Comparison

Deadtapes vs XLIIs

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Deadtapes

Identify the Grateful Dead concert your music tape originated from. Input a sequence of up to three songs, and the app will find shows from 1972-1995 that feature that exact song order.

Highlights
  • Song sequence search
  • Grateful Dead show identification
  • 1972-1995 show coverage
  • Tape origin discovery
Features
Read full description

Finds which Grateful Dead show your dead tape was created from. You enter up to three songs, in sequence, that you hear on your tape. It reports which shows have that sequence played at the show. For all shows from 1972 through 1995.

About

XLIIs

Explore curated collections of Grateful Dead live recordings from global collectors. Each collection features historical write-ups and high-resolution photos of original cassette inserts. Discover new shows every three months, with the current season focusing on 1969-1980 recordings.

Highlights
  • Curated live Grateful Dead recordings
  • Collections from global collectors
  • Historical write-ups for each show
  • Photographs of original cassette inserts
  • New collections released quarterly
Features
Read full description

Every three months, XLIIs acquires four collections of Grateful Dead live recordings on loan from collectors around the world. Each collector has spent years — sometimes decades — assembling a set of tapes around a single idea: a particular era of the band, a run of shows that changed something, a sound engineer whose work defined how the Dead were heard. They traded for multiple recordings of every show until they had the best-sounding version. That's the tape that appears here. We photograph every collector's original cassettes and J-card inserts, written in their native language. Our archivists consult over a hundred research sources per collection to write liner notes for each show — the venue, the setlist, what was happening on the tour, and why that night mattered. Each season, we commission an artist to create original artwork for all four collections. SPRING 2026 Cornell and Company — 42 shows from 1977. Rhys Morgan, Cardiff, Wales. Six Hundred Four — 37 shows from the Wall of Sound year, 1974. Anonymous, Hungary. Young Bettys — 58 shows, 1969–1973. Andrei Petrescu, Bucharest, Romania. New Animal — 33 shows, 1979–1980. Hendrik Tamm, Estonia. 170 shows. Full recordings, start to finish. Turn your phone sideways to see the J-card. Read the liner notes while you listen. Free. No ads. No account. Just tapes.

Screenshots

Deadtapes2 screens
XLIIs4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: XLIIs at 100% against Deadtapes's 0%. XLIIs also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 46 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

XLIIs holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: XLIIs has 33 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Deadtapes's written reviews are positive against 100% of XLIIs's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Deadtapes ships an update every 46 months, XLIIs every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Deadtapes versus XLIIs: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDeadtapesXLIIs
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (1 ratings)4.9 (33 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings133 — better
Update frequencyEvery 46 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.215.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB121 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThomas MaherDavid Koch

Customer experience

Deadtapes

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

XLIIs

All ratings29 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Deadtapes

No in-app purchases

None

XLIIs

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Deadtapes free?
Deadtapes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is XLIIs free?
XLIIs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Deadtapes or XLIIs?
XLIIs is rated higher. Deadtapes averages 3.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while XLIIs averages 4.9 from 33 ratings.
Do Deadtapes or XLIIs have ads?
Neither Deadtapes nor XLIIs shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Deadtapes or XLIIs?
Deadtapes ships an update every 46 months, and XLIIs every 5 days. Most recently, Deadtapes was updated on November 1, 2026 and XLIIs on October 31, 2026.

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