AnthemScore vs Piano2Notes: Licence or Subscription

AnthemScore and Piano2Notes both turn a piano recording into sheet music, and both export the three files that matter. The real difference is how you pay and what each price tier lets you download, and that decides the choice for most people before accuracy even comes up.

Side by side

Every figure comes from Lunaverus's and Klangio's own pages, checked on 16 September 2026. Both vendors showed euros for our region, so the comparison stays in euros. AnthemScore Web, the browser subscription, is priced in US dollars.

Read down the MIDI and MusicXML rows before anything else. The cheapest way into each product, AnthemScore Lite or the Piano2Notes demo, gives you a PDF you cannot edit. If you want to correct the result, you are choosing between €40.36 once and a full Klangio transcription.

How AnthemScore's licence works

Lunaverus is direct about its model: "No automatic or recurring charges are ever made. The activation key has no expiration." After activation, the purchase page says, the software "can run offline forever"; the internet is only needed to activate and to update.

What that licence includes, from the purchase page and the FAQ:

• Four computers, plus one more for each full year after purchase. Keys cannot be transferred to another machine.
• One year of updates on Lite and Professional. After that, updating costs "about 75% of the normal purchase price", and it is optional: the version you have keeps working.
• Lifetime updates on Studio, which also adds batch processing.
• Upgrading editions later costs the price difference plus about USD $3, or just the difference within 24 hours of buying.

The edition choice matters more than it looks. The comparison table gives Lite unlimited transcriptions and PDF output, and nothing else: no MIDI, no musicXML, no note editing, no playback controls. Professional adds "musicXML, MIDI, and AnthemScore project (ASDT) formats", adding and removing notes, slowed playback without a pitch change, and measure editing with tapped downbeats. For anyone planning to fix a transcription, Professional is the real entry price.

The practical limits

AnthemScore's FAQ lists a few things worth knowing before you buy:

• Audio formats. "MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, WavPack, and MusePack" are supported; other formats "may or may not work depending on your operating system". An iPhone voice memo is an M4A file, which is not on that list, so be ready to convert it to WAV.
• Tuning. AnthemScore "currently isn't able to accurately process songs that aren't tuned to standard A440". Its advice is to shift the pitch in other software first.
• Memory. Most songs need about 4 GB of free RAM, and usage grows with the length of the song.
• No chords or lyrics. "Can AnthemScore detect vocals or chords? Currently, no."

AnthemScore Web is a different product

Lunaverus also sells a browser version, and it is a subscription: Plus at $9.99 a month (30 songs, up to 6 minutes each) and Pro at $29.99 a month (100 songs, up to 10 minutes), about 17% less billed annually. Pro includes the desktop app, but only while you subscribe: it "stops transcribing when the subscription ends". If a licence is the reason you are choosing AnthemScore, buy from the purchase page, not the Web pricing page. Our AnthemScore alternatives guide covers the browser field in more detail.

How Piano2Notes' pricing works

Klangio sells transcriptions as tickets. One ticket turns a 20-second demo into a full transcription: the whole recording, every export format, and the Note Editor. Its help centre lists three ways to get tickets:

• A subscription. Piano2Notes Pro gives 50 tickets a month. The balance "is set back to 50" each billing cycle, and "Unused tickets do not carry over or accumulate". Pro tickets only work in Piano2Notes; the Ultimate plan (€27.99 a month, or €11.67 billed annually) gives 250 tickets across Klangio's apps.
• A gift card, bought for yourself. Packs of 3, 10, 50 or 100 transcriptions at €5.99, €11.99, €27.99 and €39.99. Klangio says gift-card transcriptions "do not expire".
• A single transcription upgraded without a subscription. We could not find its price on a public page, so we are not quoting one.

A few terms tilt things in Piano2Notes' favour. If a transcription fails, "the ticket is automatically refunded back to your account", and there is a Refund button in the web songbook if you are unhappy with a result. The pricing block also shows a 14-day money-back guarantee.

And a few tilt the other way. Klangio's export help says "All PDFs exported from our apps include the hint to Klangio"; its suggested fix is to export MusicXML and make the PDF in MuseScore. The Note Editor "is only available for the web version", so phone users edit in the browser. Uploads are capped at 15 minutes and 100 MB.

What you get for the ticket is solid: PDF, quantised and unquantised MIDI, MusicXML "for MuseScore, Dorico & Sibelius", and LilyPond. Klangio also says Piano2Notes "specializes in piano sheet transcription, even when other instruments are playing at the same time", which is a claim AnthemScore does not make. For the full list of ways around the plan, see Piano2Notes alternatives.

What each costs at your volume

The answer changes with how many pieces you transcribe. This is our arithmetic from the published prices, assuming you need MIDI or MusicXML, so AnthemScore Lite and the Piano2Notes demo drop out.

The monthly column is a range because it depends on whether the work comes in a burst or is spread across the year. Someone who does 50 pieces in one busy month pays €13.99; someone doing four a month all year pays for twelve months.

Three things stand out.

For a few pieces, packs win. Three transcriptions for €5.99 is hard to beat, and the tickets don't expire.

For steady use over a year, the licence wins. Professional costs less than a year of the annual plan, and there is no cap on transcriptions.

At around 100 pieces, it is close on price, so the decision moves to other things: whether you work on a phone, whether your recordings are solo piano, and whether you want updates after the first year. A second year of AnthemScore updates is optional, at about 75% of the purchase price.

Which exports you actually need

Both tools export the same core formats on their paid tiers, so the useful question is which file you will open next.

• PDF is for printing and playing. It can't be edited, and a Klangio PDF carries its watermark.
• MIDI is for a DAW, a piano-learning app or playback. It holds pitches and timing, not clefs, hand splits or note spelling.
• MusicXML is for correcting and engraving in MuseScore Studio, Sibelius or Dorico. Every automatic transcription needs some correcting, so this is the file most people end up needing.

Our guide to MIDI vs MusicXML vs PDF explains what each file keeps and loses. The short version: if you're only buying PDF, you are buying something you can't fix.

Where each one fits better

AnthemScore desktop fits when:

• You transcribe regularly, on the same one to four computers.
• You want to edit inside the transcription app, with slowed playback and tapped downbeats, before exporting.
• You dislike accounts and renewals. Once it is activated, nothing bills you again.
• Your recordings are MP3 or WAV, at concert pitch.

Piano2Notes fits when:

• You work on a phone or tablet, or across devices. Klangio's apps sync, and the desktop app does not run on phones at all.
• The piano is part of a larger mix. Klangio's stated focus on isolating piano is the relevant claim.
• You transcribe a few pieces a year. A ticket pack costs less than any licence.
• Your source is a voice memo or a video, since M4A and MP4 uploads are accepted.

Neither fits especially well when you need chord symbols, a lead sheet or lyrics. AnthemScore's documentation says to add those by hand in notation software, and a piano transcription from Piano2Notes gives you notes, not a chord chart.

A third option, if you want neither a licence nor credits

This is our service, so weigh the paragraph accordingly. Piano to Sheet Music charges $4.99 per piece, no subscription, or $9.99 a month for unlimited pieces. You upload an MP3, WAV, M4A or phone voice memo and get an engraved PDF on a grand staff, a MIDI file and a MusicXML file. The first 30 seconds of every recording are free.

The honest comparison: Klangio's packs cost less per transcription than $4.99, and at any real volume AnthemScore Professional is cheaper too. What we offer is simpler, not cheaper at volume. You pay for the one piece in front of you, with no pack to use up and no software to install. We don't have an in-app editor; you correct the MusicXML in your own notation software. We're built for solo piano, and our FAQ says other instruments in the mix, dense pedalling or heavy reverb can need corrections. If that trade suits you, you can try it.

Test both before you pay

Both vendors let you judge the output for free, and the two free tiers are different enough to test properly.

1. Pick the hardest 20 seconds of your piece, not the opening. Piano2Notes' demo stops at 20 seconds, and AnthemScore's trial at 30, so trim your file to start at the difficult passage.
2. Convert voice memos to WAV for AnthemScore, since M4A isn't on its supported list.
3. Run the same clip through both. Compare the PDFs: note spelling, hand split, rhythm.
4. Try AnthemScore's Professional features in the trial. Lunaverus says Tools > Editions lets you try Lite, Professional and Studio features before buying.
5. Remember the full version can differ. Klangio's help notes that a full transcription analyses the whole piece and "a different result from the demo might occur".

For the rest of the field, from Songscription to Basic Pitch, see our audio-to-MIDI converters compared.

Frequently asked questions

Is AnthemScore cheaper than Piano2Notes?

Over a year of steady use, usually yes. AnthemScore 6 Professional was €40.36 once, with MIDI and musicXML export. Piano2Notes Pro was €13.99 a month, or €5.83 a month billed annually, which is €69.96 a year. For a handful of pieces, though, a Klangio ticket pack from €5.99 costs less than either.

Does AnthemScore Lite export MIDI or MusicXML?

No. Lunaverus's edition comparison lists Lite as PDF only: you can view, print and save sheet music as PDF. MusicXML, MIDI and project export, plus the note editing tools, start at Professional. If you plan to correct the transcription in MuseScore, Sibelius or Dorico, Lite is the wrong edition.

Can the Piano2Notes free demo export MusicXML?

No. Klangio's help centre says demo transcriptions are limited to 20 seconds, export PDF only, and have Edit Mode switched off. Choosing any download format other than PDF upgrades the demo to a full transcription, which uses one ticket from a subscription, a gift card or a single-transcription purchase.

Does AnthemScore work on a phone or iPad?

The desktop app does not. Lunaverus says it needs a desktop or laptop running Windows, Linux or macOS, not a phone, iPad or Chromebook. AnthemScore Web runs in any browser, phones included, but it is a subscription. Piano2Notes works in a browser and also has iOS and Android apps.

Which one is better for a piano inside a band recording?

Piano2Notes makes the stronger claim there. Klangio says it specialises in piano transcription even when other instruments are playing at the same time. AnthemScore detects instruments and percussion, but its note detection is not described as piano isolation. Test both free tiers on your own recording before paying for either.

Do either of them add chord symbols or lyrics?

AnthemScore does not. Its FAQ says it cannot detect vocals or chords and suggests adding them in notation software after a musicXML export. Klangio mentions lyrics detection only when vocals are selected, which is not what Piano2Notes' piano transcription does. For chords over a melody, plan to add them yourself.

Sources

• AnthemScore purchase page (Lunaverus)
• AnthemScore editions comparison (Lunaverus)
• AnthemScore FAQ (Lunaverus) and AnthemScore documentation
• AnthemScore Web pricing and FAQ (Lunaverus)
• Klangio: Piano2Notes page, plans and FAQ
• Klangio help: what are Klangio tickets?
• Klangio help: what are Klangio subscriptions?
• Klangio help: demo (free) vs full (paid) transcriptions
• Klangio help: download and export formats
• Klangio help: upload file formats and limits
• Klangio help: the Note Editor
• Klangio help: downloading the Klangio apps
• Klangio gift cards

All prices checked 16 September 2026.