The 5 Best Setlist Apps for Gigging Musicians in 2026

If you're a working musician, you need a system for managing your setlists. The days of scribbling song orders on napkins or scrolling through a notes app on stage are over. In 2026, there are several purpose-built apps that handle setlists — and some do a lot more than just that.

There are plenty of apps for gigging musicians — sheet music readers, backing-track tools, recording apps. But the one that holds an actual gig together is your setlist and gig manager: the thing you pull up on stage and build the night around. That's what this guide covers, from simple song-order apps to platforms that run the whole gig.

Here's a breakdown of the best options available right now.

What is a setlist app?

A setlist app is a tool that stores your songs and lets you arrange them into an ordered set to read on stage — from a phone, tablet, or laptop instead of a printed sheet. The better ones also keep your chord charts in the right key, share the list with your bandmates, and tie it to the gig's date, venue, and pay.

So a setlist app can be as simple as a digital song list, or as complete as a system that runs the whole night — the five below cover that full range.

What to look for in a setlist app

Before you pick one, get clear on what you actually need beyond a list of songs:

• On-stage display — can you read it comfortably on a phone, tablet, or laptop mid-set? Look for a clean stage or gig view.
• Chart and key management — does it store your chord charts, and can you change a song's key for one gig without rewriting the original?
• The rest of the gig — scheduling, call times, pay, and inviting bandmates. A song list is only one piece of a gig.
• Collaboration — if you play in a band, can everyone see the same setlists and charts without emailing files around?
• Platform — web, mobile, or both? Make sure it runs on whatever you'll actually have on stage.

With that in mind, here are the apps.

1. SetBook

Best for: Full gig lifecycle management — scheduling, setlists, charts, collaboration, and pay tracking

Platforms: Web and mobile

Price: $9.99/month on the web, or $11.95/month via in-app purchase on iOS (free 2-week trial)

SetBook is the most complete option on this list. It's not just a setlist app — it's an all-in-one gig management platform. You can schedule gigs, build setlists with drag-and-drop, organize a searchable chart library, invite bandmates, and track earnings. If you play in multiple bands, SetBook lets you keep everything organized by project with shared libraries.

Strengths:

• Drag-and-drop setlist builder with key overrides and per-gig notes
• Full gig management with scheduling, invites, and RSVPs
• Chart library with links to Spotify, YouTube, Dropbox, Google Drive
• Band collaboration — shared charts, setlists, and schedules
• Pay tracking with earnings dashboard
• Organization plans for worship teams and music schools
• Works on web and mobile

Limitations:

• No MIDI automation
• Android app coming soon (web works on any device today)

Try SetBook free

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2. BandHelper

Best for: Musicians who need MIDI automation and on-stage lyrics display

Platforms: iOS + Android

Price: $4.99/month or $39.99/year

BandHelper (formerly BandMinder) has been around since 2012 and is a favorite among musicians who use MIDI heavily. It handles setlists, lyrics/chord display with auto-scroll, and can trigger MIDI patches, backing tracks, and lighting cues per song. If your setup involves foot pedals and automation, BandHelper is purpose-built for that workflow.

Strengths:

• Deep MIDI integration and stage automation
• Auto-scrolling lyrics with foot pedal support
• Available on Android
• Affordable pricing

Limitations:

• No web access — mobile only
• No gig invite system
• No pay tracking
• Collaboration requires manual sync
• Steeper learning curve

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3. OnSong

Best for: Worship teams and musicians who want chord chart display with transposition

Platforms: iOS (iPad-optimized)

Price: $9.99/month

OnSong is popular with worship leaders and solo performers who want a powerful chord chart viewer. It supports ChordPro format, PDF import, on-the-fly transposition, and auto-scrolling. It's particularly strong on iPad where you can display full chord charts at a readable size.

Strengths:

• Powerful chord chart rendering with transposition
• ChordPro and PDF support
• Auto-scroll with configurable speed
• Large library of worship songs (SongSelect integration)

Limitations:

• iOS only (iPad-optimized, limited on iPhone)
• No gig scheduling or management
• No band-wide collaboration features
• No pay tracking
• Can feel complex for simple setlist needs

Thinking of switching? See our full OnSong alternative breakdown.

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4. Set List Maker

Best for: Simple, straightforward setlist management

Platforms: iOS + Android

Price: Free (with in-app purchases)

Set List Maker by Arlo Leach is a lightweight, no-frills setlist app. If all you need is a way to create setlists, add song details, and view them on stage, it gets the job done without a lot of complexity. It's free to start, which makes it a low-risk option.

Strengths:

• Simple and easy to use
• Free tier available
• Available on both iOS and Android
• Basic song database with setlist builder

Limitations:

• Very basic feature set
• No collaboration or sharing
• No gig management
• No chart storage
• Limited development activity

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5. Planning Center Services

Best for: Large church worship teams with full service planning needs

Platforms: Web + iOS + Android

Price: $14–200+/month (scales with team size)

Planning Center is the enterprise solution for church worship teams. It handles service planning, scheduling, team management, chord charts, and much more. If you're at a mid-to-large church with a dedicated worship ministry, it's the industry standard.

Strengths:

• Comprehensive service planning
• Full team scheduling with confirmations
• Chord chart and lyric display
• Integrates with the broader Planning Center ecosystem (People, Giving, Groups)
• Excellent for large teams

Limitations:

• Expensive — costs scale with congregation size
• Overkill for small worship teams or secular musicians
• Complex setup and administration
• Not designed for non-church gigging musicians

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A few newer setlist apps to watch

The space keeps growing, and a handful of newer, setlist-focused apps are worth a look if none of the five above fit:

• Gig Set Hero — a free, AI-assisted setlist builder aimed at working bands.
• SetMate — a distraction-free live view with large auto-scrolling lyrics and chords, one-tap transpose, and reference widgets like scales and chord shapes.
• Setlists — a song-catalog and lyric-prompting app for iPhone and iPad.

These are narrower than a full gig manager, but if all you need is on-stage song order, they're worth a try.

Quick Comparison Table

Feature	SetBook	BandHelper	OnSong	Set List Maker	Planning Center
Setlist builder	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Chart library	Yes	Lyrics/chords	Chords/PDF	Basic	Yes
Gig scheduling	Yes	Basic	No	No	Yes
Band collaboration	Yes	Sync-based	No	No	Yes
Gig invites	Yes	No	No	No	Yes (services)
Pay tracking	Yes	No	No	No	No
MIDI automation	No	Yes	Limited	No	No
Web access	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Free tier	2-week trial	No	No	Yes	No
Pricing	$9.99/mo web · $11.95/mo iOS	$4.99/mo	$9.99/mo	Free+	$14–200+/mo

Head-to-head comparisons

Want a deeper one-on-one breakdown? We compared SetBook directly against the most common alternatives:

• SetBook vs OnSong
• SetBook vs BandHelper
• SetBook vs Back On Stage
• SetBook vs Setlist Helper

Which App Should You Choose?

• You want everything in one place (gigs, setlists, charts, pay, collaboration) → SetBook
• You need MIDI automation and stage cues → BandHelper
• You want a powerful chord chart viewer with transposition → OnSong
• You just need a simple, free setlist app → Set List Maker
• You're at a large church with a full worship ministry → Planning Center

For most gigging musicians who play in bands, the choice comes down to what you need beyond the setlist. If you just need song order on a screen, any of these will work. If you want to manage the whole gig — from booking to getting paid — SetBook is the most complete option.

Other apps for gigging musicians (beyond the setlist)

A setlist app is the hub, but most gigging musicians round out their kit with a few specialized tools:

• Sheet music readers — ForScore and MobileSheets Pro keep your PDFs in one place and let you annotate and foot-pedal through them on a tablet, ideal if you read off notation rather than chord charts.
• Backing tracks and practice — Moises isolates or removes instruments and builds custom practice mixes, handy for duos and solo acts running tracks live.
• Recording and ideas — BandLab and GarageBand catch song ideas and rough demos between gigs.

None of these replace a setlist or gig manager — they sit alongside one. That's the role SetBook is built for: the hub where your gigs, setlists, charts, and pay live, with everything else plugging in around it.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best free setlist app? Set List Maker has a free tier and Setlist Helper is free with ads. Both are fine for a basic song list, but free apps generally stop there — no gig scheduling, pay tracking, or band coordination. SetBook is paid but includes a free 2-week trial so you can try the full thing first.

Can I use a setlist app on stage? Yes — most of these have a stage or performance view meant to be read off a phone, tablet, or music stand. SetBook's Stage View is full-screen and distraction-free; OnSong and BandHelper add auto-scroll and foot-pedal control.

Do I really need an app, or is a spreadsheet fine? A spreadsheet works until you're juggling charts, gig details, bandmate RSVPs, and tracking who got paid. At that point a purpose-built app saves real time — that's exactly the gap SetBook was built to close.

What's the best setlist app for a band (not a solo act)? Look for shared libraries and gig invites so the whole band sees the same thing. SetBook and Planning Center are built around collaboration; OnSong and Set List Maker lean single-user. If you need more than setlists, see the best band management apps and our playbook for managing a band.

Which apps work on both web and mobile? SetBook and Planning Center work on web and mobile. OnSong is Apple-only; BandHelper and Setlist Helper are mobile-only.

Where can I find collaborative platforms for musicians? If "collaborative" means running a band together — shared setlists, shared chord charts, gig scheduling, and RSVPs — SetBook and Planning Center are built exactly for that: everyone sees the same, always-current material. If you mean collaborating on recordings, look at tools like BandLab instead. For the band-coordination side, see our band management apps comparison.

Is a setlist app just for the song order? The simplest ones are — but the song order is the least of it. A good setlist app keeps each song's key, notes, and charts attached, shows them in a clean stage view, and shares the same list with everyone playing, so nobody's stuck on last week's version. SetBook adds the rest of the gig around it: the schedule, RSVPs, and pay. If you just want the list, our free setlist maker builds and prints one with no account.

Ready to try the most complete option? Start your free SetBook trial — free for two weeks, cancel anytime.