- Starting price
- Free for up to 5 members
- Free tier
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web · iPhone · iPad · Apple Silicon Mac · Android
- Developer
- AV Technology LLC
- Launched
- 2024
- Updated
- Aug 3, 2026
The verdict
OnStage combines more of a worship team’s actual week than a simple chord reader: song library, charts, files, setlists, scheduling, availability, chat, rehearsal audio, live sync, and offline performance. The product is active and well rated, but the business documentation has not kept pace. Its web and Apple prices conflict, the site contradicts itself on free storage, public privacy and terms links currently fail, Planning Center migration is handled by email, and no inspected page establishes CCLI licensing or reporting. Churches should pilot only non-sensitive data until those gaps are resolved in writing.
Try OnStage ↗Opens getonstage.app
OnStage is a cross-platform worship planning and performance app from AV Technology LLC. It aims to replace a stack of disconnected tools: a song library stores lyrics, chord charts, PDFs, audio, links, notes, annotations, tempo, structure, and vocal assignments; event tools build services and rehearsals; team tools collect availability and blockouts, assign roles, notify members, and host discussion; a digital music stand supports transposition, number systems, auto-scroll, real-time synchronization, and offline use during performance.
The current site also promotes AI features. A PDF chart can be imported and converted into an editable song, and semantic search is intended to find music by meaning rather than only exact title. Google Calendar synchronization is advertised. A Planning Center migration is available, but the public instruction tells a church to email the OnStage team so staff can perform the transfer; this is not a clearly documented self-service OAuth import and raises additional access, confidentiality, and deletion questions.
Public pricing begins free for five members and five events per month, then scales by roster: $10 for 20 members, $26 for 50, $50 for 85, $60 for 150, $100 for 400, and $135 for 1,000, with storage and event limits increasing. The page contradicts itself on whether free storage is 100 MB or 200 MB and ambiguously advertises 15% off. Apple’s purchases also differ, including $24.99 instead of $26 for 50 members, $39.99 instead of $50 for 85, and several yearly products mislabeled as monthly. Direct confirmation is necessary before budgeting.
This is a researched review based on OnStage’s public feature and pricing pages, Apple ID 6478959874, Google package com.avtech.onstage, version history, data-safety labels, and reviews. We did not create a team, import protected songs, connect a Planning Center account, test live synchronization, or pay for a plan. The privacy and terms links supplied by the site and stores pointed to inaccessible or deleted Notion pages during this review, so we could not verify retention, security, AI training, subprocessors, data ownership, export, deletion, or contractual terms.
✓ The good
- Broad worship workflow - songs, charts, files, setlists, schedules, availability, roles, chat, and performance live in one product
- Musician-friendly charts - transpose, chord and numeral formats, structure, annotations, audio, auto-scroll, and offline access support rehearsal and stage use
- Generous free pilot - five members and five monthly events let a small team test the core flow without entering payment details
- Cross-platform access - web, Apple, and Android apps support mixed-device teams instead of one hardware ecosystem
- Active development and adoption - frequent releases, 50K+ Google downloads, and about 4.8 from 82 US Apple ratings are encouraging
- Scales by team size - published tiers cover a tiny worship team through a large multi-ministry roster
- Calendar and migration options - Google Calendar sync and assisted Planning Center import can reduce duplicate setup
✗ Watch out
- Privacy and terms pages are unavailable - a church cannot evaluate its volunteer, chat, calendar, file, and AI-data obligations from current public contracts
- Pricing sources conflict - web amounts, Apple products, annual labels, discounts, and even free storage do not agree
- Copyright support is undocumented - no inspected public page establishes CCLI SongSelect licensing, usage reporting, or permission to import protected charts
- Assisted migration is sensitive - emailing a vendor to transfer Planning Center data needs scoped access, authorization, audit, and deletion terms
- AI imports create new questions - PDF processing and semantic search lack a public explanation of model vendors, retention, training, or rights
- No declared Apple accessibility features - teams cannot verify an inclusive music-stand and planning workflow from current documentation
Best for
- Small and midsize worship teams wanting charts, planning, and communication together
- Mixed Apple and Android teams that need offline stage access
- Leaders prepared to run a limited pilot before migrating a full church database
- Bands managing their own licensed charts, audio, annotations, and setlists
Avoid if
- Your church requires a current privacy policy, terms, security packet, or data-processing agreement before any vendor use
- Automated CCLI SongSelect licensing and usage reporting are mandatory and cannot be independently confirmed
- You need stable, unambiguous purchase pricing for budgeting or procurement
- The team depends on documented accessibility, enterprise SSO, granular audits, or a proven self-service Planning Center integration
What OnStage is
OnStage is a cloud workspace and digital music stand built around a worship team. Leaders organize songs and events, assign people, collect responses, communicate, and distribute charts or rehearsal media. Musicians open the same event, annotate or transpose their material, rehearse with audio, and use the app offline on stage.
It is not itself a license to copy or perform songs, an established church-management system, a presentation switcher, a streaming-license provider, or a guarantee that every imported PDF can lawfully become editable lyrics and chords. It also should not receive a full volunteer database until the church has current contractual and security terms.
Why combining planning and the music stand can reduce Sunday friction
When scheduling lives in one app, charts in another, audio in a group message, and changes in email, musicians rehearse from stale information. OnStage attaches people, files, keys, structure, roles, discussion, and updates to the event. A leader can change a song and the team can receive the same current plan; live sync can keep pages aligned during performance.
Consolidation also increases the consequence of an outage, mistaken permission, or vendor failure. Keep a printable or exported service plan, download charts before rehearsal, define who may edit the master song, and avoid putting counseling, safeguarding, or unrelated personnel details in event chat. A Sunday-resilient system has a paper or local fallback even when the cloud product is excellent.
The song library goes beyond storing a PDF
A song record can hold lyrics and chords, imported PDFs, audio, links, notes, highlights, annotations, structure, tempo, and vocal assignments. Musicians can transpose, switch between conventional chords and number-based notation, auto-scroll, and prepare offline. That makes one arrangement reusable across rehearsals and services rather than starting from an attachment each week.
Master-data discipline matters. Decide who approves the canonical lyric, key, arrangement, tempo, metadata, and attached file. Preserve the original licensed chart, identify local edits, and prevent each person from creating a near-duplicate. Confirm how annotations behave across users and devices so a personal note does not accidentally overwrite the team’s source.
Scheduling, availability, roles, and discussion connect the team
Leaders create services and rehearsals, assign roles, request availability, record blockouts, send reminders or push notifications, and host event discussion. Google Calendar synchronization can place commitments beside a volunteer’s other obligations. Larger pricing tiers expand member, event, and storage limits rather than splitting every planning feature into separate products.
Volunteer data can reveal attendance patterns, phone ownership, religious participation, schedules, relationships, and absences. Chat may add prayer or pastoral details. Use role-based access, limit administrators, remove departed volunteers promptly, state a communication policy, and never require a sensitive explanation for declining. Before calendar sync, explain which events and identifiers cross into personal accounts.
AI chart import and search save time while creating rights and data questions
OnStage advertises AI conversion of PDF charts into editable songs and semantic search that can find relevant music beyond exact keywords. Conversion could eliminate manual chord-and-lyric retyping, while better search helps a leader rediscover a song by theme. These are meaningful time savers for a mature library.
A church must have the right to upload, process, reproduce, adapt, store, and distribute the source material. A CCLI license has defined permissions and reporting duties; it is not an unlimited AI-processing permission. Ask where the PDF goes, which model sees it, whether content trains a model, when source and output are deleted, how errors are reviewed, and how SongSelect or CCLI reporting works before importing protected charts at scale.
Pricing
Free
$0
Up to five members and five events per month. The site inconsistently lists 100 MB and 200 MB of storage, so verify the live account allowance.
20 members
$10/month
The web grid includes 2 GB of storage and 25 events monthly. Apple lists $9.99 monthly and $99.99 yearly for this tier.
50-150 members
$26-$60/month
Web plans list 50 members at $26 with 4 GB and 100 events, 85 at $50 with 8 GB and 150 events, and 150 at $60 with 11 GB and 200 events.
400 members
$100/month
The public grid advertises 32 GB and 400 events. Apple includes $99.99 and a suspicious “monthly” $999.99 item that likely reflects yearly billing.
1,000 members
$135/month
The largest posted web tier includes 64 GB and unlimited events. Apple shows a $129.99 monthly purchase, another unresolved channel difference.
The free tier is appropriate for a real small-team pilot. Add no more than five people, create several test events, import only material the team can legally use, turn off unnecessary notifications, download an offline set, and run one rehearsal plus one low-risk service. Five events per month may cover a weekly church only narrowly once rehearsals count.
The web tiers scale primarily through members, storage, and events. A 20-person plan at $10 is straightforward; later jumps need a roster audit because inactive volunteers can force a higher tier. Ask whether archived members count, guests require seats, campuses share one quota, and storage includes transcoded audio or file versions.
Annual pricing is not reliably documented on the public grid. A banner says to enjoy 15% off all plans but does not clearly state the billing condition. Apple shows yearly prices that approximate two months free for some tiers, along with several mislabeled products. Request a written quote with term, tax, renewal, refund, upgrade proration, downgrade, cancellation, and data-export timing.
Price is not the only switching cost. Cleaning duplicate songs, verifying licenses, inviting volunteers, training musicians, rebuilding templates, and retaining a fallback can exceed the first year’s subscription. An assisted Planning Center migration may save labor, but it should be governed by a scoped authorization and deletion confirmation rather than informal credential sharing.
Where OnStage falls behind
The public privacy policy and terms links were unavailable during this review. That is a procurement blocker for more than a trivial test because OnStage can hold names, email addresses, device identifiers, financial data, calendars, availability, roles, chat, church affiliation, song files, copyrighted lyrics, audio, and AI-processed PDFs. Apple says contact information may track users, while Google says the app may share location, personal information, and other data. A current policy must explain each discrepancy.
OnStage should publish security and governance documentation covering encryption, backups, tenant isolation, administrator logs, support access, breach response, subprocessors, data locations, retention, export, deletion, church ownership, member requests, children, business continuity, uptime, incident history, and AI-model use. Larger churches should be able to sign a data-processing agreement and obtain evidence appropriate to risk.
Pricing needs one canonical source. The website and Apple purchase list differ by dollars and labels, several annual-looking products say monthly, the 15% claim is ambiguous, and the free page contradicts itself on storage. These are preventable trust failures in a product used for church budgeting.
Copyright support is not sufficiently documented. The inspected public site does not establish a SongSelect integration, CCLI license verification, setlist reporting, lyric-display reporting, streaming rights, or the permissions attached to AI import. OnStage should state what it automates, what the church must report, and which file uses remain prohibited.
Accessibility needs a published test matrix. Apple says no supported features have been declared. A worship platform should cover VoiceOver and TalkBack, large type, contrast, color independence, keyboard and switch access, foot pedals, braille, auto-scroll controls, motion reduction, chart zoom, alternate formats, captions for rehearsal media, and inclusive workflows for volunteers who cannot use a phone on stage.
OnStage vs. Planning Center vs. WorshipTools vs. OnSong
OnStage offers an appealing middle ground: more planning and team communication than a personal chart reader, with a musician-first live mode and pricing that can undercut larger church suites. Planning Center Services has the deepest established scheduling ecosystem and integrations. WorshipTools combines planning, charts, presentation, and church-oriented products with a strong free entry point. OnSong is a mature Apple-focused chart and performance tool rather than a full team-planning system.
Choose OnStage when a mixed-device worship team wants one modern product and can tolerate a newer vendor. Choose Planning Center for proven multi-ministry operations, WorshipTools for an integrated free worship suite, and OnSong when individual chart control, MIDI, pedals, and Apple performance depth matter most.
Before switching, compare data export, licenses, role permissions, offline behavior, support response, accessibility, uptime, and total roster—not only feature screenshots. OnStage’s missing legal pages currently give its established rivals an important governance advantage.
The bottom line
OnStage is one of the more ambitious worship apps in this catalog. Its product surface reflects how bands actually work: prepare a shared song, assign people, gather availability, attach rehearsal audio, communicate changes, transpose charts, and perform offline from the same event. Strong ratings, 50K+ Google downloads, and rapid releases suggest that the promise is not merely a landing page. The problem is institutional readiness. A church cannot responsibly move volunteer schedules, chats, calendars, protected charts, and AI imports into a service whose privacy and terms pages are unavailable and whose prices contradict one another. Use the free plan for a five-person, non-sensitive pilot; keep licensed originals and an offline Sunday backup; obtain current legal, security, pricing, migration, and CCLI answers in writing; then decide. With those foundations, OnStage could be a compelling all-in-one. Without them, convenience concentrates too much unresolved risk.
Alternatives to OnStage
Planning Center Music StandA focused digital chart reader tied directly to Planning Center Services plans, people, files, and established scheduling.
WorshipToolsA cross-platform worship suite with planning, charts, presentation, songs, and a substantial free offering.
OnSongA mature Apple-centric chord-chart editor and live performance app with pedals, MIDI, projection, and deep musician controls.
ProPresenterProfessional church presentation and production software for lyrics, media, multiscreen output, stage displays, and broadcast.Frequently asked questions
Is OnStage free?
Yes. The public free plan supports up to five members and five events per month. The site conflicts on whether storage is 100 MB or 200 MB, so verify the allowance in the live account.
How much do OnStage paid plans cost?
The current web grid lists $10 for 20 members, $26 for 50, $50 for 85, $60 for 150, $100 for 400, and $135 for 1,000 per month. Apple prices differ, so obtain the final renewal terms before buying.
Does OnStage work offline?
Offline performance is a promoted feature. Download the full service before rehearsal and test charts, audio, annotations, transposition, page changes, and app restart in airplane mode.
Does OnStage integrate with Planning Center?
OnStage advertises migration from Planning Center, but the inspected public process asks customers to email the team for assistance rather than documenting a complete self-service integration. Require scoped access and deletion terms.
Does OnStage include a CCLI or SongSelect license?
No inspected public page established that it includes a license, integrates with SongSelect, or completes CCLI reporting. A church must retain its own lawful permissions and ask OnStage exactly what is automated.
What does OnStage do with imported PDFs and AI data?
The inaccessible privacy and terms pages prevented verification of model providers, storage, training, retention, and deletion. Do not upload sensitive or protected files until the vendor answers those questions in writing.
Is OnStage suitable for a large church?
Its posted 1,000-member and unlimited-event tier suggests capacity, but a large organization should first require current contracts, security evidence, administrator audits, SSO or identity controls, data processing terms, export, accessibility, uptime, and support commitments.
Sources & further reading
More Worship Apps
Nepali Christian Lyrics & ChordsA rare, actively maintained songbook built around the real needs of Nepali-speaking worship teams—but privacy and song-rights documentation lag far behind the app.
Unceasing WorshipIHOPKC’s niche streaming service preserves spontaneous prayer-room worship, intercession, live archives, and 76 legacy albums—valuable for listeners who want that exact charismatic worship tradition, but not a general Christian music replacement.
MultiTracks.comThe officially licensed stem library and Playback session player behind most touring worship rigs and large-church Sunday mornings - and the closest thing the industry has to a default.WorshipTools ChartsA free, full-featured chord chart manager in a category dominated by paid apps - and the rare worship tool that doesn’t nickel-and-dime you on the basics.
Praise BreakPraise Break puts a compact gospel praise-band soundboard and organ-style preaching chords on a phone—joyfully specific and inexpensive, but far less documented or flexible than a real accompaniment platform.
K-LOVEThe K-LOVE app turns the national Christian radio network into a free bundle of live music streams, artist content, favorites, daily Scripture, and community prayer—but it remains radio, not an on-demand music service.