Comparison

Dead Shows 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

Dead Shows

Discover and stream Grateful Dead concerts from the Internet Archive. Explore shows by date, venue, or song, and compare setlists. Enjoy gapless playback and offline listening options.

Highlights
  • Today in Grateful Dead History feature
  • Search by date, venue, city, song, or guest
  • View and compare setlists
  • Choose recording quality (soundboard, matrix, audience)
  • Gapless playback
  • Offline listening
  • Favorite shows and songs
Features
Read full description

I built Dead Shows for myself, for the way I listen to the Dead. Most days I don't want to pick a show. I just want something fresh. So the app opens to Today in Grateful Dead History: every concert the band played on this date, going back to 1965. Tap one and you're listening. It's the easiest way I've found to hear something different every day, and it never runs out. Some days I do want to nerd out. Track down a specific MSG, chase a particular Scarlet > Fire, see who sat in on a given night. So there's real search too, by date, venue, city, song, or guest. Expand any show to read its full setlist without leaving the list, and compare setlists side by side. Everything streams free from the Internet Archive's Grateful Dead collection, the same tapes traders have passed around for decades. For each show you can pick your recording, soundboard, matrix, or audience, or let the app choose the best-rated one. Playback is gapless, so the segues stay intact. It runs in the background with lock-screen controls, and you can download shows to listen offline. Favorite the shows and songs you keep coming back to. Whatever you played last is always a tap away. Dead Shows is an independent app. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Grateful Dead or the Internet Archive. Recordings stream from the Internet Archive under the band's longstanding taping policy.

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

Dead Shows4 screens
Dead Sets4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dead Shows at none against Dead Sets's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Dead Sets sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Dead Shows asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Dead Shows versus Dead Sets: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDead ShowsDead Sets
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Every 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristopher JohnstonMatt Selph

In-app purchases

None

Dead Shows

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Dead Sets

Subscriptions1
  • Dead Sets7 Days trial$1.991 Month

Questions

Is Dead Shows free?
Dead Shows is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dead Sets free?
Dead Sets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Dead Shows or Dead Sets have ads?
Neither Dead Shows nor Dead Sets shows ads.

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