forScore vs Piascore: Which Sheet Music Reader Should You Use?
forScore and Piascore are the two names that come up most for reading PDF scores on iPad. One is the paid incumbent, one is free. Here's how they actually differ — and the axis neither markets.
forScore vs Piascore
| forScore | Piascore | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | One-time purchase | Free (with upsells) |
| Annotation | Deep, mature | Yes, lighter |
| Setlists | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth pedal | Yes | Yes |
| Library size | Large libraries | Fine for most |
| Reputation risk | Data-loss complaints | Ads/upsell friction |
How to pick between them
Choose forScore if you want the deepest, most mature feature set and don't mind paying once for it.
Choose Piascore if you want to spend nothing and can live with a lighter feature set and upsell prompts.
But notice what that framing leaves out: neither pitch mentions whether your annotations are *safe*. For a lot of musicians, that turns out to be the deciding factor after a season of use.
The reliability axis
If you're weighing these two, you're clearly willing to invest markings into an app. The question worth asking before you do: what happens to those markings on a crash, a bad sync, or a force-quit mid-set?
Everstave is built for exactly that question — a one-time purchase (priced below forScore) that writes every stroke to durable local storage the instant you make it, with setlists, AirTurn pedal support, and fast search. It won't out-feature forScore on everything, and it isn't free like Piascore — it's the option for the musician whose top priority is *these fingerings will still be here tonight.*
Frequently asked questions
Is forScore or Piascore better?
forScore has the deeper, more mature feature set (one-time purchase); Piascore is free but lighter with upsells. If reliability of your annotations is your top concern, look at a reader built specifically around durable local saving, like Everstave.
Is Piascore really free?
There's a free tier, supported by ads and in-app upsells for advanced features. forScore is a flat one-time purchase.
Do both support a Bluetooth page-turner pedal?
Yes, both support AirTurn-style Bluetooth pedals — as does Everstave.
Which one won't lose my annotations?
None of them advertises this, so test it: mark a bar, force-quit, reopen. Everstave is the one designed around passing that test every time.