OpenLP vs Pewbeam
OpenLP
Free, open-source worship presentation software for songs, Bibles, media and slides.
- Open Source
- Free
Pewbeam
AI presentation app that listens to the sermon and puts detected Bible verses on screen.
- Freemium
- Subscription
Summary
- OpenLP is free, while Pewbeam is paid (From $12/month billed annually ($14 monthly)).
- OpenLP is open source (GPL-3.0-or-later); Pewbeam is proprietary.
- Both run on Windows and macOS.
- Both support: Inputs & other sources: On-screen messages & alerts.
Only in OpenLP
- Runs on Linux
- Songs & lyrics: Motion backgrounds behind lyrics (paid add-on in Pewbeam)
- Slides & presentations: PowerPoint (partial in Pewbeam)
- Multilingual (paid add-on in Pewbeam)
- Automation & extensibility: Network API (HTTP / WebSocket) (partial in Pewbeam)
- Connectivity & collaboration: Works fully offline (partial in Pewbeam)
Only in Pewbeam
- Bible: Free translations included (partial in OpenLP)
- Bible: Licensed translations (NIV, ESV, etc.) (partial in OpenLP)
- Screens & outputs: Multiple audience screens
Based on confirmed data only. Unknown values are not counted.
Side by side
- Supported Supported
- Partial Partial
- Paid add-on or tier Paid add-on / tier
- Not supported Not supported
- Unknown Unknown
- * Hover or tap for note
| Product |
OpenLP
|
Pewbeam
|
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Price | Free / Donation-supported | From $12/month billed annually ($14 monthly) |
| Open source | Yes (GPL-3.0-or-later) | No |
| Deployment | Desktop app | Desktop app |
| Status | active | active |
| Platforms | ||
| Windows | Supported | Supported |
| macOS | Supported | Supported |
| Linux | Supported | Not supported |
| Web browser | Not supported | Not supported |
| iOS / iPadOS | Not supported | Not supported |
| Android | Not supported | Not supported |
| ChromeOS | Not supported | Not supported |
| Content | ||
| Songs & lyrics | Supported | Paid add-on or tier |
| Song library | Supported | Unknown |
| Import from other presentation software | Supported: Imports songs from over 25 formats including EasyWorship, ProPresenter, MediaShout, SongShow Plus, SongBeamer, OpenSong, ZionWorx and VideoPsalm. | Unknown |
| Paste or import plain-text lyrics | Supported | Unknown |
| Automatic lyrics import (e.g. SongSelect, online sources) | Supported: Songs can be imported from CCLI SongSelect from within OpenLP; this importer has occasionally broken when CCLI changed its website. | Unknown |
| Chord charts for musicians | Supported: Songs can store chords (ChordPro-style), shown in the browser Chord View with transposition and printable via export. | Unknown |
| Motion backgrounds behind lyrics | Supported: Themes can use a looping video or a live stream as the background. | Paid add-on or tier: Video and GIF motion backgrounds for themes and slides need the Plus or Core plan. |
| CCLI usage reporting | Partial: The Song Usage Tracking plugin records song usage and produces reports; submission to CCLI is manual. | Unknown |
| Bible | Partial | Supported |
| Free translations included | Partial: No Bibles are bundled; free translations are imported from OSIS, Zefania, OpenSong, CSV, SWORD or WordProject files. | Supported: Verses are detected automatically from live speech; 4 Bible translations on the free tier, 20 on paid plans. |
| Licensed translations (NIV, ESV, etc.) | Partial: Copyrighted versions can be downloaded on demand from BibleGateway, Bibleserver or Crosswalk; there is no licensed in-app catalogue. | Supported: KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, ESV and NASB are bundled. |
| Slides & presentations | Supported | Partial |
| PowerPoint | Supported: Drives an installed PowerPoint or LibreOffice Impress to show the presentation. | Partial: Text from PowerPoint and Word files can be imported into the built-in slide editor, and decks can be exported as PPTX or PDF. |
| Keynote | Supported: Keynote presentations are controlled through AppleScript on macOS with Keynote installed. | Unknown |
| Google Slides | Unknown | Unknown |
| Canva | Unknown | Unknown |
| Supported | Unknown | |
| Plays slide animations & transitions | Partial: Animations play because OpenLP drives PowerPoint, Impress or Keynote itself; PDFs are shown as static images. | Unknown |
| Media | Supported | Unknown |
| Video playback | Supported: In the 3.x series audio and video playback uses VLC; OpenLP 4.0 alphas switch to Qt Multimedia. | Unknown |
| Audio playback | Supported | Unknown |
| Images | Supported | Unknown |
| YouTube / online video | Unknown | Unknown |
| Inputs & other sources | Supported | Supported |
| Live camera / capture card | Supported: Capture devices can be shown as a Device Stream media item, and network streams are also supported. | Unknown |
| Screen sharing | Unknown | Unknown |
| Web pages | Unknown | Unknown |
| Countdown timers & clocks | Unknown | Unknown |
| On-screen messages & alerts | Supported: The Alerts plugin overlays a scrolling message on the live display. | Supported: Alert banners, including scrolling and looping alerts, can be sent to every screen. |
| Audience interaction (polls, Q&A, Slido, follow along) | Unknown | Unknown |
| Languages | ||
| Multilingual | Supported | Paid add-on or tier |
| Interface in multiple languages | Supported: The interface is translated into about 30 languages. | Unknown |
| Songs in other languages | Unknown | Unknown |
| Bibles in other languages | Unknown | Paid add-on or tier: Paid plans can install downloadable translations such as Spanish, French, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, plus language packs for non-English sermon detection. |
| Bilingual lyrics on screen | Unknown | Unknown |
| Bible translations side by side | Supported: A second Bible version can be selected to show the same passage alongside the first. | Unknown |
| Non-Latin & right-to-left scripts | Unknown | Unknown |
| Integrations | ||
| Software integrations | Supported | Unknown |
| Planning Center | Supported: The PlanningCenter plugin imports service plans from the Planning Center Online v2 API. | Unknown |
| ChurchSuite | Unknown | Unknown |
| WorshipTools Planning | Unknown | Unknown |
| Hardware control | Supported | Unknown |
| MIDI | Unknown | Unknown |
| DMX lighting | Unknown | Unknown |
| Stream Deck / Companion | Supported: Bitfocus Companion has an OpenLP module that uses the OpenLP HTTP API. | Unknown |
| Automation & extensibility | Supported | Supported |
| Network API (HTTP / WebSocket) | Supported: HTTP REST (v2) and WebSocket API, used by the web remote and mobile apps. | Partial: Local OSC and HTTP endpoints for broadcast integration; the docs say slide navigation commands are still being wired through. |
| Plugins / extensions | Partial: Features are organised as built-in plugins that can be switched on or off; there is no third-party plugin store. | Unknown |
| Built-in scripting / macros | Unknown | Unknown |
| Webhooks / triggers to other systems | Unknown | Unknown |
| MCP server for AI assistants | Unknown | Unknown |
| AI features (e.g. verse detection, lyric formatting) | Unknown | Supported: Listens to the sermon and detects Bible references, including paraphrases; also generates slides, sermon excerpts and sermon notes. |
| Presenting & control | ||
| Screens & outputs | Supported | Supported |
| Multiple audience screens | Not supported: OpenLP projects to a single display screen; the source notes multi-monitor output is not yet supported (a custom geometry can span screens). | Supported: Up to 2, 4 or 6 display outputs depending on plan, each with its own theme. |
| Stage display / confidence monitor | Supported | Unknown |
| Lower thirds / alpha key for streaming | Unknown | Supported: Lower-third themes and NDI output with alpha transparency; creating new transparent themes needs the Core plan. |
| Output as a web page (TVs, OBS / vMix browser source) | Partial: The browser Main View mirrors the projector using screenshots, without audio or video. | Unknown |
| Broadcast video | Unknown | Supported |
| NDI | Unknown | Supported: NDI output at 720p, 1080p or 4K with alpha transparency. |
| SDI | Unknown | Unknown |
| Built-in streaming & recording | Unknown | Unknown |
| Stream to any RTMP destination | Unknown | Unknown |
| YouTube Live | Unknown | Unknown |
| Facebook Live | Unknown | Unknown |
| Record the output to a file | Unknown | Unknown |
| TV output | Unknown | Unknown |
| Apple TV app | Unknown | Unknown |
| Android / Google TV app | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fire TV app | Unknown | Unknown |
| Roku app | Unknown | Unknown |
| Chromecast / AirPlay | Unknown | Unknown |
| Connectivity & collaboration | Supported | Partial |
| Cloud sync of library | Unknown | Unknown |
| Works fully offline | Supported | Partial: Bible search and display work offline; offline transcription is available on Apple Silicon Macs on paid plans, otherwise transcription needs a connection. |
| Remote control from phone or tablet | Supported: Built-in web remote plus Android and iOS remote apps. | Unknown |
| Multiple operators at once | Unknown | Unknown |
| Web native (runs in a browser) | Unknown | Unknown |
Other comparisons
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- OpenLP vs EasiSlides
- Pewbeam vs EasiSlides
- OpenLP vs EasyWorship
- Pewbeam vs EasyWorship
- OpenLP vs FreeShow
- Pewbeam vs FreeShow
- OpenLP vs Holyrics
- Pewbeam vs Holyrics
- OpenLP vs KerkBeamer
- Pewbeam vs KerkBeamer
- OpenLP vs LyricDisplay
- Pewbeam vs LyricDisplay
- OpenLP vs MediaShout
- Pewbeam vs MediaShout