Comparison

JustChords vs Songstead

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

Head to head
About

JustChords

Organize your song library with chord charts and lyrics. Create or import songs, sync across devices, and build setlists for live performances. Supports various music notations and audio playback.

Highlights
  • Chord chart and lyric editor
  • Import songs from online sources
  • iCloud device syncing
  • Setlist creation and sharing
  • AirPlay lyric projection
  • Audio player and recorder
  • Support for multiple music notations
Read full description

JustChords is your complete tool for cataloging chord charts and lyrics. Create charts from scratch, import them from files, or pull them from online sources — building a library that's always with you, synced across iPhone, iPad and Mac via iCloud. Use JustChords standalone or as an AUv3 plugin in your favorite DAW. FEATURES • Setlists, with sharing and collaboration • Song editor is based on ChordPro and supports chords & lyrics, note sheets (PDF), chord beats, guitar tabs and ABC notation • Change Key, Capo, Piano Transpose, Rewrite into key • Metronome & Tuner • Autoscroll • Guitar, ukulele and piano chord diagrams, including alternate tunings • Audio player & recorder. Attach your tracks from Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, URL or local file • Project lyrics or a dedicated stage display via AirPlay, with rich configuration options • Bluetooth / MIDI pedal support • Chord Beats — visualize chord duration right in your chords & lyrics, send chord notes over MIDI as they play, and trigger predefined MIDI messages on section changes • Tonic Pad — an ambient backing pad matched to your song's key • PlayTogether — keep your whole band in sync live, hands-free

About

Songstead

Organize your song library with chord charts, setlists, and collaborative tools. Write songs in various formats, transpose keys, and export PDFs. Build setlists for events and share your music library with a band or studio.

Highlights
  • Chord chart creation
  • Key transposition
  • Setlist building
  • Collaborative library sharing
  • PDF export
  • Plain text and ChordPro writing
Features
Read full description

Songs - Chord charts with the tools you actually need: write in ChordPro or plain text, transpose to any key, auto-detect the key from what you enter, switch notation styles, and export a clean PDF for print or tablet. Sets - Build a setlist for a gig, a rehearsal, or a practice session. Add a date, a title, and a location, so everyone knows exactly what you're playing and when. Groups - A shared space where the whole band, team, or studio works from the same library. Invite people in, set their role, and everyone always has the current version.

Screenshots

JustChords4 screens
Songstead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Songstead at none against JustChords's 7. Songstead also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.5). JustChords's advantage is ratings volume (350 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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

Both are free to download. JustChords sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Songstead asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for JustChords against 5.0 for Songstead. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: JustChords has 350 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of JustChords's written reviews are positive against 100% of Songstead's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

JustChords ships an update every 2 weeks, Songstead every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
JustChords versus Songstead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJustChordsSongstead
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (350 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews95.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings350 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerget started s. r. o.beestat.io

Customer experience

JustChords

All ratings349 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral1.1%
Negative0.3%
Written reviews104 reviews
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.9%

Songstead

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

JustChords

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App crashes when importing songs from online sources
  • Pinch zoom feature stopped working
  • Songs disappearing from library
  • App unable to load songs from library in certain conditions
  • Multi-column view not functioning on iPad
Show 6 more
  • PDF export inconsistently includes/excludes metadata
  • Control+S keyboard shortcut non-functional on iPad and desktop
  • Choppy scrolling between songs
  • Tagging system filters incorrectly (excludes songs with multiple tags)
  • Songs won't open when tapped (reported on iPhone 8 with iOS 16.7.4)
  • Sticky notes placement requires manual adjustment

Requested features

8 requests
  • Apple Pencil direct annotation with eraser capability
  • Standard tag filtering logic (show songs with selected tags)
  • Bluetooth pedal support for song navigation without touching device
  • Web-based editor for songs
  • Direct in-app sharing to other users
Show 3 more
  • Improved documentation and user manual
  • Smoother song-to-song scrolling transitions
  • Dark mode option

Songstead

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

JustChords

One-time7
  • Buy me a coffee$0.99
  • Nice Chords!$2.99
  • Buy me a pineapple$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Rock On!$6.99
  • Buy me a book$7.99
  • Big Thanks!$17.99
  • Legendary Support!$44.99
None

Songstead

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is JustChords free?
JustChords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Songstead free?
Songstead is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, JustChords or Songstead?
Songstead is rated higher. JustChords averages 4.9 out of 5 from 350 ratings, while Songstead averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do JustChords or Songstead have ads?
Neither JustChords nor Songstead shows ads.
Which is updated more often, JustChords or Songstead?
JustChords ships an update every 2 weeks, and Songstead every 3 weeks. Most recently, JustChords was updated on October 27, 2026 and Songstead on October 24, 2026.

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