Chordmo vs OnSong

Chordmo vs OnSong: platforms, pricing model, pads, click, band sharing, and planning, compared honestly. Who should pick which.

Last updated: October 21, 2026

Quick answer

OnSong is a long-established chord chart app with a big feature set, but it runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac (Android is listed as “coming soon”), and most of its features need an Essentials or Premium subscription. Pads, backing tracks, metronome, MIDI, and band sharing are all in Premium. Chordmo runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, Android, and Kindle Fire today. It’s a one-time purchase with no subscription and no account, and it includes key-following pads, a click with drum grooves, set planning tools, and a browser view for the band and sound booth. If your team is all-Apple and wants projection, stage lighting, or Planning Center import, OnSong is the stronger fit. If you’re on Windows or Android, or you want everything without a subscription, Chordmo is the better fit.

Leading from a Windows PC? Read the OnSong alternative for Windows guide

At a glance

	Chordmo	OnSong
Platforms	Windows 10+, Android 9+, Kindle Fire, macOS 12+, iPhone/iPad	iPhone, iPad, Mac; Android “coming soon” (no date); no Windows app
Pricing model	One-time purchase, no subscription, no in-app purchases (see store for current pricing; free trial on Windows)	Free (limited, up to 30 songs), Essentials $2/mo, Premium $5/mo (billed annually)
Account required	No	Yes (create an account to get started)
Charts	ChordPro + plain text, transpose and capo on the toolbar, Nashville numbers, PDF sheet music by key	ChordPro/text + PDF; transpose/capo in Essentials
Chord diagrams	Tap any chord: guitar (all five CAGED positions), piano, bass	Diagrams for guitar, piano, ukulele, banjo and more (Essentials)
Pads	24 pads in every key that follow your transposed key, included	Ambient Pads (Premium)
Click / metronome	Included, with rock, shuffle, country, waltz grooves	Metronome (Premium)
Backing tracks	Linked per song and matched to key	Backing tracks + MultiTracks (Premium)
Set planning help	Plan Assistant drafts a set by song count or length; key-change check flags smooth vs big jumps; modulation suggestions	Sets and “Moments” runsheets (Premium); no set-drafting assistant found
After the set	Congregation/audience response per song, automatic song duration tracking, Year in Review, CCLI usage CSV	Song Reporting (Premium)
Band on the same song	Follow the Leader (local Wi-Fi, no account)	Connect / OnCue / Beam (Premium)
Sound booth / guests	Companion (booth sees where the leader is, copies lyrics, compact ticker, chord view for sit-in players), Words (lyrics on guests’ phones), Pulse (visual metronome/practice). Followers find the leader on the local network automatically, with no QR codes or IP addresses	Lyrics projection, stage monitor output, live video, broadcasting (Premium)
Gear	Line 6 Helix / Tone Master Pro preset recall when a song opens; MIDI/Bluetooth pedal page turns; head-turn page turns via camera	MIDI automation, stage lighting, ProPresenter control (Premium); foot pedals (Essentials)
Import	ChordPro files/folders, paste from Ultimate Guitar (title, artist, key filled in; junk stripped)	Dropbox, Google Drive, Planning Center, SongSelect, PraiseCharts, web import; document scanner (Premium)
Worship + gig	Worship mode and Working Musician mode with separate libraries	One app for both; multiple libraries (Premium)

Strengths, side by side

Where OnSong is stronger

Apple today. It’s mature on iPad, iPhone, and Mac, with a large user base (4.5 stars from 5.7K App Store ratings). Chordmo for iPhone, iPad and Mac is on the App Store and the Mac App Store now.
Integrations. Planning Center plan import, SongSelect, and PraiseCharts are in every tier. Chordmo has no Planning Center or SongSelect import yet.
Production features. Lyrics projection with motion backgrounds, stage lighting, ProPresenter control, live video, vocal cues, MultiTracks, and document scanning with text extraction.
Track record and ecosystem. Years of releases, tutorials, and a community.

Where Chordmo is stronger

Windows, Android, and Kindle Fire right now, which is where OnSong isn’t.
No subscription. Pads, click, backing tracks, band sharing, and gear recall are included instead of sitting in a monthly tier.
Help planning the set. Plan Assistant, the key-change check, and modulation suggestions.
The whole room on their own phones. Companion, Words, and Pulse work over local Wi-Fi with no accounts, and followers find the leader automatically.
Guitar-rig friendly. Ready-made Helix and Tone Master Pro preset recall.

Who should pick which

Pick OnSong if your whole team is on Apple devices, you already live in Planning Center/SongSelect, or you want projection, lighting, or ProPresenter control from your chart app, and a yearly subscription is fine.
Pick Chordmo if you lead from a Windows laptop, an iPhone or iPad, an Android tablet, or a Fire tablet; you’d rather pay once; you want pads and click built in; or you want the sound booth, band, and guests to follow along on their own phones without accounts.
Gigging musicians: Chordmo’s Working Musician mode keeps gig sets, venues, and songs separate from church. Helix/TMP preset recall and UG paste help cover-band and solo players.

Frequently asked questions

Is there OnSong for Windows or Android?

OnSong doesn’t have a Windows app. Its Android page says “coming soon” with no date (checked Oct 20, 2026). Chordmo runs on Windows, Android, and Kindle Fire now.

Is Chordmo a subscription?

No. It’s a one-time purchase with no in-app purchases and no account. See the store for current pricing. The Windows version has a free trial.

Does Chordmo have pads like OnSong’s Ambient Pads?

Yes. Chordmo includes 24 pads (every major and minor key), and the pad follows the key you transpose to. In OnSong, Ambient Pads are a Premium feature.

Can I move my OnSong songs to Chordmo?

Yes. Any exported ChordPro file imports into Chordmo cleanly, and so do plain-text charts. Export your OnSong songs as ChordPro, or if they live as ChordPro files in a folder, point Chordmo’s import at that app’s ChordPro library folder and every song comes in at once. (Chordmo doesn’t read OnSong .backup files.) Sets come over by giving Chordmo the set name and the list of songs.

Can my band see the chart without buying the app?

Yes. With Chordmo Companion, band members and the sound booth on the same Wi-Fi can follow the leader’s song on their own phones, and each viewer sets their own capo and transpose. In OnSong, band sharing (Connect/OnCue) goes to other OnSong users and needs Premium.

Does Chordmo work with Planning Center?

Not directly yet. There’s no Planning Center connection. To bring a service over, you give Chordmo the set name and the list of songs, and it builds the plan from the songs in your library.