unrealBook vs DeepDish GigBook
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
unrealBook
This app digitizes your music library, replacing bulky binders with your iPad. Easily organize, search, and access your music or lyrics with features like indexing, bookmarks, and setlists. Ideal for gigging musicians seeking a convenient and portable solution.
- Digitize music and lyrics PDFs
- Alphabetized and indexed song list
- Create bookmarks and setlists
- Hot spots for navigation
- Built-in music player
- Annotation tools
- Wireless syncing between iPads
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unrealBook allows you to access your entire library of music or lyrics on your iPad with ease. Replace your bulky and heavy binders with a small and light device filled with your music PDF files. The alphabetized and indexed list makes it easy to find the song you are looking for. unrealBook is the answer for the gigging musician! Please check the reviews. 4.5 stars!!!!!! unrealBook is being used on tour with Billy Joel - see October 2014 and July 2016 Keyboard Magazine! unrealBook was one of the first apps for displaying music charts on stage. The evolution continues as many musicians use it on stage every day (and many since day 1!). This product is the result of input from many users. unrealBook does not come with songs or charts, you must add your own PDF files. The screenshots are samples of what you can do with unrealBook. Yes, unrealBook supports PDF Table of contents, user created indexes, bookmarks, keywords. You can even convert the PDF table of contents into indexes. It has been able to do these features for a while. "I LOVE unrealBook" "unrealbook is just an awesome app" "On gigs people are always asking about it and I am always telling them about unrealBook. Thanks for the great app and the great support. Awesome!" "Have been using unrealBook in live band set up for a year or so – really useful app my man, thank you." "I want to thank you for creating unrealBook! I love it!" "I just wanted to let you know that I used unrealBook extensively on my most recent rehearsal and show….couple of weeks ago and it performed flawlessly" "I absolutely LOVE your APP on my iPad" "I love the page turning, it's instant and also the Index is the right size for my fingers! Love not having to carry big books to work! It's so neat!" "I love unrealBook so thanks !!" •Replace your bulky and heavy binders with a small and light iPad filled with your music PDF files. The alphabetized and indexed list makes it easy to find the song you are looking for. •No more asking for a light for your music stand on dark stages. •No more worrying about a breeze turning a page by accident. •Search for a song quickly and easily. •Create bookmarks that allow you to easily load up a large PDF and go directly to a page within. •Use bookmarks and PDF files together to create set lists for different gigs. •Hot spots allow you place highlighted areas on the page that allow you to jump from one page or document to another when pressed (think To Coda and D.S. signs). •There is a built in music player so you can listen to your music while you check out the score! •Connect to the world via email, AirDrop, Dropbox and Box support. •Annotate your scores with auto-highlighted text and colored pens with different sizes. •Create set lists easily. Jump to any song in a set list directly or step through the set list sequentially. •Assign an iPad as a master and have multiple iPads slaved via bluetooth or WiFi! •Record your rehearsals or your band on stage, all while reading music in unrealBook! •Take pictures of a chart on a gig and create a PDF that you can use on stage. • Airturn Support for turning pages. • Use the iRig BlueBoard to jump directly to D.S. and CODA in a document via foot switches. • AirDrop an entire set list of files between two AirDrop compatible devices - including unrealBook Mobile on iPhone.
DeepDish GigBook
This app transforms your iPad into a mobile music library for scores, charts, and lyrics. Organize your music with powerful sorting, create custom collections and binders, and build dynamic set lists for performances. It's designed for musicians with stage-ready tools.
- Mobile musical library
- Organize scores and charts
- Create custom collections and binders
- Dynamic set list creator
- Handwritten notation on scores
- Foot pedal support
- Performer's metronome
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DeepDish GigBook turns your iPad into a truly accessible mobile musical library, keeping your scores, songbooks, charts, and lyric sheets at the tip of your fingers, ready at a moment's notice. With its powerful organizing features you can sort your music to fit your individual needs. Keep all your songbooks in one place with "Collections." Compile scores into infinite personalized Binders. Create dynamic Set Lists. Carry hundreds or thousands of scores with you wherever you play. DeepDish GigBook is built specifically with the performing musician in mind, with tools and a user interface no other sheet music reader offers. Add, Sort and Organize - Simple and intuitive design - Works with PDF files - Cross-reference scores in multiple custom binders and set lists - Pull individual scores from large books to use in binders or set lists - Back up and restore your entire GigBook, including importing and exporting files using Apple's native file sharing, which lets you share with any file-sharing app on your iPad (Apple's Files, iCloud, Dropbox, Drive, etc.) Notes and Data - Assign metadata and typed notes to each score - Add and view typed notes - Write handwritten notes, fingerings, and markings directly on the scores with precision and ease - Batch-edit genres, composers, collections, binders, and set lists - Link scores with audio tracks on your iPad for reference, practice, or performance Ready for the Stage - The most powerful and easy-to-use set list creator for the iPad - Set Lists are independent of one another for ultimate flexibility - Create charts, notes, and handwritten stage directions and view them alongside your PDF scores - Fast page turns - Support for AirTurn Direct pedals (PED / PED 500, PEDpro, DUO 500, and BT200S series) and Bluetooth & USB foot pedals like the AirTurn BT-105 and PageFlip Cicada, to name a few - Performer's Metronome — designed specially for stage use with an auto-off timer, tap-in tempo, and full customization for each individual score - Performance Mode — seamlessly view your set list, notes, and scores in an elegant, easy-to-read format View and Share with bandmates using Email, Messages, and AirDrop - Scores always appear in full screen - Zoom — pinch in and out, or use one- or two-finger tap gestures - Email individual scores or entire set lists with attached scores - Upload scores, binders, and set lists using Apple's native file sharing *DeepDish GigBook does not include any built-in scores. Scores in the images are for reference only.* "DeepDish GigBook does what many other sheet music reader apps do, which is displaying and organizing your sheet music, but what sets GigBook apart are its features for performing musicians, and its sense of style." — Adam Ballif, AppAdvice Please visit our website for more support, including video tutorials and additional screenshots. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with news and feature updates. DeepDish GigBook is designed by professional musicians and music educators. We use DeepDish GigBook every day for every gig, every rehearsal, and in our classroom. We think you'll love GigBook as much as we do.
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: unrealBook at 4.8 against DeepDish GigBook's 4.2. unrealBook also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 51%) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 170). DeepDish GigBook's advantage is price ($9.99 vs $14.99) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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
unrealBook costs $14.99 and DeepDish GigBook $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
unrealBook holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: unrealBook has 1.3K ratings behind it against 170, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of unrealBook's written reviews are positive against 51% of DeepDish GigBook's.
unrealBook ships an update monthly, DeepDish GigBook fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | unrealBook | DeepDish GigBook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $9.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.3K ratings) — better | 4.2 (170 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.7% of reviews — better | 50.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.3K — better | 170 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 192 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aron Nelson | Deep Dish Designs, LLC |
Customer experience
unrealBook
DeepDish GigBook
User reviews
unrealBook
From 1.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Convenient organization of music
- 👍 Useful features like setlists and annotations
- 👍 Reliable and stable performance
- 👍 Excellent customer support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
- 🔍 Unintuitive user interface
- 🔍 Difficulty adding/importing files
- 🔍 Limited annotation and editing capabilities
DeepDish GigBook
From 170 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent organization and navigation
- 🎨 Useful annotation and customization features
- 💻 Seamless integration with cloud storage
- 🎶 Convenient audio playback integration
- 🤝 Responsive and helpful customer support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 🔍 Inconsistent search and indexing functionality
- 📤 Limited export and sharing capabilities
- 🕰️ Slow page turning and rendering
- 🔧 Lack of updates and developer support
Bugs and requests
unrealBook
Reported bugs
3 issues- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Inconsistent page resizing and zooming
- Unexpected behavior when editing lyrics or text
Requested features
4 requests- Improved annotation tools with Apple Pencil support
- Ability to selectively clear annotations
- Automatic song indexing for PDF songbooks
- Larger transport controls and more intuitive navigation
DeepDish GigBook
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when trying to link audio tracks
- Inability to input time signatures or other score details
- Issues with super bookmarks and page navigation
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions and devices
- Unreliable Dropbox and email sharing functionality
Requested features
5 requests- Improved annotation tools with text, highlighting, and drawing
- Ability to sync setlists and collections across devices
- Integration with more cloud storage providers (e.g., Google Drive)
- Enhanced metronome and practice tools
- Streamlined workflow for managing large music libraries
In-app purchases
unrealBook
No in-app purchases
DeepDish GigBook
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is unrealBook free?
Is DeepDish GigBook free?
Which has better reviews, unrealBook or DeepDish GigBook?
Do unrealBook or DeepDish GigBook have ads?
Which is updated more often, unrealBook or DeepDish GigBook?
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