Dorico - Compose Music

• Dorico Lifetime Unlock — $119.99

Last verified 31 Jul 2026

4.6 2129 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5The most powerful creator app I’ve used

   Because it’s the most closest to the desktop version. Photoshop, Lightroom, Numbers and many other apps for doing work are either stripped down, or have greatly different interfaces that frankly are too hard to work with for any serious business. The Steinberg team did an amazing thing here in that the app is just like the desktop version, minus features which were pulled for the first release (mainly Engrave mode). I’m completely impressed with how much they managed to do on an iPad, it’s finally (with Dorico) fulfilling it’s promise that you can do work on the device. In my experience, other than word processing, the iPad is only good for content consumption. Since there’s a subscription model, I wouldn’t be surprised if it more or less gets parity with Dorico pro, minus the sample library handling of course being we’re on iOS. But meanwhile it’s allowing me to ditch the paper and pencil finally for initial sketching out. So pull out a MIDI keyboard and computer keyboard paired with your iPad and you’ll forget you’re not using Dorico on the desktop.

   Human mammal · 31 Jul 2026

2. 4/5An amazing port of desktop Dorico to the iPad

   When Dorico 1.0 first came out for the desktop, its first year showed amazing growth which continued in subsequent years. Considering where Dorico for the iPad has begun, it is clear amazing things are in store. The free app reflects the Dorico SE capabilities, and for c. $4 a month or $40 a year, the app expands to resemble Dorico Elements, but in both cases the iPad version shows hints of capabilities like the on-screen keyboard, fretboard, and drum pads still to appear on the desktop versions. I can only imagine where this app will go in the coming year(s). I am not a fan of subscription payment models, but Dorico could hardly offer a one-time app purchase for anything like the $4/month or $40/year subscription rate to account for the Apple Store’s lack of an upgrade path. If one wants to rely on the app while away from one’s desktop, the cost hardly seems prohibitive. Given digital music’s sometime disagreement whether middle C is C3 if C4, I’d like to see a different color key for middle C on the on-screen keyboard so I could easily spot it when sliding the keyboard around to reach various notes, and tool-tips on the various buttons would help those new to the app; but this is an app worth owning and one worth supporting for the kind of further development the Dorico Team has shown with their desktop program.

   javProjects · 31 Jul 2026

3. 2/5Flat fee, no subscriptions please

   Please Steinberg. I’ve used Cubase Pro for 30 years. I have Cubasis, Dorico Pro, Halion 6 and spent a lot of money on your products. All of your other products have a flat price model. Even Cubasis for iPad which is a deeper app has a flat price for full feature use. This subscription model has been abused by developers for products that do not merit a continued payment for a product. Dorico Pro for Mac is not a subscription model, why is this? Just charge a reasonable flat fee for all features and proportional to Cubasis and you will have better revenue and user feedback. Meanwhile, I will not be using this app at all if I cannot get into the details of how my parts and scores will look without being on the hook for an annual fee. *Update per developer’s response: I read your response and am sorry to say that I remain unconvinced by your pricing model. First of all, a notation app that would be used to prepare professional-looking sheet music or parts requires detailed control of notation elements and layout. A free version is useless without these features (and please don’t go to the “pro” argument - there is very little money to be made in music prep - which I’ve done - except for a handful of folks in the industry). If you really think a basic feature-set for an iPad app is worth $99, and you don’t have any luck with subscription sales, feel free to try that price point. I won’t pay it but maybe you’ll get a few sales. Lastly, nobody I know will “hop on and off” with an app like this. Good luck with your strategy. It doesn’t seem to be getting much of a reception so far.

   Captain Custerdome · 31 Jul 2026

4. 5/5Loving Dorico

   I’ve been using Dorico for about four years now and it just keeps getting better. I’ve written scores for over two dozen songs and I’ve been able to generate audio demos for musicians to listen to and decide whether or not they want to work on the project. Then as part of the project I’ve been able to use templates that format the scores professionally for copyrighting and archiving. In addition to the software the support staff, training staff and community support have all made my life easier by helping me better understand how and why things work and how to build a better workflow for composing and scoring music. I’ve used multiple apps for writing music but now only use Dorico because I believe my time is better spent learning and contributing to a great product with unlimited potential.

   Rod Regas · 31 Jul 2026

5. 4/5Excellent app but needs to fix file corruption

   Dorico for iPad is an excellent app. It helped me learn a lot about writing music and notation without a lot of education. I can write on the go..I dont have to be sat on a desk to write music, which is quite revolutionary I think. This allows me find opportunities to transcribe my recordings. For however far my music transcription and development will go, I owe a lot to the flexibility of Dorico for iPad. I also find that the tutorials for the desktop version also help with the mobile version because they are so alike. I only use iPad version and I anticipate smooth transition once I get on the desktop version. Now just one pending issue I hope to return to edit out, is that I face file corruption almost everyday as of October 2024 with the iPad version. I hope the team finds a way to recreate this problem and trace it, because so far the fixes haven’t worked.

   cantino93 · 31 Jul 2026

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