CadenzaWhere it sits
What the cheap ones don’t do, and what the expensive ones do that this doesn’t.
The honest version. The first row is the part nothing else in this table does at all: naming what you play live and handing you engraved notation. And the naming itself is not something we left to the cheap tools — chart-correct symbols that never invent a note, the degree on every lit key, a staff that writes along, history and saved progressions. All of that is Basic. Free, forever.
| Cadenzafree core · one-time modules | Chordie$25 once | Chord Whisper$2.99, macOS | The Ultimate Piano$39 / 1 yr updates | MuseScore 4free | ScoreCloudfrom $5.99/mo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play a take → engraved notation → MusicXML | ● | — | — | — | limited | ● |
| Names chords live from a MIDI keyboard | ● | ● | ● | ● | — | — |
| Live naming in the free tier | ● | $25 | $2.99 | $39 | — | — |
| Runs on macOS and Windows | ● | ● | macOS only | browser | ● | ● |
| Runs with the network off | ● | — | ● | — | ● | — |
| The degree in the key, on every lit key | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chord cards captured as you play, and played back | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lead sheet: chord symbols played in above the stave | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Four graded drills: chords, intervals, scales, sight-reading | ● | — | — | some | — | — |
| A jazz voicing course graded from your own MIDI | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Re-quantise, re-split hands and respell after the take | ● | — | — | — | — | partly |
| Fingering numbers on the score | ● | — | — | — | ● | ● |
| iReal Pro import, repeats unrolled | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Separate native windows, each with its own name | 12 | ● | — | browser | — | — |
| One-click OBS scene over WebSocket | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Overlays that survive a restart | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Black-on-white mode for a luma key | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Your camera warped onto the on-screen keys | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Saved window layouts | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Included updates | all v1 | unstated | unstated | 1 year | ● | while subscribed |
| Installer signed by the vendor | macOS signed · Windows not yet | ● | ● | n/a | ● | ● |
| Cost over three years | €0 + one-time modules | $25 | $2.99 | $39+ | free | $215+ |
Compiled from each vendor’s own public pages in August 2026; prices are as they list them and will change. MuseScore is free and is the right answer for engraving a piece properly; the first row is about getting a performance into it, which is the part it is weakest at. On naming, read the columns: the tools built only for naming charge for it — Cadenza’s Basic names what you play, labels the degree on the keys and keeps the staff and the history, for nothing.
Play it once.
macOS 12 or later · Windows 10 and 11 · no account, no card
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