Dead Shows vs The Dead Archive
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide full description
I built Dead Shows for myself, for the way I listen to the Grateful 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.
The Dead Archive
Explore a comprehensive catalog of Grateful Dead shows, including setlists, song histories, and venue details. Stream available recordings and discover curated jams. Engage with a community of listeners and enjoy background playback with lock-screen controls.
- Grateful Dead show catalog
- Stream Archive.org recordings
- Setlists, songs, and venues
- Curated and community-favorite jams
- Community discussion board
- Background audio playback
- Tribute band recordings
Read full descriptionHide full description
Find your next Grateful Dead show, and the tape you want to hear. • On This Day: revisit shows played on today's date. • The 1965-1995 show catalog: browse every cataloged show and stream available Archive.org recordings. Community-rated sources help you find the best soundboard fast or compare audience tapes. • Setlists, songs and venues: follow a song through the years, explore venue histories and read each show's setlist. • Heady Picks: discover curated jams and community-favorite performances. • The Board: talk about the jams and see who is listening now when listeners choose to share. • Keep listening: background audio, lock-screen controls, AirPlay and Bluetooth let the music travel with you. • Tribute bands: explore Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) and Joe Russo's Almost Dead (JRAD) recordings. The Dead Archive is an independent fan app. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Grateful Dead. Free, with no ads and no account needed to listen.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: The Dead Archive at every 3 days against Dead Shows's fortnightly. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Dead Shows against 5.0 for The Dead Archive. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
Dead Shows ships an update fortnightly, The Dead Archive every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dead Shows | The Dead Archive |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christopher Johnston | John D'Attoma |
In-app purchases
Dead Shows
No in-app purchases
The Dead Archive
No in-app purchases






