Flowkey is one of the most popular piano apps in the world — and for good reason. But "popular" doesn't automatically mean "right for you". We build Notimo, so read this with that in mind; we'll still be fair, because pretending Flowkey is bad would be silly. It isn't.
Here's the honest comparison.
TL;DR
- You want to play your favorite songs as fast as possible → Flowkey. Its song library is the star.
- You want to actually read sheet music — so you can open any score and play it → Notimo. Sight-reading is the whole product.
- You have a MIDI keyboard and hate installing software → Notimo runs entirely in the browser, with USB and Bluetooth MIDI.
- You want video lessons from a filmed teacher → Flowkey.
The core difference: following vs. reading
Flowkey's learning model: a video of hands plays above scrolling notation, and a wait mode pauses until you hit the right key. It's a brilliant way to reproduce songs — you imitate what you see, and it feels great fast.
The catch: many long-time Flowkey users can play a dozen songs but still can't read an unfamiliar sheet. The skill being trained is following along, not reading.
Notimo flips this. Every mode — the 370-level path, the sight-reading test with a score, the daily 2-minute sprint — trains one thing: you see a note, you know what it is, you play it. Progress is slower per song at the start, and dramatically faster for every piece you ever learn afterwards.
You only notice the difference once the app is gone. You are sitting at someone else's piano, somebody puts a sheet in front of you — and that is when it shows whether you read music or whether you learned to follow a video. Someone who still needs a tutorial for every new piece after two years of Flowkey has not practised too little. They practised the wrong thing.
That is not a dig at Flowkey. The app does exactly what it promises — it teaches you songs. It is just that many users mistake "I can play this piece" for "I can play piano", and you only find out late.
Feature comparison
| Notimo | Flowkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Main goal | Read music fluently (sight-reading) | Play songs from a library |
| Learning path | 370 structured levels + graded sight-reading test | Courses + song tutorials |
| Song library | Smaller, curated (149 songs + import your own MusicXML) | Very large, licensed hits |
| Video teacher | No | Yes (hand videos) |
| Works in browser | Yes — no install, PWA | App-first |
| MIDI keyboard | USB & Bluetooth, in the browser | Yes (in app) |
| Free tier | 15 lessons + sight-reading game + daily challenges | A handful of songs/lessons |
| Import your own sheet music | Yes (MusicXML/MIDI) | No |
| Leagues, streaks, share cards | Yes | Limited |
Pricing
Notimo Pro is €9.99/month billed yearly (or €11.99 monthly), and the free tier is genuinely usable — 15 lessons, the sight-reading game and daily challenges cost nothing. Flowkey is subscription-only for almost all content; check their current pricing, it has historically been in a similar range or higher depending on the plan.
If budget is the deciding factor: start free on both and see which one you open on day five.
Where Flowkey is honestly better
- Song selection. If your goal is "play Bohemian Rhapsody this month", Flowkey's licensed library wins, full stop.
- Video guidance. Seeing real hands play the passage helps some learners a lot.
- Polish across native apps. Flowkey's mobile apps are mature.
Where Notimo is honestly better
- You end up literate. Reading music is the difference between owning ten songs and owning every songbook in the library.
- Browser + MIDI. Plug in a keyboard, open a tab, play. No install, works on any laptop — including school and work machines.
- Import anything. Teacher gave you a PDF's MusicXML? Drop it in and practice it with real-time feedback.
- Measurable progress. A graded sight-reading score you can watch grow beats a "songs completed" counter.
What you can test for free
This is the most honest comparison you can run yourself — no table, no us.
With Notimo, 15 lessons, the sight-reading game and the daily challenges stay free permanently. No countdown, no credit card field. Flowkey gives you a few songs and lessons to try; for the rest you need a subscription, and the current terms are on Flowkey's own site.
Give it five days. Open both apps whenever you feel like it — and see which one you still open by yourself on day five. That question answers more than any feature list.
Which one for whom
Pick Flowkey if your goal is a specific piece, if watching filmed hands helps you learn, or if you want to play something that sounds like music straight away.
Pick Notimo if you want to read music instead of memorising pieces, if you have a digital piano and want to start without installing anything, if you want to practise your own sheet music — or if you have already finished a song app and realised afterwards that an unfamiliar score still leaves you stuck.
The two do not exclude each other, by the way. Playing songs is fun and keeps you going; reading music makes you independent. Doing both gets you furthest.
The bottom line
Flowkey is a great song-playing app. Notimo is a music-reading app. Pick the skill you actually want in five years.
Want to test the difference right now? Try the sight-reading trainer free — you'll know within five minutes which camp you're in.
Related reading: Best free piano apps in 2026 · How to read piano sheet music in 30 days · Sight-reading exercises that actually work