| # | Name | Operating system | License | Native format | Can read | Can write | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canorus | GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac OS X | Free, GPL | Canorus archive (.can), Canorus document (.xml) | Canorus, MusicXML, MIDI | LilyPond, MusicXML, MIDI, PDF, SVG | |
| 2 | Capella | Windows | 188 €, Proprietary | Capella file (.cap), CapellaXML (.capx) | Capella, MusicXML, MIDI | Capella, MusicXML, MIDI | |
| 3 | Denemo | GNU/Linux | Free, GPL | Denemo (.denemo, .dnm) | Denemo, MIDI, MusicXML, LilyPond | Denemo, LilyPond, MIDI, ABC, jtf, Csound, MusicXML | |
| 4 | Encore | Windows (98, ME, 2000, XP), Mac OS (9.x, X > 10.2) | 129.99 €, Proprietary | Encore (.enc) | ? | ? | |
| 5 | Finale | Windows, Mac OS X | US$600, Proprietary | Finale (.mus) | .mus (versions older than available Finale version), .etf, MusicXML, Midi 0 + 1 | .mus, MusicXML, MIDI 0 + 1 | |
| 6 | Harmony Assistant | Windows, Mac OS X Power PC, Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS Old versions | 70 € or US$70, Proprietary | Myriad .mus (different from Finale .mus) and .myr | MIDI type 0 and 1 (.mid), MIDI Karaoke (.mid, .kar), Rich MIDI Tablature File - RMTF (.mid), Creative Music File -CMF (.cmf), Finale versions 1993 to 2006 (.mus, .etf), Encore (.enc), Rhapsody (.rhp), MusicTime (.mus), NoteWorthy Composer versions : 1.3 to 2.0 (.nwc), GuitarPro (.gtp, .gp3, .gp4), Tabledit version 2.0 (1999) and up (.tef), Band In a Box Style (.sty), Yamaha Style (.sty), Soundtracker MOD (.mod), Scream Tracker S3M (.s3m), MusicXML (.xml), ABC (.abc), Tablature text file (.tab) | MIDI type 0 and 1 (.mid), MIDI Karaoke (.mid, .kar), Rich MIDI Tablature File - RMTF (.mid), Creative Music File -CMF (.cmf), MusicXML (.xml), ABC (.abc), Tablature text file (.tab) | |
| 7 | LilyPond | GNU/Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, MacOS X | Free, GPL | LilyPond (.ly) | only native format, but includes converters: **abc2ly** (from abc ASCII format), **etf2ly** (from Finale format), **midi2ly** (from MIDI format), **mup2ly** (from Arkkra Enterprises Music Publisher format), **musicxml2ly** (from MusicXML format) | MIDI, PDF, PostScript, SVG, MusicXML (highly experimental!) | |
| 8 | Melody Assistant | Windows, Mac OS X Power PC, Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS Old versions | 20 € or US$20, Shareware | Myriad .mus (different from Finale .mus) and .myr | MIDI type 0 and 1 (.mid), MIDI Karaoke (.mid, .kar), Rich MIDI Tablature File - RMTF (.mid), Creative Music File -CMF (.cmf), Soundtracker MOD (.mod), Scream Tracker S3M (.s3m), ABC (.abc), Tablature text file (.tab) | MIDI type 0 and 1 (.mid), MIDI Karaoke (.mid, .kar), Rich MIDI Tablature File - RMTF (.mid), Creative Music File -CMF (.cmf), ABC (.abc), Tablature text file (.tab) | |
| 9 | Musescore | Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux | Free, GPL | Musescore Format (*.mscx), Compressed Musescore Format (*.mscz) | MusicXML (*.xml), Compressed MusicXML (*.mxl), MIDI (*.mid, *.midi, *.kar), MuseData (*.md), Capella (*.cap), Bagpipe Music Writer (*.bww), BB (*.mgu, *.sgu), Overture (*.ove) | PDF (*.pdf), PostScript (*.ps), PNG (*.png), SVG (*.svg), WAV Audio (*.wav), FLAC Audio (*.flac), Ogg Vorbis (*.ogg), MusicXML (*.xml), Compressed MusicXML (*.mxl), MIDI (*.mid, *.midi, *.kar), LilyPond (*.ly), | |
| 10 | Mup music publication program | Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux | Free, GPL | Mup Format (*.mup) | Mup (*.mup) | PostScript (*.ps), MIDI (*.mid) | |
| 11 | MusiXTeX | Windows, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X | Free, GPL | MusiXTeX (.tex) | MusicXML via XML2PMX, .pmx and .mtx using preprocessors | PDF (*.pdf), PostScript (*.ps), MIDI (*.mid) | |
| 12 | NoteEdit <ref>NoteEdit development has basically stopped, since the core team now moved to Canorus</ref> | GNU/Linux | Free, GPL | NoteEdit (.not) | NoteEdit, MusicXML, MIDI | MIDI, MusiXTeX, ABC, PMX, LilyPond, MusicXML | |
| 13 | Rosegarden | GNU/Linux | Free, GPL | Rosegarden (.rg) | Rosegarden, MIDI, Hydrogen | MIDI, LilyPond, MusicXML, Csound, Arkkra Enterprises Music Publisher | |
| 14 | Sibelius | Windows, Mac OS | US$600, Proprietary | Sibelius (.sib) | Sibelius X (.sib - current version or older), MIDI (.mid), Photoscore (.opt), Finale/Allegro/Printmusic (.mus), Finale Enigma (.etf), NIFF (.nif), SCORE (.tmp, .pag, .pge), Sibelius 6/7 (.s7 - generally obsolete), ASCII Tab (.tab), ASCII Bass Tab (.btab), ASCII Chords (.crd) | .sib (one per version), Scorch Webpage (.htm), midi, .tab | |
| 15 | SeeScore | Apple iOS (iPad) | GB£10, Proprietary | MusicXML | MusicXML | None | |
| 16 | Dorico | macOS, Windows | Proprietary | Dorico (.dorico) | Dorico (.dorico), MusicXML, MIDI (.mid) | Dorico (.dorico), MusicXML, MIDI (.mid) |
