Best Band Management Apps of 2023

It's 2023 and you're looking for the best tool to help manage and grow your band and business, so which band management app, or software do you pick? In this article we'll highlight the best solutions for you in 2023 and how you go about picking the perfect app for your needs.

There are four key elements which make a great management app and these are: features, cost, usability and customer support. We've outlined the key aspects to look for in each of these elements.

Features

The features of the app will vary depending on its target audience. Certain apps cater exclusively to solo musicians and artists, while others offer functionalities designed for managing large bands, businesses, or agencies. Regardless of the specific audience, there are essential features that any effective band management app should include.

These are:

1. Booking management

A band management app needs to be able to manage all of your bookings from start to finish, allowing you to save information in one place and the ability to share this with your musicians and clients. As a perk, many apps will have the option to embed a lead capture form, ability to upload files and manage your line-up.

2. Invoice and contract creation

A good band management app will allow you to create and send invoices and create and sign contracts online. As an extra bonus some will allow you to accept payments too.

3. Member and Client Portals

Some management apps will provide a free portal for your musicians to login and interact with, we call ours a Member Portal. Pick one which is easy to use and is also easy for you to onboard your members too. There's no point picking a software which is complex for them to use, or one which costs money!

In addition to a Member Portal, look out for the softwares that include a Client Portal. These is a convient place for your client to view event information, download invoices, sign contracts and communicate with you. This is a must if you're wanting to provide a professional experience for your clients.

Scalability

Finally, pick a software which will grow and scale with you. There's no point getting started with a cheap, feature poor software only to have to change in a few months or years as you grow and need more features. Pick the software which will grow with you and provide the features you will need and want in the future.

Most band management apps will have several different plans which will be tailored to different audiences. At Band Pencil we offer three plans, one for solo musicians and artists, one for bands and entertainers and the top plan for large bands and agencies.

Band management app costs

Unfortunately, you're not going to find a good free band management app in 2023 as it costs money to run a complex software. The saying spend money to make money is true, so you should find some powerful tools for much less than $100 per month. Invest in a good quality software and in return it should pay you back in money and time.

How much do band management apps cost?

Band management apps usually bill the user per month, but you can often pick up a pretty nice discount when you paid for the software yearly. They range from the cheap: BandHelper $2 per month to the expensive: Gigwell at $99 per month. For comparison, Band Pencil costs $49 per month.

The more expensive a software is doesn't always reflect in quality, but you get what you pay for! The cheaper the software the less features, usability and customisation you will have.  

How much should you pay?

There's no 'best price' point, you need to pay for whatever software is best for you. Some softwares you evaluate will be out of your budget, so go and find something which suits your needs and budget. I recommend you should always pay yearly to take advantage of the discount.

Remember, these apps are designed to help you spend less time on admin, so the money you spend on the software should come back to you in savings in time. Within two or three gigs you should have paid off the yearly cost of the app!

Usability

Usability is a really important aspect of any software and should be ranked quite high on your wish list in a band management app. Using an old, or clunky software is going to slow you down and make your life harder not easier. Use our checklist below:

Usability checklist:

1. Does it look modern?
2. Is it easy to use?
3. Does it work well on a mobile or tablet?
4. When was the last time they did an update? Do they have a changelog?
5. Do any reviews comment on the easy of use?

Customer support

Finally, customer support. Most band management apps will be served to you as a SaaS (Software as a Service) monthly or yearly subscription service and good customer service should be part of the deal. Connect with their support and ask some question - see how quickly they come back to you and how useful they are.

You should also expect to see a good Help / Knowledge Base and some demo videos so you can learn more about how features work yourself.

Which band management app to choose?

I'm not going to tell you which one to pick, although I'd love for you to check out Band Pencil! Selecting the appropriate software is an important decision and you should pick one which aligns seamlessly with your needs and business requirements.

Band Pencil is certainly one contender and is one of the most popular band management software on the market offering a diverse range of features for band leaders whilst offering a fantastic Member Portal. Our support is excellent and we offer amazing usability and at a fair price.

Band management app comparisons

We've collated the most popular management apps for bands, musicians and agencies and compared their features, usability and support. You can also see the price range.

Top 5 Band Management Apps of 2023:

Software	Good for	Features	Usability	Support	Price From
Band Pencil	Everyone from solo musicians to large bands and businesses	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	$24 per month
Gigwell	Large bands to agencies	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	$99 per month
Giggio	Solo musicians to small bands	Good	Good	Good	~$20 per month
Where's The Gig	Small to large bands	Ok	Poor	Good	Free
Overture	Large bands to agencies	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	~$105 per month

Band Pencil

Band Pencil is the all-in-one management solution built for people working in the music and entertainment industry to help organise every aspect of your event. It's purposely built for the music and entertainment industry providing management solutions for artists, musicians, band leaders, entertainment companies and agencies.

Features: Band Pencil offers a fantastic array of solutions including, invoice management, ability to collect contract signatures, send gig details to members and provides an excellent portal for clients. In addition, there's some amazing features built just for band leaders, including the band builder which makes it easy see which musician is on what gig.

Usability: Band Pencil is one of the easier management softwares to use with a modern, clean software which works perfectly on mobile, tablet or laptop.

Support: Band Pencil offers a fantastic email support with quick and helpful replies. They also have a comprehensive knowledge base and demo videos.

Price From: $24 per month.

Gigwell

Is a cloud-based booking platform to provide a simple solution to negotiate contracts, manage artist logistics, collect online payments & monitor real-time revenue goals.

Features: Gigwell offers a standard level of features including, cloud-based contacts, online payments, contract builder with e-sign, realtime reporting and calendar.

Usability: Just like Band Pencil, gigwell is easier management softwares to use with a modern UI and easy to use.

Support: They offer a email support with live chat (when available) with quick and helpful replies. They also have a comprehensive knowledge base.

Price From: $50-99 per month (depending on your needs).

Giggio

Giggio offers a solution to manage your enquiries, bookings, invoices, payments and reports from anywhere. No more boring admin tasks.

Features: Giggio offers a very simular feature set to Band Pencil, with less of the client and member management tools (like the band builder.

Usability: Just like Band Pencil, gigwell is easier management softwares to use with a modern UI and easy to use.

Support: Email.

Price From: $20 per month.

Where's The Gig

Where's The Gig s a free service providing the best in band management software for our community, designed by working musicians for working musicians, and has the features you need to quickly and accurately organize, maintain, and publish your gig information

Features: Where's The Gig offers a basic level of features, you're not going to find anything fancy like, contracts, invoices etc.

Usability: Where's The Gig is a older software so the UI is dated and as a result usability could be much better.

Support: Email.

Price From: Free

Overture

Overture advertise themselves as the software for booking agenciesand artist managers offering features to streamline many of your day-to-day tasks helping your agency run more efficiently and effectively.

Features: With Overture you can create bookings, instant contracts, invoices and reports, create tasks and notes, offer client logins and email documents direct from outbox.

Usability: Overfure is aimed at agencies and artist managers, so they have some complex features. Nevertheless, the software is clean and relatively easy to use.

Support: Overture offer email support.

Price From: ~$105 per month per month.

What next?

Navigating the world of band management software can be overwhelming, given the abundance of options available. Nevertheless, take your time and explore what the app can offer you and if you think the features and price align with your needs sign up for a free trial and explore further.