Audio to MIDI Converters Compared: 7 Tools for Piano

There are more ways than ever to turn a recording into MIDI or notation. Some tools are free and open source, some are one-time desktop purchases, and many are subscriptions. They are also built for different people: producers, songwriters, students, and pianists who want a printable score.

We make Piano to Sheet Music, so we have an obvious interest here. That is why this comparison sticks to facts published by each vendor, links to every source, and avoids accuracy claims nobody can verify. The best way to judge accuracy is to run your own recording through the free tiers. If you are here because Samplab closed, what to use instead of Samplab covers that case.

At-a-glance comparison

Spotify Basic Pitch

What it is. Basic Pitch is an audio-to-MIDI converter built by Spotify. You can try it on the Basic Pitch website or run it locally from the open-source GitHub repository, which is released under the Apache 2.0 license.

Key facts from the project.

• Described as instrument-agnostic, with support for polyphonic instruments.
• The repository notes that it works best on one instrument at a time.
• Includes pitch bend detection.
• The Python version accepts common formats such as MP3, OGG, WAV, FLAC and M4A, and can output MIDI and note events.

Price. Free.

Good fit for: producers and developers who want raw MIDI and are comfortable editing in a DAW. It does not produce engraved sheet music, so pianists who want a score will need notation software to finish the job.

Klangio Piano2Notes

What it is. Piano2Notes is Klangio's piano transcription app, part of a family of instrument-specific apps. It works from uploaded audio, YouTube links or recordings made in the app.

Key facts from the official page.

• The free demo mode transcribes the first 20 seconds, and you can use it unlimited times.
• Downloads include PDF, MIDI (quantized and unquantized) and MusicXML, plus a built-in editor.
• Klangio says Piano2Notes can isolate and transcribe the piano part even when other instruments are playing, and that it performs best with well-recorded, piano-focused music.

Price (as displayed, 19 September 2026). Piano2Notes Pro showed €13.99 a month, or €5.83 a month billed annually, with 50 transcriptions a month and songs up to 15 minutes. The Ultimate plan, covering 25+ instruments and the DAW plugin, showed €27.99 a month (€11.67 billed annually) with 250 transcriptions a month. Klangio's help page on subscriptions adds that there is no lifetime licence, but that it sells gift cards holding a fixed number of non-expiring tickets, so Klangio is not subscription-only. We could not read the gift-card prices.

Good fit for: regular users who want an editor in the app and may work with recordings that include other instruments.

Songscription

What it is. A web-based AI transcription service that produces sheet music, MIDI and tabs.

Key facts from the pricing page.

• Free plan: unlimited 30-second transcriptions.
• A 14-day free trial, with no card required, covers 2-minute transcriptions.
• Paid plans allow transcriptions up to 15 minutes and include MIDI, MusicXML, PDF and Guitar Pro export.

Price (as displayed, 19 September 2026). Plus was €8.99 per month with 600 credits (60 minutes of transcription). Pro was €25.99 per month with 3,000 credits (300 minutes), plus priority support. Annual billing showed €7.24 and €21.75 a month, billed yearly.

Good fit for: people who transcribe several instruments, including guitarists who want Guitar Pro files. For piano-only use and cost per song, see our Songscription alternatives.

AnthemScore

What it is. A desktop application from Lunaverus for Windows, Mac and Linux that uses machine learning to detect notes and create sheet music. A browser-based version, AnthemScore Web, is sold separately as a subscription.

Key facts from the official site.

• Desktop licenses are a one-time purchase.
• The free desktop trial is limited to the first 30 seconds of each song and 100 total transcriptions.
• Lite exports PDF only. Professional and Studio add MIDI and MusicXML export plus a full set of editing tools. Studio adds batch processing and lifetime updates.

Price (as displayed, 19 September 2026). Desktop: Lite €30.01, Professional €40.36, Studio €102.44. Lite and Professional include one year of free updates. AnthemScore's own pages say no automatic or recurring charges are made for the desktop licence. AnthemScore Web showed Plus at $9.99 a month ($8.33 billed annually) and Pro at $29.99 a month ($24.99 billed annually), for up to 30 and 100 songs a month (6 and 10 minutes per song); Pro includes the desktop app while you are subscribed.

Good fit for: users who prefer to own software, want offline processing, or have many files to convert. We set its licence against a subscription in AnthemScore vs Piano2Notes.

ScoreCloud

What it is. A music notation service built around turning playing and singing into scores, with a strong songwriting and lead sheet angle.

Key facts from the plans comparison chart.

• The free plan saves up to 10 songs in the cloud and includes monophonic (single-voice) audio transcription. Printed PDFs carry a watermark, and MIDI export is not included.
• Polyphonic transcription is available on paid plans, but not on mobile devices.
• MIDI export starts on Plus. MusicXML export starts on Songwriter.
• New subscribers get 10 free days of Pro.

Price (as displayed, 19 September 2026). Plus $5.99 per month or $59 per year. Songwriter $11.99 per month or $119 per year. Pro $20.99 per month or $149 per year.

Good fit for: songwriters who sing or play melodies and want lead sheets.

Celemony Melodyne

What it is. Melodyne is a professional audio editor, best known for pitch and timing correction. It is not a sheet music tool, but it deserves a place here because of its note-based approach to audio.

Key facts from Celemony.

• The DNA (Direct Note Access) polyphonic algorithm is available in Melodyne 5 editor and Melodyne 5 studio only.
• Celemony's web shop page for the editor lists polyphonic audio-to-MIDI export.
• A 30-day free trial of Melodyne 5 studio is offered.

Price (as displayed, 19 September 2026). Melodyne 5 editor was US$399 in Celemony's US web shop, against a suggested retail price of US$499. Upgrade pricing is available for owners of other editions.

Good fit for: producers and engineers who already work in a DAW and want to edit the audio itself as well as extract MIDI. What its MIDI export does and does not hold is covered in Melodyne to sheet music.

Piano to Sheet Music

What it is. Our web tool turns a piano recording, such as an MP3, WAV or phone voice memo, into an engraved PDF score, a MIDI file and a MusicXML file.

Key facts.

• Free preview of the first 30 seconds of any recording.
• $4.99 for one piece, or $9.99 per month for unlimited conversions, as on our pricing section.
• Designed for solo piano recordings. We do not recommend it for band mixes or recordings with vocals.

Good fit for: pianists, teachers and students who occasionally need a score from a recording and would rather pay for one piece than start a plan. Klangio's gift cards and AnthemScore's desktop licence also avoid a monthly plan, so compare what each gives you rather than the billing model.

We are not going to claim an accuracy percentage. Like every tool here, results depend on the recording, and dense polyphony, heavy pedal and background noise all make transcription harder. Try the preview on your own file and judge for yourself.

How to choose

How to test tools fairly

Marketing pages all say "accurate". The only comparison that matters is how each tool handles your music.

1. Use the same file in every tool. A clean solo piano clip of about 20 seconds fits within the free previews and trials listed here. Our guide on recording piano with your phone helps you make one.
2. Include a hard passage: a thick chord, some pedal, or a quick run.
3. Compare the MIDI and the notation separately. A tool can find the right notes but still produce awkward rhythms or clef splits.
4. Count the edits you would need to make the score playable. That time is the real cost.
5. Check the export in the program you actually use, such as MuseScore Studio or your DAW.

If you are unsure what the formats do, see what a MIDI file is, and for the full workflow from recording to finished score, read how to convert a piano recording to sheet music.

The limits every tool shares

No matter which tool you choose, automatic transcription has common weak spots:

• Polyphony. The more simultaneous notes, the more likely some are missed or added.
• Sustain pedal. Ringing strings blur note endings and can create overlapping or tied notes.
• Mixed instruments. Vocals, bass and drums share frequencies with the piano.
• Expressive timing. Rubato makes it harder to fit notes to a clean rhythmic grid.
• Recording quality. Noise, echo and heavy compression all reduce accuracy.

When a passage defeats every tool, your ear is still the best transcriber. Our step-by-step guide on transcribing piano music by ear can help.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free audio to MIDI converter?

Spotify's Basic Pitch is free and open source, and it outputs MIDI. Its developers note it works best on one instrument at a time. Several paid tools, including Piano2Notes, Songscription, AnthemScore and Piano to Sheet Music, also offer free previews or trials so you can test your own recording first.

Can an audio to MIDI converter handle a full band recording?

Results vary. Some tools say they can pick out a piano part from a mix, but most transcription tools work best on a single, clearly recorded instrument. For band recordings, expect more editing or consider transcribing the part by ear.

Do I need MIDI or sheet music?

If you want to edit a performance in a DAW or change the sound, MIDI is the right file. If you want to read and play the music, you need notation, ideally as a PDF plus a MusicXML file you can edit. Several tools on this list export all three.

Why are some prices listed in euros?

Some vendors show localized prices based on your location; Klangio, Songscription and AnthemScore's desktop page showed euros to us. We list them exactly as displayed when we read the pages on 19 September 2026. Your price may differ by country, taxes and promotions, so confirm on the vendor's own page.

Is Melodyne an audio to sheet music tool?

Not primarily. Melodyne is an audio editing tool. Celemony's shop page lists polyphonic audio-to-MIDI export for Melodyne 5 editor, which you can then bring into notation software, but the pages we read describe no engraved sheet music output.

Sources

All pages read on 19 September 2026.

• Basic Pitch demo (Spotify) and the Basic Pitch GitHub repository (Apache-2.0 licence, "works best on one instrument at a time", supported file types)
• Klangio Piano2Notes (20-second demo, exports, piano isolation) and Klangio help: What are Klangio Subscriptions? (tickets, gift cards)
• Songscription pricing (free tier, trial, credits, export formats)
• AnthemScore (Lunaverus), its purchase page and AnthemScore Web pricing
• ScoreCloud plans comparison chart
• Celemony: what is Melodyne (30-day trial, DNA in the editor) and the Melodyne 5 editor web shop page (US$399, audio-to-MIDI export)