Comparing MuseScore and Finale NotePad, feature by feature
Below is a chart comparing MuseScore and Finale NotePad. I initially I made the comparison between these products because they were both free. Since MakeMusic announced that they will start charging for NotePad 2009, MuseScore looks even more compelling.
The nature of the two score writers is quite different. NotePad is purposefully limited and designed to encourage customers to buy more complete versions of Finale as their needs increase. On the other hand MuseScore is developed as a free and open source software project where anyone with the skills and desire can help improve the product. As a result MuseScore fairs much better when working with large numbers of instruments or any notation beyond the very basic.
The chart below is updated for version 0.9.4 of MuseScore.
| MuseScore | Finale NotePad | |
|---|---|---|
Notation |
||
| Number of staves | Unlimited | 8 |
| Number of staff lines available | 1 thru 9 | 5 (plus tablature) |
| Key changes | Unlimited | 0 |
| Time changes | Unlimited | 0 |
| Pickup or incomplete measure | Supported | Unsupported |
| Lyric verses | Unlimited | 1 |
| Chord names | Supported | Unsupported |
| Percussion notation | Partial support | Unsupported |
| Document styles | Customizable | Fixed |
Notes |
||
| Dotted notes | Single or double | single only |
| Grace notes | Supported | Unsupported |
Time savers |
||
| Part extraction | Supported | Unsupported |
| Plugin support | QtScript (under development) | None |
File formats |
||
| MIDI | Import/export | Import/export |
| MusicXML | Import/export | Import/export (as of 2009) |
| Export | Unsupported | |
| PNG/SVG image formats | Export | Unsupported |
| WAV/FLAC/OGG audio formats | Export (as of version 0.9.5) | Unsupported |
Play back |
||
| Mixer | Partial | Unsupported |
| Sound | Piano plus support for additional SoundFonts | 128 sounds (General MIDI) |
| Expressive playback | Only staccatos, tenutos, and arpeggios are interpreted | "Human Playback" standard style |
| Play back position marking | Moving cursor plus auto scrolling (as of version 0.9.4) | Moving cursor plus auto scrolling |
| Repeats | Interpreted | Ignored |
Platforms |
||
| Windows | Supported | Supported |
| Mac OS | Supported | Supported |
| Linux | Supported | No native support |
Price |
||
| Price | $0 | $9.95 (as of September 2008) |
| Source code | Free to share and modify | Closed |
