BandHelper alternative

    Switching from BandHelper?

    Stage Friend is a BandHelper alternative for bands that mostly need the songs: chord sheets that read well on stage, and live follow on every plan, set up from a phone. One ChordPro export brings your songs, chords, keys and lengths across in a few minutes.

    Try it with your export

    No account needed to preview. Nothing is uploaded.

    Updated

    The whole move, start to finish. We guide you in the app too.

    • Songs & lyrics
    • Chords & keys
    • Song lengths
    • The whole list at once

    At a glance

    BandHelper can run a working band's whole business, from the calendar to the money to the MIDI rig. Switch if what you actually use is the songs: a chord and lyric sheet that's easy to read on stage, setlists that add up their own length, and a band that follows along live to the song you're on, all set up from a phone. Your bandmates can join on the free plan and play from the band's songs, up to five of them with a Stage Pro owner.

    What comes across, and what stays behind

    BandHelper's ChordPro export puts every song you select into one zip file, and Stage Friend reads it right in your browser. In the preview, before anything is saved, you see every song it found, so you can open a few and check that the chords sit where they should. This is exactly what the import keeps:

    Comes across

    • Every song with its lyrics and chords, whether the chords sit in brackets or on their own lines above the words
    • The title, artist, key and length of each song
    • The whole song list in one go, up to 1000 songs per import

    Stays behind

    • Set lists: BandHelper's export doesn't include them
    • Tempo, notes, tags and custom fields
    • Documents, recordings and MIDI presets
    • Bold or colour in BandHelper's text fields

    Since the set lists stay behind, plan a few minutes to rebuild the ones you still play. Pick the songs, split them into sets if you play with a break, and each set shows its length as you go.

    Three steps, two minutes

    1. 1

      Open Songs on bandhelper.com

      In a web browser, not the app. Log in, then Repertoire and Songs.

    2. 2

      Press Export ChordPro

      Select your songs first. One zip file holds them all.

    3. 3

      Drop it in Stage Friend

      Your whole song list lands in seconds.

    Every step with pictures from the app: Move from BandHelper, step by step

    BandHelper and Stage Friend, feature by feature

    What each app does as of October 2026, from BandHelper's own pricing, features and platform pages and from Stage Friend's own plans. BandHelper does a lot more around the band, and the table says so.

    BandHelper and Stage Friend compared, as of October 2026
    FeatureBandHelperStage FriendEdge
    How you payBandHelper: One subscription for the whole band, priced by band sizeStage Friend: Each person has a plan. Members on the free plan can play alongEdge: BandHelper
    Where it runsBandHelper: iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and the webStage Friend: Android app, and in the browser on iPhone, iPad and computersEdge: BandHelper
    Before you payBandHelper: No free plan. A 30-day trial with no payment detailsStage Friend: Free plan with no time limit and no cardEdge: Stage Friend
    The band on the same songBandHelper: Live Sharing: follow the leader's screen or actions on up to 15 devices, on the same Wi-Fi (iOS to iOS needs no network)Stage Friend: Live follow on every plan, over the internetEdge: Even
    Audience votes and requestsBandHelper: No. A live set list can be embedded on your websiteStage Friend: On Stage Pro: guests vote and request songs from their phones, with no app or accountEdge: Stage Friend
    Song lengthsBandHelper: Yes, autoscroll runs on themStage Friend: Yes, and each set in a setlist adds up its own lengthEdge: Even
    Transpose, autoscroll, foot pedalBandHelper: YesStage Friend: Yes, on the free plan tooEdge: Even
    Gigs and scheduleBandHelper: A schedule with availability requests, on Plus and ProStage Friend: Gigs with date and venue, a public page per gig, on Stage ProEdge: Even
    Band income and expensesBandHelper: YesStage Friend: NoEdge: BandHelper
    Stage plotsBandHelper: YesStage Friend: NoEdge: BandHelper
    MIDI, show control and backing tracksBandHelper: Yes: MIDI in and out, OSC, backing and click tracksStage Friend: NoEdge: BandHelper

    When BandHelper is the better choice

    If BandHelper runs your band, stay. Its schedule, income and expenses, stage plots, MIDI and backing tracks make it a tool for running a busy working band, and Stage Friend doesn't try to do any of that. Moving would mean keeping BandHelper for half the job anyway.

    Price points the same way for a full band. One BandHelper subscription covers everyone, from $40 a year for two to five members, while in Stage Friend each member who edits songs needs their own Solo Pro or Stage Pro. BandHelper also has apps in the App Store and for the Mac, where Stage Friend runs in the browser on iPhone, iPad and computers. Weighing it against Setlist Helper instead? See BandHelper vs Setlist Helper.

    What you gain by switching

    Phone, tablet and computer

    The Android app, and the browser on iPhone, iPad and computers. Synced between them on Solo Pro.

    Live follow over the internet

    The band follows the leader to the same song from any device, on every plan.

    Chords you can touch

    Tap a chord to see it on a piano or change it in the chord editor, and move the whole song a half step at a time.

    Format single words

    Bold, italics, underline, text colour and highlight on any word of the lyrics.

    Offline on stage

    The Android app opens with no signal, the browser after one visit online.

    Your audience in on it

    On Stage Pro, guests vote for songs and send requests from their phones.

    Prices side by side

    Prices as of October 2026, from each app's own pricing. BandHelper comes in Basic, Plus and Pro, so each range runs from Basic to Pro. Stage Friend's prices are shown in your currency, and its pricing page lists every feature plan by plan.

    BandHelper

    • Solo: $16 to $32 a year
    • 2 to 5 members: $40 to $80 a year for the whole band
    • 6 to 20 members: $60 to $120 a year for the whole band
    • Monthly billing too, from $2.25 a month for Solo Basic
    • No free plan: a 30-day trial with no payment details

    Stage Friend

    • Jammer: free, with no time limit and no card
    • Solo Pro: €4.90 a month, or €42 a year
    • Stage Pro: €13 a month, or €108 a year, adding gigs, audience voting and song requests
    • Each person has their own plan. Members on the free plan can play from the band's songs and setlists

    Import questions, answered

    No. You can drop your export file and preview your whole song list without an account, right in the browser and nothing is uploaded. When you like what you see, you create a free account and keep everything.

    No. Importing your BandHelper songs is free, and you can try Stage Friend on the free plan for as long as you like.

    Yes, up to a point. Members on the free plan can play from the band's songs and setlists and follow each other live, but the band's owner needs a paid plan to invite them: Solo Pro has room for one member on the free plan and Stage Pro for five. Members on Solo Pro or Stage Pro never take a place, and they're the ones who can edit the band's songs.

    It depends on the band. Stage Friend has a free plan with no time limit, while BandHelper has only a 30-day trial. For a band where everyone edits, BandHelper costs less: one subscription from $40 a year covers two to five members, while in Stage Friend each member who edits needs Solo Pro at €42 a year. If one person keeps the songs and the rest play from them, one Stage Pro plan at €108 a year has room for five members on the free plan.

    Yes, in the browser on iPhone and iPad. Open go.stagefriend.app in Safari and add it to the home screen: it then opens full screen from its own icon and works offline. There is no App Store app yet. On Android there is an app on Google Play.

    Your songs with lyrics and chords, the key and the length of each song. Chords come along whether you wrote them in ChordPro brackets inside the lyrics or on their own lines above them, and the spreadsheet export also brings the chords kept in BandHelper's separate Chords field.

    The export lives on the bandhelper.com website, not in the BandHelper app, so open it in a web browser and log in. Under Repertoire and Songs you can select your songs and press Export ChordPro, which downloads one zip of ChordPro files, or press the Export button for a spreadsheet file with the whole list. Both buttons are available to account administrators, so if you do not see them, ask the bandmate who set up your account.

    No. PDF attachments, recordings and MIDI presets stay in BandHelper, and so do tempos and notes. The songs come across: lyrics, chords, keys and lengths. In Stage Friend you can open each song in Spotify or YouTube instead.

    Your songs are ready to move

    Drop your export and see your whole song list first. Create the account when you like what you see.

    Try it with your export