An Easy Crossgrade from Finale to Sibelius Ultimate

A few weeks days ago, MakeMusic announced the end Finale’s development. For 35 years, this music notation software has been one of the industry standards.

Finale still works on any device where it’s currently installed. However, MakeMusic has already announced that “there will be no further updates” and that it is “no longer possible to purchase or upgrade Finale”. In August 2025,  “it will not be possible to reauthorize Finale”, and official technical support will stop.

Sibelius (Avid) Welcomes Finale Users

Over the course of the next year, Finale users should find an alternative solution so they can continue working on their musical projects. To make this transition easier for Finale users, a new big player has released a crossgrade program from Finale.

It’s none other than Avid, for their music notation software Sibelius!

“We want to offer Finale users a new home with Sibelius as your music notation software. One that’s built for the future, where you can continue making music on any device. We are here for you!”

Avid is offering two special crossgrade initiatives to Sibelius Ultimate for Finale users:

1. A perpetual license for Sibelius Ultimate

A perpetual license provides access to the latest version of Sibelius. It has no expiration date and lasts indefinitely. This option also includes one year of updates and improvements, which Avid releases every few months, include bug fixes that support for new workflows.

The perpetual license provides access to Sibelius Cloud Sharing and Sibelius for mobile devices for the first 12 months. After the initial year, the license remains active, and users can renew their update plan for another year of upgrades and premium access.

The Sibelius Ultimate license for crossgrade users costs $149 USD (75% off $599). To validate eligibility for this special crossgrade pricing, users will be prompted to enter their product’s serial number.

2. One Year Subscription for Sibelius Ultimate

The subscription license also gives access to the latest version of Sibelius, so users can keep up with operating system updates and frequently released critical bug fixes. At the end of the subscription period, the files remain unaffected and can still be opened.

Avid offers a special crossgrade price of $99/year subscription for two years.

From Finale to Sibelius Ultimate – What does it include?

As shown on Avid’s website, Sibelius Ultimate (whether for crossgrade users or not) includes the following:

• Sibelius Ultimate software—Download required (includes software installers and user guides)
• 36 GB Sibelius Sounds library
• AudioScore Lite audio transcribing software
• PhotoScore and NotateMe Lite music scanning and handwriting recognition software
• Support for MusicXML and File Import
• A familiar note entry and keypad workflow

Your next music notation colleague

Since MakeMusic announced Finale’s sunset, the main players of the music notation industry are working to come together, and make the transition as smooth as possible for users. From now on, switching from Finale to Sibelius will also be easier and more affordable thanks to this partnership. 

As Finale (and other music notation program) users, we know that it will certainly be a challenge to switch to a different notation software after so many years. But Sibelius has definitely paved the way to bridge this gap as seamlessly as possible. There are other great options like Dorico and Musescore and you can check our comparison posts here.