Comparison

Next vs PocketDAW

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

Head to head
About

Next

This app provides a straightforward way for musicians to access and display lyrics and chords. It offers a clean interface for organizing songs and sharing them with others in real-time, simplifying practice and live performances.

Highlights
  • Lyrics and chords display
  • Song organization
  • Real-time screen sharing
  • Centralized control for performances
  • Intuitive user interface
Features
Read full description

The simple solution for lyrics and chords – built for musicians NextSong Forget complex setups and technical features you never use. This app is built with one goal: to make it easy for musicians to focus on what matters most – the music. NextSong is an intuitive and user-friendly platform for displaying, organizing, and sharing lyrics and chords. Whether you're rehearsing, performing live, or practicing on your own, you always have full control – all in one place. • Simple and clear Designed for everyone – no technical experience needed. Get started quickly without hassle. • Lyrics and chords in one place Get a clean and readable overview of your songs, so you can focus on your performance. • Share with others Send songs directly to fellow musicians or share your screen so everyone can follow along in real time. • Central control Control what’s displayed for everyone from a single device. Perfect for live performances and rehearsals. • No unnecessary features No MIDI, no complex setup – just what you actually need.

About

PocketDAW

Features
Read full description

PocketDAW brings vocal recording, arrangement, mixing, lyric writing, and export into one local-first workspace for iPhone and iPad. BUILD A VOCAL SESSION Import a beat into project-owned storage, record vocals while existing tracks play, and arrange up to 32 audio tracks. Keep the playhead centered while clips move behind it, zoom or fit the timeline, and choose a comfortable track height. Tap tracks and clips for contextual controls. Move, duplicate, precisely trim, split, fade, and crossfade clips. Shape tracks with gain, pan, mute, and solo, with project Undo and Redo. MIX WITH CONTROL Use built-in Studio EQ and Vocal Compressor, adjustable sends, Aux returns, delay, subgroup routing, Master EQ and compression, peak limiting, and peak, RMS, LUFS, and true-peak metering. Preview evidence-backed local gain and mix recommendations before applying or rejecting them. WRITE BESIDE YOUR MUSIC Create lyric documents and sections with offline exact, slant, internal, compound, and multisyllabic rhyme cues. Explore deterministic suggestions, syllable and stress facts, an offline dictionary and thesaurus, project pronunciations, search, custom themes, draft history, timeline links, and a transport-aware teleprompter. DELIVER YOUR WORK Export a 24-bit Mix WAV, choose from three loudness and true-peak-aware Mastered WAV profiles, or create aligned dry, wet, Aux, and subgroup stem packages with reconstruction metadata. LOCAL-FIRST BY DEFAULT Projects and core analysis stay on your device. PocketDAW has no account, ads, analytics, or social feed. Optional Studio Assistant chat connects to a server you choose and control on a reachable local or private network. Before Send, the app shows the destination, model, and shared context. Names, saved lyrics, and conversation history require separate sharing choices; any text you enter in a message is part of that message. Raw audio and file paths are never sent. Supported project edits require review and Apply, and local chat history can be cleared.

Screenshots

Next3 screens
PocketDAW4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PocketDAW at none against Next's shown. PocketDAW also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). Next's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Next ships an update every 3 weeks, PocketDAW every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Next versus PocketDAW: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNextPocketDAW
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB47 MB
Age rating4+9+
Developerklaus thomsenMICHAEL DWAYNE WILLIAMS

In-app purchases

None

Next

No in-app purchases

None

PocketDAW

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Next free?
Next is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PocketDAW free?
PocketDAW is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Next or PocketDAW have ads?
Next shows ads; PocketDAW does not.
Which is updated more often, Next or PocketDAW?
Next ships an update every 3 weeks, and PocketDAW every 2 days. Most recently, Next was updated on October 31, 2026 and PocketDAW on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons