Comparison

BANDANA vs Sonicbids

Reviewed August 2026

Sonicbids is an artist EPK and submission platform connecting artists with talent buyers, currently rebuilding — its site describes a dynamic EPK, submissions by slot or night, and a venue-side booking calendar and submissions inbox, with several features marked as coming next and no pricing published. BANDANA takes a different route to the same outcome: a public directory of independent venues showing the nights each one currently has open, free booking requests that land on the date in the venue's own calendar, and the rest of the band's work — set lists, chords, recordings, gig advances — in the same free app.

BANDANA dashboard on a phone listing a band and a venue the same person runs — One dashboard for every band you play in and every room you run.

BANDANA song library on a phone listing a band's songs with keys and recordings — The band's song library, with keys and recordings attached to each song.

Lyrics with chords positioned above the words on a BANDANA song page — Chords sit above the lyric they belong to, not in a separate document.

BANDANA set list on a phone showing the running order and a maybe section — Drag songs into order and park undecided ones in the "maybe" section.

BANDANA set list showing the offline banner while the phone has no connection — Set lists you have opened stay readable when the venue has no signal.

Transposition controls on a BANDANA song shifting every chord into a new key — Shift the whole song up or down and the key badge follows.

Downloading a lyrics and chords PDF from a BANDANA song page — Export the chart as a PDF in whatever key you just transposed to.

Rehearsal recordings listed underneath a song in BANDANA — Rehearsal takes live on the song itself, not in a group chat.

A rehearsal recording playing in BANDANA with playback controls — Playback keeps going when the screen locks on iOS.

Proposed rehearsal time slots listed on a BANDANA band event — Propose rehearsal times instead of polling the group chat.

Band members voting on rehearsal time slots in BANDANA — Everyone votes, and the winning slot is obvious at a glance.

A band's stage setup and input needs attached to a BANDANA gig page — Your stage plot and input list, attached to the show before load-in.

A top-down BANDANA stage plot showing drums, keys, bass, guitar, two saxes and amp positions — Save a band setup once, then attach its stage plot to any gig.

Guest list entries submitted by a band on a BANDANA gig page — Each band fills its own guest list quota — no spreadsheet at the door.

A band filling out a venue's booking request form in BANDANA — Bands submit dates, links and their bio in one pass.

A BANDANA gig advance page showing set times, backline and band details — One advance page the venue and every band on the bill share.

What Sonicbids focuses on

An artist EPK and opportunity-submission marketplace linking artists with talent buyers.

BANDANA and Sonicbids, side by side

Competitor details below are from their own public pages, checked August 2026. Pricing changes — confirm on their site before you decide. Sonicbids pricing

Price: BANDANAFree for bands; SonicbidsNot published on their current site
How you reach a venue: BANDANARequest a specific open date from the venue's listing or booking form; SonicbidsSubmit to a slot, a night, or general interest via an EPK
Seeing open dates: BANDANAYes — each listed venue shows the nights it currently has open, rechecked weekly; SonicbidsVenue-side booking calendar described; open dates not published to artists
Press kit: BANDANANo EPK builder; SonicbidsYes, and their core — EPK with tour history, video, ticket counts, stage plots
Venue side: BANDANAFree booking calendar, embeddable form, gig advances, ticketing; SonicbidsBooking calendar and submissions inbox described; parts marked coming next
Band-side tools: BANDANASet lists, chords and transposition, recordings, scheduling, stage plots; SonicbidsNot offered

What you get	BANDANA	Sonicbids
Price	Free for bands	Not published on their current site
How you reach a venue	Request a specific open date from the venue's listing or booking form	Submit to a slot, a night, or general interest via an EPK
Seeing open dates	Yes — each listed venue shows the nights it currently has open, rechecked weekly	Venue-side booking calendar described; open dates not published to artists
Press kit	No EPK builder	Yes, and their core — EPK with tour history, video, ticket counts, stage plots
Venue side	Free booking calendar, embeddable form, gig advances, ticketing	Booking calendar and submissions inbox described; parts marked coming next
Band-side tools	Set lists, chords and transposition, recordings, scheduling, stage plots	Not offered

Choose Sonicbids if

A polished, shareable EPK is the thing you are missing
You want to submit to festival and opportunity calls in one place

Choose BANDANA if

You would rather pitch dates you know are open than submit into a queue
You want the rehearsal-to-stage side of the band covered by the same free tool
You want the venue to advance the show with you after they say yes

Common questions

What's a free alternative to Sonicbids for booking shows?

BANDANA's venue directory is free: browse independent venues by city, see the nights they currently have open, and send a booking request that lands in the venue's own booking calendar.

Does BANDANA have an EPK?

No. BANDANA has no press-kit builder. What a venue sees is your booking request and, once confirmed, the shared gig page with your setup and run of show.