OK, I've tried the demo versions for both. There are things I like about each platform, and some things I don't like about each platform. I won't get into that now.

I want to know a few things in the interest of specific comparison that I cannot answer for myself since I have only scratched the surface of either platform.

Compatibility[/b]

Are the files made by these platforms (.mus and .sib) widely readable? Or is one platform better than the other where compatibility is concerned?

Features[/b]

Does either one do something the other can't?

Market Share[/b]

Which platform is more widely used/accepted?

Compatibility:

.sib is only readable by Sibelius
.mus is only readable by Finale

(Sibelius claims to be able to open Finale files, but in my experience, it doesn't work very well.)

What you'll want to look out for is music XML support, and both applications implement it with some degree of success.


Features:

Not really. I'm sure some would disagree, but I haven't found anything one could do that the other couldn't.


Market Share:

Neither. Both are used widely in academic and professional arenas.


I've been reading Finale vs. Sibelius threads for about 6-7 years now, and I've never seen a definitive answer reached. It always comes down to personal opinion regarding the look and feel.

Thanks. So I basically can't go wrong either way as far as features are concerned? That would be a big help for my decision.

I take it that music XML is a sort of universal format like .rtf that everyone can read?

No, it requires a program that understands music XML. At the moment I don't know any other such programs than Sibelius and Finale, though I haven't really researched it very much. Music XML has not been very reliable so far, so unfortunately there's no easy foolproof way to transport a score from Sibelius to Finale or vice versa.

But if you only want people to be able to read your scores, not edit them, then it's good enough to create a pdf, which both programs can do.

Thanks...I had forgotten about pdf. I knew Finale did it because it's a sneaky (if imperfect) work around for the demo's inability to save files.