Comparison

Dead Shows vs The Dead Archive

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 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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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

Dead Shows4 screens
The Dead Archive4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Dead Shows versus The Dead Archive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDead ShowsThe Dead Archive
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristopher JohnstonJohn D'Attoma

In-app purchases

None

Dead Shows

No in-app purchases

None

The Dead Archive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dead Shows free?
Dead Shows is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Dead Archive free?
The Dead Archive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dead Shows or The Dead Archive?
Dead Shows and The Dead Archive are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Dead Shows or The Dead Archive have ads?
Neither Dead Shows nor The Dead Archive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dead Shows or The Dead Archive?
Dead Shows ships an update fortnightly, and The Dead Archive every 3 days. Most recently, Dead Shows was updated on November 5, 2026 and The Dead Archive on October 31, 2026.

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