The best band management software, compared
Ten platforms that bands actually use, scored on the same six criteria: planning, stage, gig admin, money, promotion and price. gigBuddy is one of them, and it does not win all six.
Researched on 14 September 2026 from each vendor's own pages. Sources are listed at the bottom.
The ten platforms at a glance
What each one is for, what it costs to start, and who pays.
| Platform | Best for | Free plan | From | You pay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gigBuddyNL | Bands that also have to do the books | €8,99 | Per band | 27 | |
| BandAdminBE | Bands that live on advancing and contracts | €9 | Per band | 22 | |
| BandHelperUS | Bands whose hardest problem is the show itself | $4 | Per band, by size | 20 | |
| Back On StageUS | Bandleaders running a function band as a business | $19 | Per admin seat | 19 | |
| Stage PortalUK | Bands that want gig admin and nothing else | £5 | Per band | 19 | |
| BandAppNL | Dutch bands built around the agenda | €2,50 | Per band, by size | 18 | |
| Band PencilUK | Agencies and multi-act entertainment businesses | $29 | Per admin seat | 17 | |
| Bandop | New bands that want to spend nothing | Free | Per band | 17 | |
| GigPlannerNL | Groups juggling options, bookings and freelancers | €5 | Per group | 15 | |
| MuzodoUK | Orchestras, choirs and large ensembles | $7 | Per group | 15 |
Scorecard
Six criteria, five points each, thirty in total. The scores are judgements; the features behind them are documented by the vendors and linked at the bottom of this page.
| Platform | Planning and availability | Repertoire and stage | Gig admin | Money | Promotion | Price and access | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gigBuddy | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 27 |
| BandAdmin | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 22 |
| BandHelper | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Back On Stage | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 19 |
| Stage Portal | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 19 |
| BandApp | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| Band Pencil | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
| Bandop | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 17 |
| GigPlanner | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| Muzodo | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
- Planning and availability Shared calendar, who can play which date, rehearsals and tasks.
- Repertoire and stage Songs, charts, setlists and what you actually read during the show.
- Gig admin Advancing, riders, timetables, venues, contracts and the paperwork around a booking.
- Money Invoicing, bookkeeping, VAT, splitting the fee and selling merch.
- Promotion Public pages, mailings, share images and release links.
- Price and access What it costs, whether there is a free plan, and whether everyone in the band has to pay.
Feature by feature
The capability grid. A dash means the feature was not found in that vendor's public documentation on the research date, not that it cannot exist.
| Feature | gigBuddy | BandAdmin | BandHelper | Back On Stage | Stage Portal | BandApp | Band Pencil | Bandop | GigPlanner | Muzodo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access and pricing | ||||||||||
| Free plan | ||||||||||
| Band members included at no extra cost | ||||||||||
| Several bands or projects in one account | ||||||||||
| Dutch interface | ||||||||||
| Native iOS and Android app | ||||||||||
| Planning | ||||||||||
| Shared calendar | ||||||||||
| Member availability | ||||||||||
| Rehearsal planning | ||||||||||
| Tasks per gig | ||||||||||
| Repertoire and stage | ||||||||||
| Setlists | ||||||||||
| Live mode on stage (lyrics, charts) | ||||||||||
| Backing tracks, click, MIDI | ||||||||||
| Sheet music and audio per song | ||||||||||
| Gig admin | ||||||||||
| Advancing: riders, timetables, tech and hospitality | ||||||||||
| Venues and contacts | ||||||||||
| Contracts and e-signature | ||||||||||
| Enquiries and client-facing booking | ||||||||||
| Money | ||||||||||
| Invoicing | ||||||||||
| EU e-invoicing (Peppol, UBL) | ||||||||||
| Bookkeeping: journal, ledger, bank import | ||||||||||
| Fee splits and reimbursements | ||||||||||
| Merchandise and stock | ||||||||||
| Setlist reporting to a collecting society (Buma/Stemra, NL) | ||||||||||
| Promotion | ||||||||||
| Public band page and smart links | ||||||||||
| Mailings and newsletters | ||||||||||
| Share images and press kit | ||||||||||
Platform by platform
What each tool is genuinely good at, and where it runs out.
gigBuddy
NLOur own product27 out of 30Our own platform, so weigh this entry accordingly. gigBuddy covers the planning and stage side that most tools here cover, then keeps going into real accounting: journal, ledger, bank statement import and Peppol e-invoicing, plus merch, mailings and a public band page. One subscription per band, members free, and a free tier with no time limit.
- Strong at
- Double-entry bookkeeping and EU e-invoicing, merch and stock, promotion tools, setlist reporting to Buma/Stemra, Dutch and English, a real free plan.
- Runs out at
- The newest product here, with no independent review base yet. No backing tracks or MIDI, no app store build, and storage is counted per band, 250 MB each on Band Gold, where BandHelper gives 50 GB.
- Price
- Free plan. Band Silver €8,99 and Band Gold €15,99 per band per month, excl. VAT; Artist module from €5,99. Two months free on yearly billing.
BandAdmin
BE22 out of 30A Belgian, Dutch-language platform with much the same shape as gigBuddy: a free tier, one subscription per band, two months free on yearly. Its gig admin is the strongest in this comparison, advancing, technical rider, hospitality, guest list, travel party, inventory and press kit are all first-class, and the Pro tier adds a digital cash book, merch and an AI assistant for the admin.
- Strong at
- Production paperwork, contracts, roles and permissions, Dutch language, a clean free tier.
- Runs out at
- No invoicing and no full bookkeeping, and nothing documented about running several bands from one account.
- Price
- Free tier. Band+ €9 and Pro €19 per band per month, two months free on yearly. 14-day trial.
BandHelper
US20 out of 30The veteran of this list, and it shows. BandHelper is built around the repertoire and the stage: transposition for a different singer or capo, reference recordings with loop and speed control, backing and click tracks, MIDI and DMX, Bluetooth footswitches, native apps on iOS, Android and Mac. Schedule, contacts, checklists, stage plots and basic finance sit around that core.
- Strong at
- Performance features nothing else here matches, 50 GB of storage on Pro, and the lowest cost per member in the comparison.
- Runs out at
- Finance stops at income, expenses and simple invoices. No promotion, no merch, English only, and no free plan.
- Price
- No free plan. Solo from $2.25 per month; a 2–5 piece band pays $4 Basic to $8 Pro, a 6–20 piece band $6 to $12. 30-day trial.
Back On Stage
US19 out of 30A US platform aimed at bandleaders who book weddings and corporate work. Leads arrive through a form, become bookings with contracts and e-signatures, then invoices, online payments and pay-outs to the players. Musicians and crew join free; you pay per admin seat.
- Strong at
- The whole enquiry-to-payment pipeline, contracts with e-signature, paying the band, native apps.
- Runs out at
- Light on repertoire and stage tools, priced for a business rather than a hobby band, and the money side is US-shaped: no EU e-invoicing and no ledger.
- Price
- No free plan. Starter $29 per month ($19 billed yearly), Pro $49 ($40), Agency $79 ($63). Extra admin seats $8–10. 30-day trial.
Stage Portal
UK19 out of 30A focused UK tool: a booking calendar for gigs, rehearsals, load-ins and soundchecks, a rider builder, setlists with version control, gig-specific messaging and an expense tracker. One subscription covers the whole band, and it is among the cheapest here.
- Strong at
- Rider builder, per-gig communication, a very low price, and setup measured in minutes.
- Runs out at
- No invoicing or bookkeeping, no promotion, no live performance mode, and no free plan.
- Price
- No free plan. £5 per month billed yearly, £10 monthly, per band. Venue plans from £50. 14-day trial.
BandApp
NL18 out of 30A Dutch platform for bands in the Netherlands and Belgium, strongest on the calendar: availability across several bands at once, automatic recurring activities, ICS export, and an API that pushes the gig list straight onto the band's own website. Songs, setlists and file storage are there; the business side is not.
- Strong at
- Availability across bands, website integration, generous storage, and the cheapest yearly price for a small band.
- Runs out at
- Little gig admin, no finance at all, and no native app.
- Price
- No free plan. €29,95 to €174,95 per band per year, by member count (10 members to unlimited). One month trial.
Band Pencil
UK17 out of 30Closer to a booking business back office than a band app: enquiries, clients, contracts, invoices and online payments, with a client portal on one side and a member portal for performers on the other. The line-up builder and the availability calendar sit in between, which is what makes it work for an agency booking several acts.
- Strong at
- Client-facing booking flow, contracts and payments, unlimited performers at no cost, an API on the top tier.
- Runs out at
- Expensive for a single band, and the stage side is a setlist builder rather than a performance tool.
- Price
- No free plan. Standard $29, Premium $49 and Ultimate $99 per month, billed yearly. 14-day trial.
Bandop
17 out of 30A young, mobile-first app: bookings, rehearsals, songs with BPM and sheet music, setlists, riders and a quick availability check. Everything, including the features marked premium, is free while the app is in early access.
- Strong at
- Free today, native on iOS and Android, and it covers the basics without ceremony.
- Runs out at
- The youngest product here, a paid plan is announced for later, and there is no money or promotion side at all.
- Price
- Free while in early access, including premium features; a paid tier is planned.
GigPlanner
NL15 out of 30A Dutch booking calendar for bands, DJs, orchestras and the agents around them, and it does one thing seriously well: options and bookings with availability queries, automatic block dates for players who work in several groups, per-role field visibility and tasks. Agency tiers manage up to thirty groups.
- Strong at
- Options and availability handling, controlling who sees which field, agency tiers, members free.
- Runs out at
- No setlists, no repertoire and no finance: it is a diary with a CRM, not a band app.
- Price
- No free plan. Lite €5 per month (five future activities), Full €10 per month, per group. Agency from €40 per month.
Muzodo
UK15 out of 30Not a band app, and it does not pretend to be: a scheduling system for large musical groups. Members answer yes, no or maybe by e-mail, sections can be addressed separately, attendance is tracked and reminders go out on their own. For a forty-piece concert band that is often the entire problem.
- Strong at
- Availability at scale, section-level messaging, attendance history, free for up to 15 members.
- Runs out at
- No setlists, no gig admin, no finance. It answers one question, and only that one.
- Price
- Free up to 15 members. Concert $7 and Encore $11 per month per group, around 20% off on yearly billing.
Where gigBuddy is not the right choice
Six honest cases in which one of the other tools on this page is the better buy.
- You drive your rig from the stagegigBuddy has a full-screen live mode with a Bluetooth page turner, but it does not play backing tracks or send MIDI and DMX. BandHelper does, and nothing else here comes close to it.
- You want an app store buildgigBuddy is an installable web app. It works offline-ish and sits on your home screen, but it is not a native binary. BandHelper, Back On Stage, Bandop and Muzodo ship real iOS and Android apps.
- You store a lot of audiogigBuddy counts storage per band: 10 MB on Bronze, 50 MB on Silver, 250 MB each for the ten bands Gold carries. That is generous if you run several projects and thin if one of them records everything, and it is nowhere near BandHelper's 50 GB on Pro or BandApp's 25 GB on its top tier. If the band keeps full rehearsal recordings in the app, gigBuddy is the wrong shelf.
- You need the front of the booking funnelA gig starts life as an option, and its contract and invoice come out of its own terms. What is missing is everything before that, enquiry form, quote, deposit, and the contract is signed on paper. For client work, Back On Stage and Band Pencil cover the whole funnel.
- You only need a diaryIf the band runs fine and the only pain is finding out who can play on the 14th, Muzodo and GigPlanner solve that one question for less money and less setup.
- You want a long track recordgigBuddy is new and has no independent review base yet. BandHelper has been doing this for over a decade and Muzodo for years. That is a legitimate reason to pick one of them instead.
Adjacent tools, deliberately left out
Two categories a search for band management software turns up that are not really competing with the ten above.
- Touring and production softwareMaster Tour and Prism.fm run tour logistics for crews and promoters: day sheets, flights, hotels, settlement at the venue level. Master Tour is free for crew to view and around $65 per month per planner. It is a different job from running a band, and a different budget.
- Booking agency CRMGigwell and Stagent sell to agencies booking artists: pipelines, offers, contracts, commission and venue databases, priced in the hundreds per month. If you are a band rather than an agency, these are not your tools.
- Performance-only appsOnSong, Songbook Pro and Setlist Helper display charts and lyrics on stage and do nothing else. They pair happily with any of the platforms above, and many bands run exactly that combination.
How this was scored
The method, the caveat and the sources.
Every platform scores one to five on each of the six criteria, for a total out of thirty. The scores are our judgement, but each rests on a feature the vendor documents publicly, and every source is linked below. Prices are the vendor's own headline figures in the vendor's own currency, read on 14 September 2026: we did not convert them, because an exchange rate baked into a web page ages badly. A dash in the grid means the feature was not found in that vendor's public documentation on that date, not that it cannot exist.
gigBuddy is our product, and a comparison written by one of the contestants deserves suspicion. So: it was scored on the same six criteria as everything else, it loses three of them, and the section above lists six cases where another tool here is the better buy. Check the sources and decide for yourself. If we have something wrong about your platform, write to support@gig-buddy.nl and we will correct it.
Sources, each read on 14 September 2026:
Questions about comparing band software
What is band management software?
Software that holds the shared work of a band in one place: the calendar and who can play which date, rehearsals, the repertoire and setlists, gig details, venues and contacts, and, depending on the tool, the money around a gig. It replaces the group chat, the shared spreadsheet and the folder full of PDFs.
What is the cheapest band management software?
Bandop is free while it is in early access, and Muzodo, BandAdmin and gigBuddy each have a permanently free tier. Among paid plans, Stage Portal at £5 per band per month billed yearly and BandHelper at $4 per month for a five-piece are the cheapest; BandApp's €29,95 per year works out lower still for a band of up to ten people.
Which band app does bookkeeping?
Of the ten compared here, only gigBuddy has a journal, a ledger, bank statement import (CAMT.053 and MT940) and EN 16931 e-invoicing over Peppol. BandAdmin has a digital cash book, and Back On Stage and Band Pencil handle invoices and online payments, but neither is accounting software. The rest expect you to keep the books somewhere else.
Does every band member have to pay?
In most of these, no. gigBuddy, BandAdmin, Stage Portal, BandApp, GigPlanner and Muzodo charge per band or per group and let members in free. BandHelper also charges per band, but the price rises with the number of people. Back On Stage and Band Pencil charge per admin seat, with performers free.
Is one tool enough, or should I run two?
Plenty of bands run a stage app and an admin app side by side, and at these prices that is a reasonable answer. One tool earns its keep when the same gig has to show up in the calendar, the setlist, the invoice and the ledger without anybody retyping it.
How current is this comparison?
It was researched from each vendor's own pages on the date shown at the top of this page, and every source is linked at the bottom. Pricing pages move: check those links before you decide, and mail support@gig-buddy.nl if you spot something out of date.
See whether gigBuddy fits your band
The free plan has no time limit and no card. If one of the other tools on this page fits your band better, that is a good outcome too.