Guide

Best apps for storing chord charts and lyrics

Reviewed September 2026

BANDANA, OnSong, Songbook Pro, and BandHelper are the common choices for storing lyrics and chord charts. BANDANA is free and band-shared by default: add a song once and every member has it, with automatic key detection, one-tap transposition across twelve semitones, hands-free auto-scroll, and a public link for anyone outside the band.

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Personal library or band library?

This is the real fork. Most chord-chart apps are built around one performer's device, which is excellent for a solo player and awkward for a five-piece. BANDANA stores songs on the band, so the version everyone rehearses from is the version on stage.

Getting your existing charts in

Paste text straight in, upload a file, or link to a public chord site and let BANDANA extract the lyrics and chords. Extracted content saves immediately, and you can tap any chord to fix it in place.

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.

Transposing without redoing the chart

Set the key once and shift the whole song up or down. Chords stay locked above the right syllable, slash chords move the chord and the bass note together, and the key badge updates so nobody is doing mental math at rehearsals.

Twelve semitones in each direction
Automatic key detection from the chords you entered
PDF export in whatever key is on screen
Viewers of a shared song can transpose for themselves without changing your stored version
Songs can be organized into set lists, with chords and lyrics accessible

The main chord-chart apps, side by side

Prices and features below are what each product publishes on its own site. Confirm before you commit — this changes.

BANDANA: Bands who want one shared songbook with transposition, set lists, rehearsal recordings, and public links in a free tool; Free, no per-member charge
OnSong: Performers who want an iPad-focused chord-chart app with deep on-stage controls; Free and paid tiers — see their site for current pricing
Songbook Pro: Performers who want a personal chord-chart and lyric library across their devices; Free tier with a paid upgrade — see their site
BandHelper: Working bands that want chord charts alongside deep stage controls and foot-switch support; Published tiers from $2.25/month solo to $8/month for 2–5 members

App	Best for	Price
BANDANA	Bands who want one shared songbook with transposition, set lists, rehearsal recordings, and public links in a free tool	Free, no per-member charge
OnSong	Performers who want an iPad-focused chord-chart app with deep on-stage controls	Free and paid tiers — see their site for current pricing
Songbook Pro	Performers who want a personal chord-chart and lyric library across their devices	Free tier with a paid upgrade — see their site
BandHelper	Working bands that want chord charts alongside deep stage controls and foot-switch support	Published tiers from $2.25/month solo to $8/month for 2–5 members

Common questions

What's the best app for storing chord charts and lyrics for my band?

BANDANA keeps lyrics, chords, key, notes, and rehearsal takes on a single song record shared across the whole band, free and with no per-member charge. Set lists, gig pages, and PDF exports all read from that same library.

How do I share a songbook with chord charts across my whole band?

Invite your bandmates into the band in BANDANA and the library is shared automatically. For people outside the band, each song has a public read-only share link.

Can I use AI to import chords and lyrics?

Yes. BANDANA can extract lyrics and chords from pasted text, an uploaded file, or a link to a public chord page, and it suggests the key once the song has at least two distinct chords.