A PlayScore alternative that runs in the browser
PlayScore 2 is the best-known app that photographs sheet music and plays it. If you are looking for an alternative – because you want it in the browser, on a computer as well as a phone, with the chords played, or without a subscription – here is what Duly Noted does, and where PlayScore 2 is still the better choice.
Why people look for an alternative
- The device. PlayScore 2 is a native app for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows; on a Mac the iPad app runs on Apple silicon. There is no browser version (playscore.co: FAQ). If you practise at a computer, or want the same library on every device, that matters.
- The chords. PlayScore 2 recognises chord names as text on Apple devices and exports them; playing an accompaniment from the chord symbols is not mentioned (playscore.co: specification). A lead sheet is mostly chord symbols.
- The playing order. D.S. and D.C. jumps in PlayScore 2 need the "Lyrics and text" setting, which is off by default, subscription only and, according to the help pages, not yet on Android (playscore.co: D.S., D.C., coda, fine).
- The price model. PlayScore 2 is a subscription: Productivity or Professional, monthly or yearly (App Store (US)). Some people only have a few pieces to learn.
What Duly Noted does
- Runs in the browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPad, iPhone and Android – nothing to install, one library everywhere, sign in with your e-mail.
- Reads PDFs, photos, scans and MusicXML. Photograph a page with the phone's camera in the app, or upload the publisher's PDF from the computer. Several pages of one piece go in together.
- Plays the chords. Melody, an accompaniment voiced from the chord symbols, and a bass line – three parts you can mute one by one, so you can play along over the comp.
- Follows the road map – repeats, first and second endings, segno, coda, D.S. al Coda and D.C. al Fine – on every device, with nothing to switch on.
- Lets you correct it. A misread chord symbol or a missed repeat is fixed by clicking the bar; the playing order and the sound update at once, and the correction is kept.
- Practice tools: tempo without pitch change, loops, transposition, count-in, metronome, MIDI download.
- Pays per piece if you prefer: the first piece is free, then €3 for 3 pieces as a one-off, or €5 a month for as many as you like, cancelled with one click.
Side by side
| Duly Noted | PlayScore 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Any browser: computer, tablet, phone | iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows; Mac with Apple silicon |
| Reads | PDF, photo, scan, MusicXML | Camera photos, JPG, TIF; PDF with Professional |
| Recognition | On our server (EU); the piece is kept in your private library | On the device |
| Chord symbols | Read and played as an accompaniment | Read as text on Apple devices; playing them is not mentioned |
| D.S. and D.C. | Always | With the "Lyrics and text" setting; not on Android |
| Corrections | Chords and playing order, bar by bar | Not mentioned; export MusicXML to an editor |
| Free | First piece, up to 4 pages | Single pages from a photo, no time limit |
| Paid | €3 for 3 pieces, or €5/month, €39/year | Subscription, monthly or yearly |
What PlayScore 2 does comes from its maker's own pages and the App Store, checked 16 October 2026 – see the full comparison with sources, which also covers ScanScore, Soundslice, Sheet Music Scanner and Newzik.
Where PlayScore 2 is better
- Nothing leaves the phone. Recognition happens on the device, no sign-in, and a page plays at once (playscore.co: features).
- Big scores. No limit on staves per system if the image is good, 23 instruments to choose from per staff, volume or mute for each part.
- Export to a notation program. MusicXML export to Dorico, MuseScore and others. Duly Noted exports MIDI.
- Editing the notes. Neither app has a note editor, but PlayScore's MusicXML export gets you into one. In Duly Noted you correct chord symbols and the playing order, not the notes themselves – yet.
Switching
There is nothing to migrate. Upload the same PDFs, or photograph the same pages, and your first piece is free – no card, no subscription to start. If you have MusicXML files exported from PlayScore 2, Duly Noted reads those exactly, with no recognition step at all.