Thinkblot vs Dorico for iPad
Pick Dorico if you engrave and play back professional scores on iPad, and want projects that open in Dorico for Mac and Windows. It's free for up to 4 players. Notes aren't entered by handwriting: Apple Pencil annotates scores in Read mode.
Pick Thinkblot to sketch music by hand before it goes to Dorico. In a Songbook, write notes on staff paper, hear them played, and export the page as MusicXML to open in Dorico. Thinkblot is a place to start a piece; Dorico is where it's finished.
Last checked: 27 October 2026 · Compared with Thinkblot's Songbook notebook
Thinkblot and Dorico for iPad, row by row.
| Thinkblot | Dorico | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone (including iPhone Duo), iPad with Apple Pencil, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro (the iPad app). iOS and iPadOS 27.1 or later. | iPad and Apple Vision Pro. Projects open in Dorico for Mac and Windows. |
| Handwriting recognition | Read on your device. Fixing a misread word changes the text, never your ink. | No handwritten note input. Apple Pencil annotates scores in Read mode. |
| What happens to a line you write | It stays ink. When Thinkblot can help, a small blot appears at the end of the line. Tap it, and the line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or time on your calendar. | Apple Pencil marks up the score in Read mode. |
| Tasks and reminders | A box in front of a line makes it a task. Tick the box on paper and it's done in Reminders too. Unticked tasks carry forward. | — |
| Maths | Write a sum and an equals sign, and the answer is written for you. Write “total” under a column and it adds itself. | — |
| Privacy, account and where data lives | No account and no Thinkblot server. Notebooks live on your devices and in your own iCloud. Private Cloud Compute is optional and asks first. | Its App Store label lists usage data and email, not linked to you. |
| Sync | Your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database, on the same Apple Account. | An iCloud Drive folder. |
| Export | PDF or Markdown. | MusicXML, MIDI and PDF. |
| Pricing model | Not out yet. Join the waitlist. | Free for up to 4 players (8 with a Steinberg ID). $5.99/month, $49.99/year or $119.99 lifetime. |
| Handwritten music | Write notes on staff paper by hand. Thinkblot reads them on the device. | No handwritten note input. Apple Pencil annotates scores in Read mode. |
| Playback | Play what you wrote, with a written tempo or “Swing”, repeats, and chord symbols under the tune. | Professional notation playback. |
| MusicXML | Export the page as MusicXML, to open in Dorico. | MusicXML, MIDI and PDF. |
On a phone, scroll the table sideways.
Where each one is better.
- Professional engraving and layout of finished scores.
- Projects that move to Dorico for Mac and Windows.
- MIDI and PDF export as well as MusicXML.
- A free tier for up to 4 players.
- Writing notes by hand on staff paper.
- Lyrics with syllable counts, and chord symbols with guitar shapes.
- Fit a piece to a length, with bar numbers and times in the margin.
- Transpose without rewriting your ink.
Thinkblot vs Dorico, asked.
- Can I write music by hand in Dorico for iPad?
- Not notes. Dorico for iPad has no handwritten note input; Apple Pencil annotates scores in Read mode. In Thinkblot's Songbook you write notes by hand and export them as MusicXML for Dorico.
- Does Thinkblot replace Dorico?
- No. Thinkblot is for sketching music by hand and hearing it. Dorico is for engraving and finishing the score. They work well one after the other.
- How do I get handwritten music into Dorico?
- Write it in a Thinkblot Songbook, export the page as MusicXML, and open the file in Dorico.
- Is Dorico for iPad free?
- Steinberg lists it free for up to 4 players, or 8 with a Steinberg ID, with paid plans from $5.99 a month.
How do
you think?
Thinkblot is coming soon to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. One email the day it's out. That's all.
Join the waitlistClaims about Dorico for iPad come only from its own pages, as they read on 27 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and may change.
Thinkblot facts come from the Thinkblot support page. Last checked: 27 October 2026.