{
    "products": [
        {
            "slug": "dorico",
            "name": "Dorico",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://www.steinberg.net/dorico/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/dorico",
            "tagline": "Music notation software from Steinberg for Windows, macOS and iPad",
            "summary": "Dorico is music notation software from Steinberg for composing, arranging and publishing scores. It runs on Windows and macOS, and there is a free iPad app. The free Dorico SE edition writes scores for up to eight players, and Elements and Pro are paid editions.",
            "developer": "Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH",
            "platforms": [
                "windows",
                "macos",
                "ipados"
            ],
            "pricing": "freemium",
            "price_note": "Free Dorico SE for up to eight players; Elements and Pro are paid",
            "free_to_use": true,
            "open_source": false,
            "strengths": [
                "Free Dorico SE for scores up to eight players",
                "Tools to move and reduce music between instruments",
                "Projects move between desktop and iPad"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Pro costs several times the price of Elements",
                "Features are split across three editions"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "Dorico is a notation program that Steinberg describes as designed from the ground up for composing. It offers flexible input and editing tools, and transformation features that change tonality, move music between players, map parts onto new scales and create voiced parts from chord symbols. It imports MIDI and MusicXML and exports MIDI, MusicXML, audio and graphics.\n\nThree editions are sold. Dorico SE is free and limited to scores for up to eight players, Elements is aimed at home use and secondary school students, and Pro adds the publishing options that professional engravers and publishers need. Dorico for iPad is free, and projects move between the desktop and the iPad app. The desktop versions run on 64-bit Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) and Windows 11, and on macOS 12 and later."
        },
        {
            "slug": "noteflight",
            "name": "Noteflight",
            "kind": "web",
            "website": "https://www.noteflight.com/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/noteflight",
            "tagline": "Online music notation editor for composing and sharing scores",
            "summary": "Noteflight is an online music notation editor for composing, sharing and playing scores in a browser. It has a free start and a Noteflight Premium upgrade that adds a large catalog of digital sheet music.",
            "platforms": [
                "web"
            ],
            "pricing": "freemium",
            "price_note": "Free to start; Noteflight Premium adds the sheet music library",
            "free_to_use": true,
            "open_source": false,
            "strengths": [
                "Works in any browser with no install",
                "Free start to get going"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Scores live in the cloud",
                "Premium features need a paid upgrade"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "Noteflight runs entirely in the browser, so there is nothing to install, and scores are stored in the cloud. The site describes cloud-based notation tools for composing and sharing, along with a catalog of music titles. Premium adds unlimited access to the catalog, professional notation features and 85 premium instrument sounds.\n\nBecause files live in Noteflight's cloud, offline work and file ownership depend on the service's export options. The free start suits trying the editor, while Premium adds the full sheet music library and premium playback. Noteflight is a practical choice when you want notation in a browser without installing software."
        }
    ],
    "differences": [
        "Only Dorico runs on Windows.",
        "Only Dorico runs on macOS.",
        "Only Noteflight runs on Web."
    ],
    "shared_rankings": [
        {
            "list": "music-notation-software",
            "name": "Music notation software",
            "page": "https://listme.name/best/music-notation-software",
            "of": 10,
            "results": [
                {
                    "product": "dorico",
                    "rank": 2,
                    "score": 91,
                    "verdict": "A composition-first notation program for Windows and macOS, with a free edition for scores up to eight players and a free iPad app. The Pro edition has the publishing options engravers need, at several times the price of Elements.",
                    "best_for": "Composing and arranging, with a free starter edition",
                    "spec": {
                        "platforms": "Windows, macOS, iPad",
                        "open_source": false,
                        "cost": "Free SE; Elements and Pro paid"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "product": "noteflight",
                    "rank": 6,
                    "score": 80,
                    "verdict": "An online notation editor with a free start, cloud sharing and a sheet music library in its Premium plan. Scores live in the cloud, and the free tier is less capable than paid desktop notation.",
                    "best_for": "Browser notation with a sheet music library",
                    "spec": {
                        "platforms": "Web browser",
                        "open_source": false,
                        "cost": "Free to start; Premium"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "ranks_higher_in_closest_shared_list": "dorico",
    "page": "https://listme.name/compare/dorico-vs-noteflight",
    "json": "https://listme.name/api/v1/compare/dorico-vs-noteflight.json",
    "notes": [
        "Scores are editorial and only comparable inside one list. Products with connected_to_publisher true receive a disclosed ranking lift: https://listme.name/methodology"
    ],
    "source": "https://listme.name",
    "license": "Free to read and cite with attribution to listme.name.",
    "docs": "https://listme.name/developers"
}