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forScore VS MuseScore

Compare forScore VS MuseScore and see what are their differences

forScore logo forScore

With forScore, your sheet music has never been better—it’s everything you can do with paper, and so much more.

MuseScore logo MuseScore

Our goal is to let musicians from all over the world create and share their works, as well as to make learning music exciting, easy and available for all.
  • forScore Landing page
    Landing page //
    2020-07-07
  • MuseScore Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-27

forScore features and specs

  • Wide Range of Features
    forScore offers a comprehensive set of tools for musicians, including the ability to annotate sheet music, create setlists, and use a metronome, tuner, and pitch pipe, making it a versatile app for both practice and performance.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The app is designed with a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to navigate through their music library and access the tools they need with minimal hassle.
  • High Customizability
    forScore provides numerous customization options, allowing users to tailor the app’s appearance and functionality to their specific needs and preferences.
  • Seamless Integration
    The app can easily integrate with cloud storage services like Dropbox and iCloud, allowing users to quickly import and sync their sheet music across multiple devices.
  • Efficient Organization
    Users can organize their sheet music into folders, categories, and setlists, which enhances the ability to quickly find and manage specific pieces.

Possible disadvantages of forScore

  • Limited Platform Availability
    forScore is currently available only for iOS devices, which restricts its accessibility for users who prefer Android or other operating systems.
  • Cost Implications
    The app is not free, and although it is relatively affordable, some users might be put off by the need to purchase the app compared to other free alternatives.
  • Learning Curve
    While feature-rich, the wide array of tools and options available can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a learning period to fully utilize all functionalities.
  • Requires Frequent Updates
    To maintain optimal functionality and access new features, users need to perform frequent updates, which may not be suitable for those with limited internet access.

MuseScore features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    MuseScore offers an intuitive and well-organized interface that is easy to navigate, making it accessible for users of all skill levels.
  • Free and Open Source
    MuseScore is free to use and has an open-source model, meaning users do not have to worry about subscription fees, and developers can contribute to its improvement.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    MuseScore is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring a broad user base and versatility.
  • Extensive Online Community
    MuseScore's online platform allows users to share their compositions, get feedback, and collaborate with others, fostering a vibrant community.
  • Comprehensive Feature Set
    MuseScore offers a wide range of features including note entry, playback, and support for a variety of musical notations, making it suitable for creating complex scores.
  • Regular Updates
    The software receives regular updates, ensuring new features and improvements keep it up-to-date with user needs and technological advancements.

Possible disadvantages of MuseScore

  • Learning Curve
    While user-friendly, MuseScore can still have a steep learning curve for complete beginners who are not familiar with music notation software.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users report performance issues, especially with larger scores, which can result in slow operation or crashes.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    For professional composers and arrangers, MuseScore might lack some of the advanced features that are available in premium, paid notation software.
  • Export Options
    Although MuseScore supports various export formats, some users find that the quality or usability of exported files can be lacking compared to those produced by other software.
  • Mobile App Limitations
    The mobile app version of MuseScore has fewer features and capabilities than its desktop counterpart, limiting its usefulness for on-the-go composition.

forScore videos

FORSCORE 2020 Overview & Tips

More videos:

  • Tutorial - ForScore Review and Tutorial for Piano Teachers
  • Review - How I Use My iPad for Sheet Music with forScore

MuseScore videos

Why is EVERYONE using Musescore for music notation?

More videos:

  • Review - Musescore 4 - First Impressions (Spoiler Alert, IT'S AMAZING)
  • Review - Music Software & Interface Design: MuseScore

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to forScore and MuseScore)
Music Tools
28 28%
72% 72
Audio & Music
29 29%
71% 71
Music
15 15%
85% 85
Email Marketing
40 40%
60% 60

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare forScore and MuseScore

forScore Reviews

Best music notation software 2022
Orpheus Sheet Music Pro (opens in new tab) If you prefer to use Android hardware, Orpheus is the best sheet music app on that OS. It doesn’t have as many organization and file import features as forScore, but the interface is easy to use and includes an annotation tool. There’s a free version that displays ads and limits chart uploads to 30 total. Orpheus has support for...

MuseScore Reviews

The 10 Best Music Writing Software Programs (2022)
That’s just the start, its easy access to input tools and in-depth information of the notes make it even better. It also allows you to import MIDI and MusicXML files. In addition, MuseScore 2 acquires samples to try on or integrate into your writings.
Best music notation software 2022
MuseScore can import MusicXML and standard MIDI files from other popular notation software. When your score is complete, you can export it as either a graphic file, MusicXML file or audio file. The instrument samples aren’t as realistic or dynamic as those in the best notation programs we tested, but if you are interested in composing music with software, MuseScore is an...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, forScore should be more popular than MuseScore. It has been mentiond 15 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

forScore mentions (15)

  • Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2023
    Https://forscore.co/ iPad pdf reader & annotator designed for sheet music. As a “tech” husband helping out a non technical musician wife it’s a game changer. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Best way to view a pdf of sheet music on a phone/tablet?
    ForScore is pretty well regarded. I use a free app called PiaScore that will show me two pages at once - my eyes suck though, so the tab is a bit small - might be okay for you though. I actually ended up buying a cheap Donner page turner that works pretty well with PiaScore and PDF Expert (which is my main pdf reader - but I don't think it lets me see two pages at once). Source: over 1 year ago
  • Thoughts for Year One self-taught Pianists - ideas and resources (long!)
    ForScore also has a keyboard in it so you can quickly play some notes anywhere, and so does GarageBand on iPad. Source: over 1 year ago
  • What are your must-have iPad apps?
    ForScore. That is why I, like many of my colleagues, bought the iPad. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • This is how I would reconstruct the iPad lineup to make it simpler and easier to understand. Thoughts?
    Yes. I once considered the Surface Book among other options (at the time it had a bigger screen than the Surface Pro). And by the way, Apple also cares about musicians. As evidenced by the official advertising banners and videos, in which you can always see the application forScore, which has become almost a de facto standard for many musicians. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

MuseScore mentions (5)

  • Unify dynamics between voices from old mscz file?
    I'm aiming to transcribe a piano composition for cello duet and in doing so am using a source file which was created in Musescore 2.3 or something, the file playback sounds fine on musescore.com but when I try to use the file (playback) on the musescore app (musescore 4), I cannot hear entire parts of the file (because the volume is somehow very low even though there is only one visible dynamic across both... Source: about 1 year ago
  • musescore.com not loading scores on firefox (desktop)
    Is anyone else having this issue? musescore.com has been freezing for the past few days when trying to load scores. This is on firefox desktop, it works fine on every other browser, even on firefox mobile. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Need to transpose guitar solo to trumpet solo
    I.e., what everyone is saying is pretty simple with any notation program or DAW. Musescore will do the job, and is free. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Piano Sheet Music for Suteki da ne
    I was looking on musescore.com to listen to a really nice piano arrangement of Suteki da ne, but it seems to have been removed, and I did not save the sheet music to my computer! I was wondering if anyone has the sheet music saved somewhere. I really liked this one particular arrangement, and I was a fool not to save it. I don't remember who posted it on there originally. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Musescore's free trial service is bad trick.
    I joined free trial service on musescore.com. Source: over 1 year ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing forScore and MuseScore, you can also consider the following products

Stave'n'Tabs - iOS and macOS notation and tablature editor with MIDI and MusicXML files support and chromatic...

Guitar Pro - Create, play and share your tabs

Chordsheet Maker - Create chord sheets or lead sheets quick and easily from your iPad. Add rhythms, endings, segno, codas and all what's necessary for your musicians to know what's your music about. Transcription made easy!

Sibelius - Sibelius is a virtual score creation tool which allows composers to easily create new piano scores, developed by Avid.

Aria Maestosa - Aria Maestosa is an open-source (GPL) midi tracker/editor.

Finale - Finale, the world standard for music notation software, lets you compose, arrange, notate, and print engraver-quality sheet music.