Comparison

OnSong 2026 vs Live Tabs

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

Head to head
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
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

About

Live Tabs

Features
Read full description

Live Tabs keeps your guitar charts and set lists ready for rehearsal and live performance. Build a personal song library with lyrics, chords, tablature, tags and performance notes. Organize songs into set lists and keep your next performance in order. Read comfortably on stage with adjustable text, chord transposition, capo settings and auto-scroll. Open Performance Mode to focus on the chart while you play. Use Live Tabs without an account to keep a local library on your device, or sign in to sync songs and set lists across devices. Account libraries are cached for offline use, and pending changes sync when you reconnect. Export and restore your library as a JSON backup. Import compatible charts from the web and find linked YouTube videos while signed in. Web imports, video search and video playback require an internet connection. Live Tabs is a tool for your personal chart collection, not a licensed song catalogue.

Screenshots

OnSong 20264 screens
Live Tabs4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: OnSong 2026 at Free against Live Tabs's $3.99. Live Tabs's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On update cadence, 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; Live Tabs costs $3.99 up front. OnSong 2026 sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Live Tabs asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OnSong 2026 ships an update every 4 weeks, Live Tabs every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
OnSong 2026 versus Live Tabs: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOnSong 2026Live Tabs
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.5 (5.8K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews28.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings5.8K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size205 MB5 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperOnSong LLCFERNANDO MIGUEL FERRAO DO AMARAL

Bugs and 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

Live Tabs

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
None

Live Tabs

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is OnSong 2026 free?
OnSong 2026 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Live Tabs free?
Live Tabs costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do OnSong 2026 or Live Tabs have ads?
Neither OnSong 2026 nor Live Tabs shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OnSong 2026 or Live Tabs?
OnSong 2026 ships an update every 4 weeks, and Live Tabs every 3 weeks. Most recently, OnSong 2026 was updated on November 10, 2026 and Live Tabs on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons