Yes, unfortunately Finale Notepad is no longer free. If you buy an essential elements music book ($7.00, I think), it comes with a version ( it may not be the newest one), you could kill two birds with one stone by getting a music book for your instrument and aiding your composing (or whatever).
As for other free programs:
MuseScore is free music notation software with about the same possibilities as Notepad. It lacks a couple of components, like MIDI sounds (which aren't great on Notepad anyhow) and there are some technical problems, like it didn't use to let you put triplets in the third beat of a measure when I used it, but these are probably fixed now. It also has a few functions that Notepad doesn't have: you can right pieces for many more instruments. If you are okay with the technical drawbacks, it works fine. Download link is here:
http://musescore.org/en/download. You may have to make an account on the site before download.
NoteFlight is online composition site. It can be confusing for Finale users like me and you, but I got the hang of it soon enough: you edit the note after, not before, you place it on the score. You can let others see, play and edit your score, or you can keep it private. You can also comment on and play and sometimes edit other's scores. I like it because you can use it on any computer. The downside: you need Wifi. I use Noteflight when I am bored and not on my computer. You need to become a member first. Link:
http://www.noteflight.com
Also, finale songwriter and print music are both pretty cheap, and work much better than the two I listed.
NoteFlight Is an online music notation site: no programs
