Show|Ready vs Pocket Bard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Show|Ready
This app provides essential music rehearsal tools for musical theater productions. It offers playback features on iOS devices and director's editing on iPads. A license from a theatrical publisher is required to use the app.
- Music playback
- Director's editing (iPad)
- iOS compatibility
- License integration
Read full descriptionHide full description
Show|Ready Mobile is the ultimate music rehearsal solution for musical theater. Show|Ready Mobile gives you all the playback features of the desktop Show|Ready on your iOS device. Additionally The director's editing features are available only on the iPad. A valid license of Show|Ready must be purchased first from Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Samuel French, Steele Spring or Plays for Young Audiences before you can use Show|Ready Mobile. Show|Ready Mobile only needs to be purchased once and then can be used with multiple Show|Ready licenses.
Pocket Bard
Enhance your tabletop RPG sessions with an immersive audio experience. Instantly change soundscapes to match the mood of your game, dynamically adjusting music and sound effects to perfectly complement your gameplay.
- Immersive audio experience
- Dynamic soundscape changes
- Match session tone
- Alter music intensity
- Adjust sound effects
Read full descriptionHide full description
Pocket Bard is a fully immersive audio experience for your D&D or tabletop RPG session. With just a tap, change your entire soundscape to match the tone of your session. From moment to moment, alter the intensity of the music, ambience, and sound effects to pair perfectly with your gameplay. Free to download, no ads. The free library gives you 20+ complete scenes, including the full Fantasy Essentials collection (tavern, town, forest, cave, swamp, graveyard, dungeons, and more), enough to run an entire fantasy campaign without paying a thing. HOW IT WORKS More than a soundboard or a background playlist, every scene is a complete, layered soundscape you control live at the table. • Intensity slider (patented): one control reshapes the arrangement of the music in real time, from minor encounter to intense battle. • Music state controls: jump from exploration to combat with a single tap, and trigger a victory stinger when the fight ends. • Layered ambience: rain, wind, crowds, and creatures, each with its own intensity control. • Ambience variations: step indoors or out, into open fields or forest paths. • One-shot sound effects: a door slam, sword clash, thunderclap, or howl right on cue. • A mix that's already balanced: music, ambience, and effects are mastered to sit together at any volume. No mixing required. PREP LESS, PLAY MORE Built for game masters and dungeon masters, Pocket Bard runs on the phone, tablet, or desktop computer you already bring to the table. The controls stay out of your way, so you can shift the mood without breaking the flow of the story. When the party moves on, switch scenes with one tap, and the music and ambience automatically adapt. No more interrupting ads, juggling browser tabs, or clunky UI. No files to manage, no audio know-how needed. WORKS WITH ANY GAME Your weekly DnD group, a Pathfinder campaign, a Sci-fi one-shot, Blades in the Dark, Mothership, or your own homebrew. Scenes are built around places and moods, not rulebooks, so they fit any TTRPG and any setting. WORLDS TO EXPLORE Free with Fantasy Essentials: Tavern, Town, City, Village, Dark Streets, Mountains, Plains, Forest, Cave, Ancient Grove, Swamp, Graveyard, Dungeon Entrance, Dungeon Corridors, Dungeon Lair, Dwarven Kingdom, and more. Your free library also includes select scenes from other collections, like Deep Space and Shipwreck Cove. Open Worlds unlocks many more collections: Sci-Fi, Horror, Seafaring, Desert, Feywild, Northern, Cyberpunk, and Modern Urban. Think starships and derelict stations, haunted libraries and cursed lands, frozen harbors, buried tombs, enchanted glades, and high-speed chases. New scenes are added throughout the year. MADE BY HUMANS Every note, sound, and piece of art in Pocket Bard is thoughtfully crafted by real humans. Scenes are composed by professional musicians and mastered by our audio team. No AI-generated music or art. STREAM IT Pocket Bard owns the rights to its music, and you're welcome to use it in your streams and videos. A credit is always appreciated. OPEN WORLDS Open Worlds is our subscription: every collection, plus every new scene as it's released, billed monthly or yearly. One subscription, everything included. Immersive audio, made simple. With Pocket Bard, you can focus on what matters most: your story. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Service: https://www.pocketbard.app/terms-of-service.html Privacy Policy: https://www.pocketbard.app/privacy-policy.html Pocket Bard is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Chaosium, or any other game publisher. Dungeons & Dragons and D&D are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pocket Bard at 86% against Show|Ready's 26%. Pocket Bard also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.7) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 4 months). Show|Ready's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.1). On price, ads 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. Pocket Bard sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Show|Ready asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pocket Bard holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Bard has 1.8K ratings behind it against 84, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Show|Ready's written reviews are positive against 86% of Pocket Bard's.
Show|Ready ships an update every 4 months, Pocket Bard every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Show|Ready | Pocket Bard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (84 ratings) | 4.8 (1.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.4% of reviews | 86.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 84 | 1.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #180 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 16.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 109 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Right On Cue Services, LLC | Pocket Bard Inc. |
Customer experience
Show|Ready
Pocket Bard
User reviews
Show|Ready
From 84 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Handy tool for learning parts
- 👍 Useful for theater kids
- 👍 Good for practicing songs
- 👍 Helpful for learning harmonies
- 👍 Can layer voices in/out
Room to improve
- 🐛 Constantly crashing
- 🐛 Glitchy and buggy
- 🐛 App freezes often
- 🐛 Hard to play transition tracks
- 🐛 Sound stops instead of restarting
Pocket Bard
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Seamless transitions
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🎨 Great customization options
- 🎶 High-quality music and sound effects
- 💡 Versatile for various use cases (TTRPG, reading, writing, etc.)
Room to improve
- 🔒 Unclear subscription model and pricing
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes for some users
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 📦 Limited content in free version
Bugs and requests
Show|Ready
Reported bugs
31 issues- App crashes constantly
- App freezes frequently
- App glitches
- App randomly kicks user out
- Buttons not visible on iPhone screen
Show 26 moreShow fewer
- Passcode entry crashes app
- Settings do not save
- App disappears from phone
- App needs to be reloaded
- Crashes when trying to repeat songs
- Music stops playing, only click track
- Tempo changes disappear after freeze
- Glitches on vamps/repeats/cesuras
- Needs complete reboot
- UI issues on iPhone/iPad
- No vocal tracks
- App crashes on login
- Tracks not loading
- App closes immediately upon opening
- Audio freezes
- Tempo issues or song stops briefly
- Song comes in/out at specific measures
- Adjustments do not save
- Parts not playing sometimes
- Cannot play parts after repeat/fermata
- Constantly crashing when opening app
- Doesn't show music
- Randomly mutes everything
- New update hides song title
- Instruments sound bad
- Laggy performance
Requested features
10 requests- More musical sounds than synth
- Minute/seconds counter for song length
- Ability to move tab bar to bottom
- Mobile view score
- Ability to make notes on the score
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Option to mute metronome in mixer tab
- Score in the app
- Ability to loop sections
- Dark mode option
- Better quality instruments
Pocket Bard
Reported bugs
4 issues- Downloading content causes crashes
- Repeated terms of service pop-ups
- One-shot sound effects not working
- Inconsistent audio quality and balance
Requested features
6 requests- More sound effects (creature sounds, weather, etc.)
- Ability to import custom music and sounds
- AirPlay support for streaming to speakers
- Offline mode or caching for downloaded content
- Customizable scenes and soundscapes
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Shortcut integration for quick access
In-app purchases
Show|Ready
No in-app purchases
Pocket Bard
- Pocket Bard Open Worlds14 Days trial$6.991 Month
- Pocket Bard Open Worlds Yearly14 Days trial$49.991 Year









