Music · pricing
MuseScore pricing
MuseScore publishes 3 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
As of 1 September 2026, MuseScore pricing is free across 3 published tiers. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Open source, no licence fee
- Tiers
- 3
- Free tier
- Yes
MuseScore plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| MuseScore Studio | Free | 1 | Entry tier |
| MuseScore.com Pro | On request | 2 | Priced on request |
| MuseSounds Pro | On request | 2 | Priced on request |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
MuseScore Studio
FreeThe entry tier. It covers full notation software, gpl licensed, no locked features.
MuseScore.com Pro
On requestOver MuseScore Studio, this tier adds:
- Separate subscription for unlimited sheet music downloads from MuseScore.com
- Not required to use the notation software itself
MuseSounds Pro
On requestOver MuseScore.com Pro, this tier adds:
- Separate subscription for premium sampled instrument libraries
- Free core instrument set included with MuseScore Studio without it
Where MuseScore stops being free
MuseScore Studio, Free
- Full notation software, GPL licensed, no locked features
No paid tier on record
MuseScore lists a free tier and no priced tier above it in the record we hold.
What the product covers
The full MuseScore feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- Score engraving
- MIDI input and playback
- Part extraction
- MuseSounds
- Plugin support
- Cross-platform availability
People bring MuseScore in for a student or educator needing capable, no-cost notation software for classroom assignments, a composer who wants open source software they can audit, modify or redistribute under the gpl, a hobbyist arranger who never needs premium sound libraries and is satisfied with the free musesounds core set, a user who wants unlimited downloads from the musescore.com sheet music library and subscribes to pro specifically for that, independent of the notation app. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to MuseScore are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Music
Too few music tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MuseScore (this page) | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | |
| rekordbox | Free | Per user per year | - | vs MuseScore |
| DistroKid | On request | One-time purchase | - | vs MuseScore |
| Pro Tools | Free | Per user per year | - | vs MuseScore |
| Serato DJ | Free | Per user per month | - | vs MuseScore |
| GarageBand | Free | Open source, no licence fee | - | vs MuseScore |
| Traktor Pro | Free | One-time purchase | - | vs MuseScore |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the MuseScore badges page.
Before you pay for MuseScore
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: 3 tiers between Free and On request, with the jump itemised above. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
MuseScore runs on macos, windows, linux, ios, android, and is published by Muse Group of Limassol, Cyprus. The full record is on the MuseScore review, and the rest of the category is under best music tools.
MuseScore pricing questions
- How much does MuseScore cost?
- MuseScore publishes 3 tiers, from Free for MuseScore Studio up to On request for MuseSounds Pro. The entry tier costs nothing.
- Does MuseScore have a free plan?
- Yes. The MuseScore Studio tier costs nothing and covers full notation software, gpl licensed, no locked features.
- What is the difference between MuseScore Studio and MuseScore.com Pro on MuseScore?
- MuseScore.com Pro costs On request against Free, and adds separate subscription for unlimited sheet music downloads from musescore.com, not required to use the notation software itself.
- Which music tools can I use without paying?
- 7 of the 8 music tools listed alongside MuseScore have a free tier: rekordbox, Pro Tools, Serato DJ, GarageBand, Traktor Pro.
- What am I actually paying for with MuseScore?
- The record lists 6 features across 1 area: other. In practice it is brought in for a student or educator needing capable, no-cost notation software for classroom assignments, a composer who wants open source software they can audit, modify or redistribute under the gpl, a hobbyist arranger who never needs premium sound libraries and is satisfied with the free musesounds core set.
- Does MuseScore charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 3 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these MuseScore prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare MuseScore against before paying?
- The closest music tools in this directory are rekordbox, DistroKid, Pro Tools, Serato DJ. Each has a side-by-side comparison with MuseScore covering price, platforms and features.