OnSong vs SongbookPro: which chord chart app should you use in 2026?

OnSong and SongbookPro are the two chord chart apps that worship teams, cover bands and singer-songwriters compare most often. Both store ChordPro charts, lyric sheets and PDFs, transpose chords with one tap, and run setlists with pedals, a metronome and MIDI. They differ on the two things that decide most purchases: which devices they run on, and how you pay.

SongbookPro scores 7.2 in our overall ranking and OnSong 6.8. SongbookPro’s lead comes from platforms (7.5 vs 5) and value (9 vs 6.5). OnSong scores higher on reading (7.5 vs 6.5) and sharing (7 vs 6.5), and the two tie on annotation, library and smart notation, which for these apps means chord-chart tools. Our methodology explains the weights.

OnSong or SongbookPro: which should you pick?

Pick SongbookPro if you, or anyone in your band, reads from Android or Windows, or if you would rather pay once than subscribe. Pick OnSong if everyone is on Apple devices and you want the app to run the show, with leader-driven page turns, backing tracks, MIDI and lyrics projection.

For a solo guitarist or singer, SongbookPro covers most of what OnSong Essentials does for a one-time $5.99 to $6.99 instead of $29.99 a year. OnSong pulls ahead for teams that play to tracks and want one person to control everyone’s screens, and for churches that plan in Planning Center or pull charts from SongSelect.

Which devices do they run on?

SongbookPro runs on almost anything; OnSong runs only on Apple devices. SongbookPro leads on platforms, 7.5 to 5.

SongbookPro has native apps for Android 7.0 and later, iPhone and iPad, Windows 10 and 11, and Amazon Fire tablets. There is no native Mac app: since version 25.0, the iPad app runs on Apple silicon Macs. Sync is off in the free version. With Solo, your library syncs through your own OneDrive, Dropbox or WebDAV account (not iCloud), and Groups libraries sync through SongbookPro’s servers. Since version 25.1, handwritten notes also sync between your own devices.

OnSong runs on iPhone, iPad and a native Mac app for Intel and Apple silicon, all under one subscription. There is no Windows app, and OnSong’s website lists Android 9 and later as “coming soon” with no release date; no OnSong app was on Google Play as of October 6, 2026. Essentials covers 2 devices and Premium 4. Each device keeps its own library: Essentials and Premium include automatic cloud backup to your OnSong account, but syncing a whole library between devices needs Premium and a Dropbox or Google Drive account.

If your bassist reads from an Android tablet or your keyboard player from a Windows laptop, that settles it: OnSong can’t include them. Our Android and Windows rankings cover other options.

How do the pricing models compare?

SongbookPro is a one-time purchase per platform; OnSong is a subscription. SongbookPro scores 9 on value and OnSong 6.5.

SongbookPro’s free version holds 12 songs, keeps sync off and has no stated time limit. SongbookPro Solo adds unlimited songs and sync for a one-time $5.99 on iPhone and iPad, $6.99 on Android and $5.99 on Windows in the US stores, with future updates included. Each platform is a separate purchase, and licenses don’t transfer between the Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon stores. The Microsoft Store copy installs on up to ten Windows devices on one account.

OnSong’s free tier is a viewer for up to 30 songs, without editing, sets, transposition or pedals. As of October 2026, Essentials costs $3.99/month or $29.99/year and adds unlimited songs, sets, editing, transposition, capo, pedals and autoscroll. Premium costs $5.99/month or $59.99/year and adds annotations, backing tracks, MIDI, band streaming and library sync. Premium has a 30-day free trial on annual billing and a 7-day trial on monthly billing. OnSong Charts, a catalog of more than 1,000 licensed chord charts, is a separate $10/month subscription available only in the US and its territories.

At today’s prices, a player with an iPad and an Android phone pays $12.98 once for SongbookPro on both. OnSong can’t run on the phone, and three years of Essentials on the iPad come to $89.97, or $179.97 for Premium. Owners of the old one-time OnSong 2020 app have to subscribe to get new features.

Which handles ChordPro charts better?

Neither, clearly: they tie on smart notation (7 each), which here means chord-chart tools, and on library (8 each). Both read and edit ChordPro with one-tap transposition and capo; they differ in which formats and services they connect to.

OnSong reads and writes ChordPro and its own OnSong format, and converts OpenSong, SongSelect USR and SongShowPlus files. It shows chords as letters, Nashville numbers, roman numerals or solfège, and since version 2026.0 its ChordFlow feature transposes chords inside text-based PDFs. Imports from Planning Center, CCLI SongSelect, PraiseCharts and WorshipReady are built in, though you need your own account or subscription with each service. Editing and transposition need Essentials.

SongbookPro edits ChordPro and chord-over-lyrics text natively, supports ChordPro Grid syntax and Nashville, Latin and German chord names, and draws chord diagrams for guitar, ukulele, banjo and mandolin, with a left-handed option. It imports ChordPro, OnSong, text, Word, PDF and zip files, plus images and camera scans, and searches Ultimate Guitar (free content only), WorshipTogether and e-chords from inside the app. It treats PDFs as images: you can crop, invert and draw on them, but not transpose them. No SongSelect integration is documented.

Because SongbookPro imports OnSong files, moving a library from OnSong to SongbookPro is the easy direction. Going the other way, OnSong reads ChordPro, but SongbookPro’s documented sharing format is its own .sbp file, so test a few songs before you plan a move.

Which is better on stage?

OnSong, 7.5 to 6.5 on reading. Both handle Bluetooth pedals and autoscroll; OnSong adds half-page scrolling, voice control and leader-driven page turns.

SongbookPro works with any Bluetooth pedal that sends keyboard keys, including AirTurn, PageFlip, Donner, iRig BlueTurn and STOMP, with configurable actions. It offers auto-scroll with a start delay, a teleprompter mode, and setlists with notes, timers, stopwatches and total set duration. Backing tracks can be local audio files, Spotify (with a Spotify Premium account) or ambient pads that follow the song’s key (only pads on Windows), and it sends Bluetooth MIDI messages when a song opens. There are no half-page turns, no hands-free turns and no leader-controlled page turns: in November 2024 the developer said a leader mode was being considered but was not in development.

OnSong supports AirTurn, PageFlip, Coda, IK BlueTurn and other Bluetooth or USB pedals with assignable actions from Essentials up; multi-action pedals and MIDI pedals need Premium. A Half Page Scrolling setting and an adjustable scroll amount (25 to 100% of the screen) control how far each turn moves. Premium adds English-only voice control, backing tracks and multitracks with a mixer, MIDI triggers for more than 200 actions, lyrics projection, stage monitors and lighting control. Neither app offers face-gesture turns. Our page turner pedal guide covers the hardware.

How do annotation and practice tools compare?

They tie on annotation at 6.5, but SongbookPro includes it in the one-time purchase, while OnSong reserves it for Premium.

SongbookPro offers freehand drawing with a stylus, Apple Pencil or finger in 20 colors, a highlighter, an eraser and undo, plus typed notes shown inline or as an overlay. OnSong’s Premium annotations go further, with Apple Pencil layers, sticky notes, text and image clips, and each song version can carry its own markings.

For practice, SongbookPro has a visual metronome with optional audio ticks and tap tempo, and a chromatic tuner since version 25.1. OnSong added a tuner, a key finder and tempo detection in version 2026.0, and its metronome supports count-in and Ableton Link. Neither app has a built-in practice recorder, opens MusicXML or plays back notation.

Which is better for bands and worship teams?

OnSong for all-Apple teams that want live control; SongbookPro for teams on mixed devices or a tight budget. OnSong scores 7 on sharing and SongbookPro 6.5.

OnSong group plans give every member Premium, with an admin join code and shared OnSong Drive storage from 25 GB to 200 GB depending on team size. According to OnSong’s pricing page, they cost $5 per user per month for 2 to 5 users, falling to $2 at 26 or more, or $48 down to $18 per user per year; a six-person team at the listed $36 rate pays about $216 a year. Premium members can beam songs and sets to teammates and stream the leader’s song, set and scroll position over OnSong Connect on local Wi-Fi or OnCue, which links up to 6 devices directly. Worship teams also get Planning Center plan import and CCLI song reporting.

SongbookPro Groups is a shared band library with a web dashboard and Read-only, Editor and Admin roles. It costs $30/year for 6 users, $50 for 12 and $80 for 20, with quarterly billing available and a 21-day free trial. Members use the full app without buying Solo, on 2 devices each, on any platform. Since February 2026, its library analytics export song and play-count reports to Excel for copyright reporting. Groups syncs the library, not the live page position, and it deliberately doesn’t sync handwritten notes, so a leader can’t push markings to everyone’s charts.

For a team that mixes the two apps, files are the only bridge: OnSong’s streaming and beaming work between OnSong devices, and SongbookPro Groups between SongbookPro users. Our ranking of the best apps for worship teams adds other options, including Planning Center Music Stand for churches that already plan services in Planning Center.

Which should you choose?

Start with the devices your band uses, then weigh how much of the show you want the app to run:

• Solo guitarist, singer-songwriter or cover player on a budget: SongbookPro.
• Band or worship team with any Android or Windows device: SongbookPro, with Groups for a shared library.
• All-Apple worship team that plans in Planning Center and pulls charts from SongSelect: OnSong.
• Band that plays to backing tracks or multitracks with MIDI and lighting cues: OnSong Premium.
• Leader who wants to control what everyone sees: OnSong Premium, since SongbookPro has no leader page turns.
• You prepare charts at a desk on a Mac: OnSong, which has a native Mac app; SongbookPro runs there only as the iPad app on Apple silicon.
• You read classical or multi-page notation: neither is built for it. See forScore vs MobileSheets.

Both have free versions (12 songs for SongbookPro, a 30-song viewer for OnSong), so you can load a few of your own charts before paying. For more, read our OnSong review and SongbookPro review, or put other apps side by side in the comparison tool.