Name |
Guitar tablature |
WYSIWYG editor |
MIDI entry[a] |
Playback |
File formats |
Developer(s) |
Stable release; review date |
License |
Cost |
Operating systems |
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 |
10.0-05; 7 July 2025 (6 days ago) (2025-07-07) |
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 (3 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 |
6.0.20; 2 July 2025 (11 days ago) (2025-07-02) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
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 (4 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 (10 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 (19 months 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 (8 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 (4 years ago) (2021-02-12) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows |
Frescobaldi |
No |
WYSIWYM |
No |
MIDI |
LilyPond,[e] MusicXML,[c] ABC |
MusicXML,[c] PDF |
Wilbert Berendsen |
4.0.3; 9 June 2025 (34 days ago) (2025-06-09) |
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 |
8.1.4; 1 April 2025 (3 months ago) (2025-04-01) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows, macOS, Linux |
Impro-Visor |
No |
Yes |
Step-time and real-time |
MIDI |
Impro-Visor[x] |
MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] PDF |
Bob Keller |
10.2; 1 August 2019 (5 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,[y] ETF,[z] MIDI,[d] MusicXML[c] |
PDF, PNG, PS, SVG |
Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan Nieuwenhuizen |
2.24.4; 21 July 2024 (11 months ago) (2024-07-21) |
GPL-3.0-or-later |
No cost |
Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD |
MagicScore |
Yes |
Yes |
Step-time and real-time |
MIDI, SoundFonts |
SFD,[aa] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Karaoke,[ab] WAV, MP3 |
MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Karaoke,[ab] WAV, MP3, PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, EMF, WMF |
Maestro Music Software |
8.280; 2017 (8 years ago) (2017) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows |
Mozart |
Yes |
Yes |
Step-time and real-time |
MIDI |
Mozart,[ac] MusicXML,[c] NIFF,[ad] MIDI,[d] Karaoke,[ab] ABC[y] |
MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] ABC,[y] BMP, EMF, GIF, JPEG, PBM, PNG, TIFF |
Mozart Music Software |
17.0.1; June 2025 (1 month ago) (2025-06) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows |
Mus2 |
No |
Yes |
|
MIDI |
Mus2[ae] |
MIDI,[d] AIFF, WAV, PDF, SVG, BMP, JPEG, PNG |
Utku Uzmen (Data-Soft Ltd.) |
3.2.3; November 2022 (2 years ago) (2022-11) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows, macOS |
MuseScore Studio |
Yes |
Yes |
Step-time and real-time |
MIDI, SoundFonts, SFZ, VST3 |
MuseScore,[af] MusicXML,[c] Compressed MusicXML,[n] MIDI,[d] Karaoke,[ab] MuseData,[ag] Bagpipe Music Writer,[ah] Band-in-a-Box,[ai] Overture,[aj] Capella,[f] CapXML,[g] Guitar Pro (versions 1–6),[t] Power Tab (experimental),[v] PDF (experimental), ABC[y] (with plugin) |
MusicXML,[c] Compressed MusicXML,[n] PDF, PNG, SVG, MIDI,[d] WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 |
The MuseScore developer community |
4.5.2; 25 April 2025 (2 months ago) (2025-04-25) |
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,[ak] MIDI,[d] ABC[y] |
MIDI,[d] ABC,[y] 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[2] |
Windows |
MusicEase |
Yes |
Yes |
|
MIDI |
MusicEase,[al] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] ABC,[y] SongWright[am] |
MIDI,[d] PDF |
MusicEase Software |
10.1m; November 2024 (8 months ago) (2024-11) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows, macOS |
Musink |
No |
WYSIWYM |
|
MIDI |
Musink[an] |
MIDI,[d] PDF, PNG, XPS |
Lee Reid |
1.3.0.3 |
Proprietary |
No cost |
Windows, macOS |
MusiXTeX |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
TeX (incl. PMX and M-Tx),[ao] MusicXML[c] (with converters) |
DVI,[ap] PS, PDF, MIDI[d] (for PMX input) |
Daniel Taupin, Ross Mitchell, Andreas Egler |
1.38; 29 March 2024 (15 months ago) (2024-03-29) |
GPL-2.0-or-later |
No cost |
Windows, macOS, Linux |
Notation Composer |
No |
Yes |
Step-time and real-time |
MIDI, SoundFonts |
Notation,[aq] MusicXML,[c] Compressed MusicXML,[n] MIDI,[d] Karaoke[ab] |
MusicXML,[c] Compressed MusicXML,[n] PDF, MIDI,[d] Karaoke,[ab] PNG, BMP, JPEG, GIF, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, MP3 |
Notation Software |
5.1.2; 8 May 2025 (2 months ago) (2025-05-08) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows, macOS, Linux |
NoteWorthy Composer |
Yes |
Yes |
Step-time and real-time |
MIDI |
NWC,[ar] MIDI,[d] Karaoke[ab] |
MIDI[d] |
NoteWorthy Software |
2.75a.2; 2017 (8 years ago) (2017) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows |
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 (3 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,[aj] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Score Writer[as] |
MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] WAV, MP3 |
Sonic Scores |
5.6.1.1; 2 December 2019 (5 years ago) (2019-12-02) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows, macOS |
Philip's Music Writer |
Yes |
No |
No |
MIDI |
PMW[at] |
MIDI,[d] PS |
Philip Hazel |
5.32; 25 June 2025 (18 days ago) (2025-06-25) |
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 (14 days 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,[au] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Hydrogen[av] |
LilyPond,[e] MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Csound,[aw] Mup,[ax] PDF |
Chris Cannam, Richard Bown, Guillaume Laurent |
25.06; 4 June 2025 (39 days ago) (2025-06-04) |
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 (11 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 |
4.8.4; June 2025 (1 month ago) (2025-06) |
Proprietary |
Free without file saving |
Windows, macOS, iOS |
Sibelius |
Yes |
Yes |
Step-time and real-time |
MIDI, VST, AU,[q] Avid library |
Sibelius,[ay] MusicXML,[c] MIDI[d] |
MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] MP3, PDF, SVG, EPS, PNG |
Avid Technology, Inc. |
2025.4; 14 April 2025 (2 months ago) (2025-04-14) |
Proprietary |
No cost up to 4 staves[3] |
Windows, macOS, RISC OS, Android, iOS |
SmartScore 64 NE |
Yes |
Yes |
|
MIDI |
SmartScore,[az] scanned images, MusicXML,[c] NIFF[ad] |
MusicXML,[c] MIDI,[d] Finale,[r] NIFF,[ad] PDF |
Musitek Corporation |
11.6.113; 21 April 2025 (2 months ago) (2025-04-21) |
Proprietary |
Non-free |
Windows, macOS |
TuxGuitar |
Yes |
Yes |
|
MIDI |
TuxGuitar,[ba] 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 |
1.6.6; 27 December 2024 (6 months ago) (2024-12-27) |
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 systems |
File formats |