BandHelper vs JustChords
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BandHelper
Streamline band operations with this comprehensive organizational suite. Effortlessly share music, manage setlists, and coordinate rehearsals. Enhance live performances with customizable settings and backing tracks, while also managing finances and contacts professionally.
- Automatic song and setlist distribution
- Gig invitations and confirmations
- Reference recording playback with speed/loop
- Chord transposition
- Customizable performance settings
- Backing track and video playback
- Income/expense tracking
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Much more than a "songbook" app, BandHelper can organize your band and power your live show. COMMUNICATE EFFORTLESSLY • Distribute songs and set lists automatically to your bandmates • Send standardized gig invitations and confirmations • Maintain one organized source for gig details • Give sub players all the charts and recordings they need for a gig REHEARSE EFFICIENTLY • Sync set list, lyric and chord updates as you work • Play reference recordings instantly, with speed and loop controls • Transpose chords for different singers, capo positions or horn keys • Review notes and voice memos from previous rehearsals PERFORM SEAMLESSLY • Configure keyboards, effects and lighting as you change songs • Play backing tracks, click tracks and video presentations • Customize the interface or use foot switches for hands-free control • Add custom fields for personal notes and reminders MANAGE YOUR BAND PROFESSIONALLY • Track income/expenses and let band members view their earnings • Organize your booking and industry contacts • Build stage plots to send to venues • Generate invoices to send to clients *** If you have a problem or a suggestion, please contact me before writing a review. I can't troubleshoot problems through the review system, but I respond promptly to all help tickets and posts in my support forum. ***
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.
- 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
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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
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: JustChords at 4.9 against BandHelper's 4.3. JustChords also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 78%) and ratings volume (356 vs 113). BandHelper's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.5). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. BandHelper sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and JustChords sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
JustChords holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 113 and 356 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of BandHelper's written reviews are positive against 95% of JustChords's.
BandHelper ships an update fortnightly, JustChords every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BandHelper | JustChords |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (113 ratings) | 4.9 (356 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.3% of reviews | 95.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 113 | 356 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Arlo Leach | get started s. r. o. |
Customer experience
BandHelper
JustChords
User reviews
BandHelper
From 113 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful features
- 👍 Customizable and flexible
- 🤖 Seamless MIDI integration
- 💻 Convenient web interface
- 🔄 Effective sync across devices
Room to improve
- 🤯 Steep learning curve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate at times
- 💲 Subscription model may be a turnoff
- 🙅♀️ Not very intuitive for beginners
JustChords
From 356 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Extremely user-friendly and intuitive interface
- 🎵 Comprehensive song library with easy import from online sources
- 💰 Completely free with no subscriptions or paywalls
- 🔄 Seamless cross-device sync via iCloud
- ✏️ Powerful editing and customization features
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes during song import
- 🐛 Pinch zoom functionality stopped working
- 🐛 Songs disappear from library unexpectedly
- 🐛 App won't load songs in certain situations
- ⚠️ Multi-column view not working on iPad
Bugs and requests
BandHelper
Reported bugs
3 issues- Sync issues between devices
- Compatibility problems with older hardware
- Crashes when switching between documents
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to add handwritten notes
- Improved scrolling and page turning
- More customization options for layouts
- Integrated metronome with visual cues
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
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- 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
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- Improved documentation and user manual
- Smoother song-to-song scrolling transitions
- Dark mode option
In-app purchases
BandHelper
- Basic - Solo Artist (month)$3.00
- Pro - Solo Artist (month)$4.00
- Basic - 2-5 Users (month)$5.00
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- Basic - 6-20 Users (month)$7.00
- Pro - 2-5 Users (month)$9.00
- Pro - 6-20 Users (month)$14.00
- Basic - Solo Artist (year)$18.00
- Pro - Solo Artist (year)$38.00
- Basic - 2-5 Users (year)$46.00
- Pro - 2-5 Users (year)$94.00
JustChords
- Nice Chords!$2.99
- Rock On!$6.99
- Big Thanks!$17.99
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- Legendary Support!$44.99







