html, bmp, png, tiff, jpg | Yes | Yes | $250 | Windows, Mac |
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| Score Writer | Geniesoft | 4.1.5 | Proprietary | mxml, midi | midi, vst | midi, wav | Yes | Yes | $60 | Mac, Windows |
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| Sibelius | Sibelius Software | 7.1.2 | Proprietary | sib, mxml, midi, bmp, gif, jpg, png, tiff, svg | midi, vst, au,[6] Avid library | sib, mxml, midi, pdf, eps, png, svg | Yes | Yes | $600 | Mac, Windows, RISC OS |
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| SmartScore Pro | Musitek Corporation | 10.2.6 | Proprietary | mxl | midi | pdf | Yes | Yes | $400 | Mac, Windows |
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| Name | Developer(s) | Latest stable release | License | Import formats | Sound support | Export formats | Guitar tablature | WYSIWYG Editor | Cost (USD) | Operating System Support |
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See also Notes External links |
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