Finale AlternativesTop Music Production Apps like Finale

Finale is described as 'Is proprietary scorewriting software developed by MakeMusic, Inc. It displays music primarily in music notation and allows for multiple tracks and very specific tweaking of instrument sounds for each track' and is a music production app in the audio & music category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Finale for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad and iPhone apps. The best Finale alternative is MuseScore Studio, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Finale are Dorico, LilyPond, Avid Sibelius and Frescobaldi.

More about Finale
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Finale alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. MuseScore Studio icon

    MuseScore Studio

     245 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Compose, arrange, and share music using free, open-source software for Windows, Mac, and Linux with integrated playback, fast note entry, MIDI, MusicXML, PDF support, multilingual UI, and direct connection to an online sheet music community for sharing scores.

    71 MuseScore Studio alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    MuseScore 4.0
     
    |
    5
    29
    Comments about MuseScore Studio as an Alternative to Finale
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    2

    MuseScore is a very capable alternative to Finale. It is easy to use and produces professional sheet music of any size. I have created small scores for a single-instrument, as well as large scores for a full concert band using this software. Finale does have a better sound library than MuseScore, but other than that, MuseScore has handled anything that I have thrown at it.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    riveravaldez
    Positive
    -1

    It does everything Finale does, and much more, much better. Free/Libre software, without crap. Constantly improving.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

    It's completely free, you can upload your scores to the website for safekeeping, it is powerful and notate almost anything

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 5 comments
    Finale Icon
    MuseScore Studio icon

    • Almost everyone thinks MuseScore Studio is a great Finale alternative.

    • MuseScore Studio is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to Finale.

    • MuseScore Studio is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Finale.

    • MuseScore Studio is Free and Open SourceFinale is Paid and Proprietary
  2. Dorico icon

    Dorico

     12 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Compose or publish music notation, produce teaching materials or learn the language of music — Dorico lets you make beautiful music, fast.

    17 Dorico alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • iPad
    Dorico screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    6
    Comments about Dorico as an Alternative to Finale
    Guest
    Positive
    -1

    Dorico seems the 21th century best app : very intuitive, with a genial structure helping the user to write scores.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Finale Icon
    Dorico icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Dorico is a great Finale alternative.

    • Dorico is Freemium and ProprietaryFinale is Paid and Proprietary
  4. LilyPond icon

    LilyPond

     41 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    GNU LilyPond is a computer program for music engraving. One of LilyPonds major goals is to produce scores that are engraved with traditional layout rules, reflecting the era when scores were engraved by hand.

    49 LilyPond alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    LilyPond screenshot 1
     
    |
    2
    Comments about LilyPond as an Alternative to Finale
    Guest
    Positive
    2

    You have full control over the engraving and score edition process and the results are the best available.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    LilyPond uses Text files, whereas Finale uses MIDI, .kar, etc.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Finale Icon
    LilyPond icon

    • Some users think LilyPond is a great Finale alternative, some don't.

    • LilyPond is Free and Open SourceFinale is Paid and Proprietary
    • LilyPond is CustomizableFinale is not according to our users
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Avid Sibelius icon
    Avid Sibelius

    Professional music notation software for Windows and macOS featuring intuitive, task-based score creation, MIDI and onscreen input, up to 16 staves, guitar tab conversion, Magnetic Layout, dynamic parts updates, text and lyric su...

    https://www.avid.com
    Learn More
  6. Avid Sibelius icon

    Avid Sibelius

     35 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Professional music notation software for Windows and macOS featuring intuitive, task-based score creation, MIDI and onscreen input, up to 16 staves, guitar tab conversion, Magnetic Layout, dynamic parts updates, text and lyric support, scanning tools, and expressive playback.

    58 Avid Sibelius alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once or Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPad
    Avid Sibelius screenshot 1
     
  7. Frescobaldi icon

    Frescobaldi

     18 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Frescobaldi is a LilyPond sheet music text editor. It aims to be powerful, yet lightweight and easy to use. Frescobaldi is Free Software, freely available under the General Public License.

    40 Frescobaldi alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Frescobaldi screenshot 1
     
    |
    7
  8. Impro-Visor icon

    Impro-Visor

     25 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Impro-Visor is a music notation program designed to help jazz musicians compose and hear solos similar to ones that might be improvised.

    63 Impro-Visor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    In this window you can create or edit a new chorus.
     
  11. Opusmodus icon

    Opusmodus

     Like
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Opusmodus is a comprehensive computer-aided environment for the whole work of music composition a virtual space where a composer can develop ideas and experiments for projects large and small. Opusmodus allows you to explore more than one structure at the same time.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Opusmodus screenshot 1
     

    • Opusmodus is the most popular commercial alternative to Finale.

    • Opusmodus is Paid and ProprietaryFinale is also Paid and Proprietary
  12. EasyABC icon

    EasyABC

     6 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    EasyABC allows you to edit and play abc files. It supports conversion from MusicXML and MIDI to ABC. The latter uses a custom implementation (midi2abc is not used) in order to produce very readable ABC output. Direct midi input is supported for people with a midi keyboard.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    EasyABC screenshot 1
     
  13. Symphony Pro icon

    Symphony Pro

     2 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Complete music notation and composition app for iPad.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • iPad
    Symphony Pro screenshot 1
     
  14. alphaTab icon

    alphaTab

     5 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    alphaTab is a cross platform music notation and guitar tablature rendering library. You can use alphaTab within your own website or application to load music sheets from files like Guitar Pro or use the built in markup named alphaTex.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
     

    • alphaTab is the most popular Web-based alternative to Finale.

    • alphaTab is Free and Open SourceFinale is Paid and Proprietary
  15. StaffPad icon

    StaffPad

     10 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    StaffPad is a brand new class of notation app, designed to take advantage of the advanced pen and touch input found on Microsoft Surface* and other compatible Windows 8.1 devices. As you write notation using the pen, StaffPad recognises your handwritten music and converts it...

    20 StaffPad alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    StaffPad screenshot 1
     
12 of 48 Finale alternatives