Comparison

Cue Master vs OnSong 2026

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cue Master

This app allows performers to create and manage custom cue playlists for backing tracks. It offers flexible playback options like looping, stopping, or continuing to the next song, with per-song volume control. A full-screen mode provides easy stage access.

Highlights
  • Create cue playlists
  • Import from Music Library, Dropbox, Google Drive
  • Custom playback control (loop, stop, continue, skip)
  • Per-song volume adjustment
  • Full-screen mode for stage view
  • Central cue button for track control
Features
Read full description

Cue Master is a elegantly simple track player for iPad targeted towards theatrical productions, talent shows, choreographers, dancers or other performers using backing tracks by allowing you to create Cue Playlists from your music library, Dropbox™ or Google Drive folder. Unlike many cueing apps available, Cue Master is designed to be extremely easy to use and understand with the familiar layout of a standard music app. Unlike a music app, Cue Master allows for custom control over how songs are played back. Songs can be set to loop (repeat), stop at end, continue to the next song, or be skipped. Volume levels can also be easily set on a per song basis to fine tune your performance. Create multiple Cue Playlists from albums or playlists downloaded in your music library on your iPad, from Dropbox™ or Google Drive, add, delete and reorder your cues. For performers that need easy access from the stage, Cue Master provides a full screen mode to easily see the currently playing track and time, show run time as well as the next cued track. A central cue button also allows you to easily start your next track.

About

OnSong 2026

This app helps musicians prepare, practice, and perform by managing chord charts, lyrics, and setlists. It offers features like importing songs from various sources, hands-free control, and advanced video output for live performances.

Highlights
  • Import and manage chord charts and lyrics
  • Create and organize setlists
  • Hands-free page turning and autoscrolling
  • Transpose, capo, and format charts
  • Real-time sharing with band members
  • Video output for lyrics and backgrounds
  • MIDI event automation and stage lighting control
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

OnSong is the best app for musicians. Get ready to prepare, practice and perform with ease. Download the app for free, create your account, and get started importing and viewing up to 30 songs. You can even receive sets and play with other OnSong users. When you're ready to go to the next level with more songs and features, subscribe to OnSong Essentials or OnSong Premium. ALWAYS READY Import and build your library of chords and lyrics with built-in support for Dropbox, Google Drive, SongSelect, Planning Center, and more to work the way you do. Even scan your paper charts directly and extract text¹. OnSong supports text-based chord charts, Adobe PDF and many other file types you can import from any supporting app like Safari. OnSong Console¹ lets you manage your library from your Mac or PC in any web browser. Whether you have ten or ten-thousand songs in your repertoire², it's always lightweight and mobile so you can play anytime, anywhere. PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS Play more gigs with planning made easy. Pull your set lists in moments² and gather the band. Transpose, capo, and format your text-based chord charts² to look just right and then annotate or draw on the page to make special notes¹. When you're all done, share wirelessly with your team in real-time¹, or print, email, and export too². OnSong is as flexible as it is powerful. BUILT FOR PERFORMANCE OnSong is built for the stage. Tap to turn pages or go hands-free with wireless foot pedals or intelligent autoscrolling². No more clumsy page turning on cluttered music stands. Every aspect of the song is at your fingertips. Assign tempo and time signature for a reassuring click², sing a cappella with a digital pitch pipe², link to backing tracks to play along², or even send MIDI events to automate your stage¹, all without complicated or confusing equipment. BE SEEN AND HEARD OnSong features powerful video features that go well beyond other apps. Display lyrics on a projector or an HDTV with a video adapter, AppleTV, or Google Cast-compatible device¹. Compose custom backgrounds with still or motion graphics, or live video¹ feeds for dynamic performances. Stay on the same page with your band with confidence monitors you control on-stage. While you're at it, run stage lighting too¹. OnSong is the ultimate creative tool for musicians. GET STARTED WITH ONSONG® ESSENTIALS Add an unlimited number of songs to your library and enable the features that let you perform with confidence including: • Pulling sets and organizing songs into books. • Hands-free control with foot pedals and actions. • Writing your own songs with custom formatting. • Transposing charts, applying capo and diagrams. • Sharing with your team. ONSONG® PREMIUM MEANS MORE POWER While OnSong Essentials has many of the basic features you need, there are a few that are only available with a Premium subscription including: advanced actions, annotations such as sticky notes, clips, text, and drawings, timeline, backing tracks, click tracks, multitracks, video tracks, Connect and OnCue, Console, document scanner, live video and motion videos backgrounds, MIDI automation, scenes, and premium technical support. Want to learn more? Visit http://onsongapp.com/features to find out if OnSong is right for you. ¹ Requires an active Premium subscription. ² Requires an active Essentials subscription. Terms of Use http://onsongapp.com/premium/terms Privacy Policy http://onsongapp.com/privacy

Screenshots

Cue Master4 screens
OnSong 20264 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cue Master at 91% against OnSong 2026's 28%. Cue Master also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). OnSong 2026's advantage is price (Free vs $19.99) and ratings volume (5.7K vs 63). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

OnSong 2026 is free to download; Cue Master costs $19.99 up front. OnSong 2026 sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Cue Master asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cue Master holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OnSong 2026 has 5.7K ratings behind it against 63, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Cue Master's written reviews are positive against 28% of OnSong 2026's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cue Master ships an update every 2 months, OnSong 2026 monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Cue Master versus OnSong 2026: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCue MasterOnSong 2026
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (63 ratings) — better4.5 (5.7K ratings)
Positive reviews91.3% of reviews — better28.4% of reviews
Number of ratings635.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#167 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS14.4 — better14.5
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB204 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperKevin ArnoldOnSong LLC

Customer experience

Cue Master

All ratings61 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral3.3%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive91.3%
Neutral4.3%
Negative4.3%

OnSong 2026

All ratings5,642 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral3.7%
Negative8.5%
Written reviews684 reviews
Positive28.4%
Neutral7.7%
Negative63.9%

Bugs and requests

Cue Master

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

OnSong 2026

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Songs and annotations randomly disappearing
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Inconsistent behavior when importing/exporting songs
  • Sync and sharing issues between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved sync and backup capabilities
  • More intuitive user interface
  • Ability to transpose songs easily
  • Better support for older devices and iOS versions

In-app purchases

None

Cue Master

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

OnSong 2026

Subscriptions4
  • Essentials (Monthly)$3.991 Month
  • Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Essentials (Annual)$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Premium (Annual)1 Month trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Cue Master free?
Cue Master costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is OnSong 2026 free?
OnSong 2026 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cue Master or OnSong 2026?
Cue Master is rated higher. Cue Master averages 4.8 out of 5 from 63 ratings, while OnSong 2026 averages 4.5 from 5.7K ratings.
Do Cue Master or OnSong 2026 have ads?
Neither Cue Master nor OnSong 2026 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cue Master or OnSong 2026?
Cue Master ships an update every 2 months, and OnSong 2026 monthly. Most recently, Cue Master was updated on October 22, 2026 and OnSong 2026 on October 27, 2026.

Other comparisons