COMPARISON · CHECKED 12 NOVEMBER 2026
Stavewise vs Simply Piano:
their courses, or your own sheet music.
Simply Piano teaches you from its own courses and song library. Stavewise has no course at all: you bring the piece, as a PDF or a photo, and practice that. Which one fits depends on whether you need lessons or already have music on the stand.
Simply Piano details come from hellosimply.com, its help center and its US App Store listing, and may have changed since we checked.
The short answer.
Choose Simply Piano if you are starting from zero and want someone to decide what you learn next. It gives you step-by-step courses, a song library from classical pieces to chart hits, and an app that listens while you play.
Choose Stavewise if you already know what you want to play. Your exam piece, your teacher’s photocopy or a score you downloaded isn’t in any app’s library. Stavewise reads it, keeps the real notation on screen and shows each hand on a 3D piano.
Use both if you are working through Simply Piano’s courses and also have a piece of your own. They don’t overlap much.
Simply Piano and Stavewise side by side.
| Simply Piano | Stavewise | |
|---|---|---|
| What you play | Its courses and its song and sheet music libraries. | Your own sheet music. One full demo piece (Bach) is included. |
| Your own sheet music files | We found no upload option on the pages we checked. | Yes. PDF, PNG, JPG, TIFF, MusicXML and MXL. |
| Lessons and a learning path | Yes. Step-by-step courses for different levels, with warm-ups and exercises. | No. Stavewise is a practice tool, not a course. |
| What you look at | Guided lessons, plus a sheet music view in the song library. | Your original notation beside a 3D piano with animated hands and a list of the next notes. |
| How it hears you | It listens to an acoustic piano or keyboard, and its help center covers MIDI connections. | Your browser’s microphone with an acoustic or digital piano, or the on-screen keys. MIDI input isn’t supported yet. |
| Hands and fingering | Not described on the pages we checked. | Left, right or both hands, with suggested fingering on the 3D hands that you can edit. |
| Fixing wrong notes | Not needed. The songs are prepared for you. | Review notes lets you correct pitch, rhythm and hand after a scan. |
| Where it runs | iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and Chromebooks. Its help center says there is no Windows or desktop version. | Any modern web browser, including on a laptop. Nothing to install. |
| Free to try | Two free courses. | The full Bach demo, and the first four bars of your own music. |
| Price | Varies by country and platform. The US App Store lists 12 months of Premium at $119.99 and 3 months at $74.99. | $15 USD per month. Cancel anytime. |
Where Simply Piano is the better choice.
- You have never played. A course tells you what to learn first. Stavewise assumes you can already find your way around a score, or that a teacher is guiding you.
- You want a ready song library. Simply Piano has pop, film and classical songs waiting. Stavewise has one demo piece and whatever you bring.
- You practice on a phone or tablet. Simply Piano is a native app for both. Stavewise runs in a mobile browser, but it is most comfortable on a laptop or tablet screen.
- You pay yearly. Over a full year, Simply Piano’s US annual plan costs less than twelve months of Stavewise.
Where Stavewise is the better choice.
- The piece is yours. Read a PDF or photo and practice exactly the edition on your stand.
- You want to read real notation. The score stays on screen, so reading it gets easier the more you practice.
- You want to see the hands. The 3D piano guide shows which finger plays each note and how the hand moves between positions.
- You practice in short passages. Pick one or two bars, hear them, get a count-in and play in rhythm. Afterwards you see which notes were early, late or missed.
- You practice at a laptop. Stavewise runs in a desktop browser. Simply Piano doesn’t have a desktop version.
Reading a scan isn’t perfect. Clear printed scores work best, and you should compare the result with your original before practicing.
Stavewise vs Simply Piano questions.
Is Stavewise a Simply Piano alternative?
Only for part of what Simply Piano does. Stavewise replaces the “practice this song” part when the song is your own sheet music. It doesn’t replace Simply Piano’s courses, because Stavewise has no lessons.
Can I upload my own sheet music to Simply Piano?
We found no upload or import option on Simply Piano’s website, help center or App Store listing when we checked on 12 November 2026. Its help center describes playing from its own song and sheet music libraries. Stavewise is built around uploading your own sheet music.
Is Stavewise good for complete beginners?
It helps most once you have a piece to learn and some idea of how to read it, or a teacher setting your pieces. If you want an app to teach you from the first note, a course app such as Simply Piano is the better start.
Does Stavewise work with an acoustic piano?
Yes. Stavewise listens through your browser’s microphone, so an acoustic piano or a digital piano’s speakers both work. Room noise, pedal resonance and dense chords can affect recognition.
Can I try Stavewise before paying?
Yes. The free demo opens the whole of Bach’s Invention No. 8 without an account, and you can play the first four bars of your own sheet music free. A full account is $15 USD per month and you can cancel anytime.
More comparisons.
Bring the piece you actually want to play.
Upload a PDF or photo and play the first four bars free. No account or card needed.
Try four bars of your own music →