Comparison

Play Dead vs Dead Sets

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

Head to head
About

Play Dead

Access a vast library of officially remastered live Grateful Dead concert recordings. Discover previously unreleased shows every week, including rare CD-only releases now available in high-resolution audio. Listen across your devices with seamless playback.

Highlights
  • Official Grateful Dead live recordings
  • Hi-res remastered audio
  • Exclusive 'Dead Drops' weekly
  • CD-only releases now streaming
  • Vault organized by year
  • Cross-device listening
  • Apple CarPlay support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Play Dead is the official Grateful Dead streaming app, offering unprecedented hi-res access to the Grateful Dead Vault of live recordings. For the first time, the band’s live legacy is brought together in a single official streaming service, with newly transferred and mastered recordings from the original sources. Previously unreleased shows - called Dead Drops - will be available every Tuesday, augmenting the catalog of official live Grateful Dead releases, many of which have never been available on any streaming service. The Vault Unlocked Exclusive Hi-Res Recordings Access new high resolution transfers, mastered for the first time and available exclusively on Play Dead. Dead Drops Every Tuesday Previously unreleased recordings added, every Tuesday, curated by Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux, mastered for the first time by David Glasser. CD-Only Releases, Now Streaming Shows previously available only on CD from box sets and Dave’s Picks are now streaming for the first time -only on Play Dead- in higher-than-CD-quality. The Vault by Year Live recordings are presented in order of performance date for the first time in the band’s history. Play Dead brings together three decades of live recordings into a single, evolving app designed for both longtime Dead Heads and those who just got on the bus. Listen Anywhere Listen and resume listening across devices, including Apple CarPlay. Subscription Subscriptions available starting at $9.99/month or $99.99/year. Official Access to the Grateful Dead Vault Created for Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Entertainment, longtime stewards of the Grateful Dead catalog. Built by nugs, the leading platform for live music. For nugs Subscribers Play Dead is also available as an add-on to nugs. PlayDead Payment and Auto-Renewal Terms: Play Dead offers auto-renewing monthly and annual subscriptions to stream music from the Play Dead catalog. Two subscription types are available, monthly (30 days) and annual (365 days). All subscriptions auto-renew. A Play Dead monthly subscription is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for new users. Plans auto-renew at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year after the first year. Payment will be charged to the iTunes Account at the time of your purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the users Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use at http://nugs.net/terms.aspx Privacy Policy at http://nugs.net/privacy.aspx

About

Dead Sets

Features
Read full description

Every Grateful Dead setlist. And now, the music. Dead Sets is the fastest way to dive into the Dead's live catalog: 1,600+ shows from 1972 to 1995, every setlist searchable by song, venue, city, or year — entirely offline, no account, no ads. LISTEN — Almost every show links to its recordings in the archive.org Grateful Dead collection. Dead Sets auto-picks the best-rated soundboard and streams it right on the setlist page — or flip between every tape of the night, soundboards, audience recordings, and matrixes, even mid-song. The mini-player follows you through the app, and playback continues with the screen locked. SEARCH — Type "Scarlet Begonias" and see every performance. Filter by year, state, or country. Tap any song in a setlist to trace it across two decades. TODAY IN DEAD HISTORY — What did the band play on this date in '77? In '89? One tab, every year. SAVED — Heart your favorite shows, and mark the ones you attended with a ticket stub. Your whole trip, tallied, stored only on your device. CHAT WITH A DEAD HEAD (subscription) — A virtual dead head who's seen 300+ shows and followed the whole Europe '72 tour. Ask him anything — "best Dark Star of '73?", "what happened today in Dead history?" — and tap the shows he mentions to jump right to them. $1.99/month after a 7-day free trial, 30 messages a day, cancel anytime. Setlist data from the Grateful Dead Setlist Archive (cs.cmu.edu), cross-checked against archive.org and setlist.fm, with hundreds of hand-restored corrections. Recordings stream from the archive.org Grateful Dead collection, where the band has long blessed fan recordings. Not affiliated with Grateful Dead Productions. Just built by someone who gets it. Terms of Use: https://bowtiedjungle.dev/terms Privacy Policy: https://bowtiedjungle.dev/privacy

Screenshots

Play Dead4 screens
Dead Sets4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Dead Sets at every 2 days against Play Dead's every 4 weeks. Dead Sets also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Play Dead's advantage is chart position (#108 vs unranked). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Play Dead sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Dead Sets sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Play Dead ships an update every 4 weeks, Dead Sets every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Play Dead versus Dead Sets: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlay DeadDead Sets
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (80 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews65.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings80 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#108 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB13 MB
Age rating17+4+
Developernugs.net enterprises, LLCMatt Selph

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Play Dead

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Yearly$99.991 Year
1 purchases

Dead Sets

Subscriptions1
  • Dead Sets7 Days trial$1.991 Month

Questions

Is Play Dead free?
Play Dead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dead Sets free?
Dead Sets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Play Dead or Dead Sets have ads?
Neither Play Dead nor Dead Sets shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Play Dead or Dead Sets?
Play Dead ships an update every 4 weeks, and Dead Sets every 2 days. Most recently, Play Dead was updated on September 27, 2026 and Dead Sets on September 15, 2026.

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