Onset vs Lyric Pilot
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Onset
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Onset — the stage prompter for singers. On stage your hands are on the mic. You can't hold sheets, and between one line and the next there's no time to scroll with a finger. Onset does one thing, and does it well: your lyrics scroll on their own, in time with the song, while you sing hands-free. How it works: you bring the lyrics — type them, paste them, or import them from a PDF you already have. Then calibrate once by tapping the lines to the beat, and from then on the prompter runs itself. No more marks on paper, no more "where was I". WHAT YOU GET • Setlists for every night: build them, reorder them on the fly. • Chords above the words, with a few semitones of transpose when you change key. • Lead and backing-vocal lines kept separate, so you always know your part. • Backing tracks to follow while you read. • Song timings looked up online and attached to your own lyrics: the grid of minutes and seconds comes back, never the words. • PDF charts, if you already have them. ON IPHONE AND IPAD • Apple Music: start the song from your own library and Onset follows it. • iCloud sync: songs and setlists follow you from iPhone to iPad, no account to create. Made for singers, songwriters and anyone who plays live — not to fill the screen with features you'll never touch. Onset is small, finished and cared-for: open it and you're ready, no endless tutorials. Screen stays on, no notifications while you play, true black on OLED. Your songs stay on your phone. Onset is brand new and grows with the musicians who use it. If you try it and something's missing, write me: support@onsetlyrics.app. Onset Pro is available as an auto-renewable monthly subscription, or as a one-time purchase (Founder). Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period, and can be managed in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://onsetlyrics.app/privacy
Lyric Pilot
This app provides real-time, voice-activated lyric scrolling for singers. It intelligently follows your singing, highlighting lines as you perform and automatically scrolling to the next. Customize the display for optimal readability and enjoy a private, offline experience.
- Voice-activated lyric highlighting
- Automatic scrolling that follows singing pace
- Customizable color themes and text size
- Offline and private operation
- Manual scrolling mode
- Unlimited song library with one-time unlock
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Lyric Pilot is a smart lyrics app made for singing. Paste any lyrics, prop up your phone, and sing — it listens, recognizes the line you're singing, highlights it, and scrolls the next lines up on time. Like having a friend who knows the song scroll for you. No fixed-speed scrolling that drifts out of sync. No tapping the screen mid-song. Lyric Pilot follows you, not a timer — it pauses when you pause, keeps up when you come back in, and re-finds its place if you skip around. BUILT FOR SINGING Most voice-scrolling apps expect a steady reading voice. Singing is different — held notes, repeated choruses, a breath between verses. Lyric Pilot's follower is made for how songs actually flow: • Sing a line and it lights up — your hands stay free. • Hold a note or take a breath — it waits with you. • Jump ahead to the chorus or back a verse — it finds you again. • Any song, any arrangement — the lyrics are whatever you paste. SET THE VIBE • The prompter glows in the color you choose — dial the vibe to match the song or the mood. • Dark, high-contrast display that's easy to read at a glance — even from across the room. • Adjustable text size — comfortable from the couch, the desk, or wherever the phone is propped. • Portrait or landscape, phone or tablet. The screen stays awake for the whole song. YOUR SONGS, YOUR WAY • Add a song and paste its lyrics — that's the whole setup. • Prefer manual control? Switch to manual mode and scroll by hand on a clean, distraction-free display. • Your song library, organized and searchable, with import/export to move songs between devices. FREE TO USE — NEVER A SUBSCRIPTION Everything that matters is free: the listening prompter, manual mode, color vibes, and room for 10 songs. Need more? One small one-time unlock makes your library unlimited — yours for life. No subscription. No ads. No account. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything happens on your device. Speech recognition runs locally, your lyrics never leave your phone, and the app collects no data — it doesn't even connect to the internet. No account, no sign-up, no tracking. Also great for speeches, presentations, and any script you deliver out loud. English-language recognition in this version.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Lyric Pilot at weekly against Onset's fortnightly. Onset's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Onset sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Lyric Pilot sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Onset ships an update fortnightly, Lyric Pilot weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Onset | Lyric Pilot |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 3.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andrea Libutti | Van Nguyen |
In-app purchases
Onset
- Monthly$0.991 Month
- Founder Lifetime$12.99
Lyric Pilot
- Unlimited songs$1.99









