Back On Stage vs. Bandzoogle: The Shop Window vs. The Shop
The short version
Bandzoogle has been building websites for musicians since 2003 and is very good at it. If you need a professional site, an EPK, a mailing list and a place to sell merch and music with no transaction fees taken, it is one of the best options available and it was built by people who understand musicians.
It is also, almost entirely, a front-of-house tool. It is how the world finds you and buys from you.
Bandzoogle builds your shop window. Back On Stage runs the shop behind it.
That is the honest difference, and it means these two are far less in competition than the category listings suggest. The enquiry that arrives through your Bandzoogle site still has to become a quote, a contract, a deposit, a staffed lineup and seven people who get paid on Monday. None of that is what Bandzoogle is for.
What Bandzoogle genuinely does well
Worth saying plainly, because most of it is outside what Back On Stage attempts at all.
- Websites built specifically for musicians. Templates designed around music, tour dates, video and press, rather than a general website builder you have to wrestle into shape.
- No transaction fees on sales. Bandzoogle takes no commission on merch, music or ticket sales at any plan level. That is a real and unusual commitment, and it matters if fan commerce is a meaningful part of your income.
- Electronic press kits. There is a dedicated EPK plan at $6.95/mo, which is a sensible thing to buy on its own if you are pitching to venues and festivals.
- Fan mailing lists and commerce. Built in, aimed at the artist-to-fan relationship.
- Two decades of focus. Bandzoogle has been doing one thing for a very long time and has not drifted.
If your problem is that you do not have a credible online presence, Back On Stage is not the answer to that and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
Pricing
The two price on different axes, which is worth understanding before comparing numbers.
Bandzoogle prices by plan tier. Figures from Bandzoogle's own pricing page as of August 2026, in US dollars.
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $8.29/mo ($99.48/yr) | $9.95/mo |
| Standard | $12.46/mo ($149.52/yr) | $14.95/mo |
| Pro | $16.63/mo ($199.56/yr) | $19.95/mo |
| EPK only | $76.45/yr | $6.95/mo |
| Merch Table Lite | $76.45/yr | $6.95/mo |
| Merch Table Pro | $249.50/yr | $24.95/mo |
Back On Stage prices by admin seats, with unlimited musicians and crew included on every plan. Adding players never costs more.
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19/mo | $29/mo | Bookings, setlists, invoices and payments, contracts with eSignature, CRM, 1 lead form, 1 admin seat |
| Pro | $40/mo | $49/mo | Adds Auto-Book gig offer automation, 3 admin seats, unlimited lead forms and email sequences |
| Agency | $63/mo | $79/mo | Adds multi-company management, advanced CRM, 5 admin seats |
Bandzoogle Pro at $16.63/mo and Back On Stage Starter at $19/mo land within a few dollars of each other, which makes the comparison genuinely awkward for anyone hoping one of us is obviously cheaper. Neither is. They buy different things.
Feature comparison
Where something is not documented on Bandzoogle's own site, the table says "not listed" rather than "no", because absence from a feature page is not the same as absence from a product.
Getting found and getting paid by fans
| Capability | Bandzoogle | Back On Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Website builder with musician-specific templates | Yes | No |
| Custom domain and hosting | Yes | No |
| Electronic press kit | Yes, including a standalone EPK plan | No |
| Sell merch and music, commission free | Yes | No |
| Fan mailing list | Yes | No |
| Public tour and gig date listings | Yes | No |
Turning an enquiry into a booked, paid gig
| Capability | Bandzoogle | Back On Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Lead capture form on your site | Contact forms, yes | Yes, from Starter |
| Automated follow-up sequence to a new enquiry | Not listed | Yes, from Starter |
| Sales pipeline and client CRM | Not listed | Yes, from Starter, full lead-to-booking pipeline |
| Quotes and client questionnaires | Not listed | Yes, from Starter |
| Client contracts with e-signature | Not listed | Yes, auto-generated from the booking |
| Client invoicing with deposit terms | Not listed | Yes, auto-generated from the booking |
| Branded client portal for documents and payment | Not listed | Yes |
Running the band itself
| Capability | Bandzoogle | Back On Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Internal gig sheets for the band | Not listed | Yes, every detail attached to the booking |
| Ask the band who is available | Not listed | Yes |
| Automatically offer a role down a call list until filled | Not listed | Yes, Auto-Book and Shotgun Book (Pro), by email or SMS |
| Flag a musician already committed elsewhere | Not listed | Yes, conflict flags across every act they are attached to |
| Setlists with keys, tempos, charts and reference tracks | Not listed | Yes |
| Sheet music assigned per role | Not listed | Yes |
| Pay your musicians after the gig | Not listed | Yes, Auto-Pay payouts |
| Auto-generate musician invoices for the paper trail | Not listed | Yes |
| Run several acts off one shared roster | Not listed | Yes, on Agency |
| Cost of adding musicians | Not applicable | Free, unlimited on every plan |
"We were using monday.com, Active Campaign, Dubsado, Google Calendar... paying for a bunch of tools. If you're not really thinking smart... you're gonna have to raise your rate so high that you're cut out of the local competition."
Mike Zabrin, Funktastic Productions, Chicago wedding and event band
The gap that decides it
Picture a wedding enquiry arriving through the contact form on a beautiful Bandzoogle site. Everything up to that point worked exactly as intended.
Now count what happens next. You reply. You quote. They ask three questions. You send a contract. You chase the signature. You invoice the deposit. You work out which seven of your fourteen players are free. You text five of them. Two say no. You find a sub. You build the setlist. You send the address, the dress code and the load-in time. You play the gig. You invoice the balance. You chase the balance. Then you sit down and pay seven people, one at a time, and spend the next week answering "did that go through?"
None of that happens on your website. All of it is your Monday.
"I used to manually check 35 invoices, inputting every single amount into direct deposit. I can't imagine that anymore. It used to take me 3 hours to get everything set and scheduled for a gig. Now it takes me 15-30 minutes."
Nikki Green, talent manager, Liquid Blue, San Diego Music Awards Best Cover Band
A website is a lead generator. It is not an operations system, and Bandzoogle has never claimed to be one. The mistake is not choosing Bandzoogle. The mistake is assuming that because you have a great site, the business behind it is handled.
Which one you actually need
Bandzoogle is probably the right call if
- You are an original artist or touring act and your income comes substantially from fans: merch, music, tickets.
- You do not have a credible website yet, and that is genuinely the thing costing you opportunities.
- You need an EPK to pitch venues, festivals and agents.
- Your bookings come through an agent or a small number of promoters, so there is no client admin sitting on your desk.
Back On Stage is probably the right call if
- You are a wedding, corporate or private event band, where the client experience between enquiry and downbeat is part of what you are selling.
- You are paying musicians regularly, and the payout is a recurring chunk of your week.
- You staff gigs from a pool rather than playing the same fixed lineup every time.
- You run more than one act, or lineups that change size gig to gig.
- You are the only person who can answer questions about money, and it is starting to be a problem.
And for a lot of bands, the answer is both
This is the honest conclusion and we are not going to dress it up as a clean win. Bandzoogle Pro at $16.63/mo and Back On Stage Starter at $19/mo together cost less than most single general-purpose CRMs, and they do not overlap on anything that matters. One is how a client finds you. The other is everything that happens between "we love your band" and seven people getting paid.
The question is not which one wins. It is which half of your business is currently costing you the most time.
Try Back On Stage free for 30 days
Bands on Back On Stage have grossed over $25M, with 10,000+ musicians on the platform and 8,000+ gigs booked. Plans start at $19/mo billed annually, every trial begins with a one-on-one setup call, and there is a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Start your free trial or see the full comparison chart.
Other comparisons
- Back On Stage vs. BandHelper
- Back On Stage vs. BandMGT
- Back On Stage vs. HoneyBook
- Back On Stage vs. Dubsado
- Back On Stage vs. Muzeek
- Back On Stage vs. 17hats
Bandzoogle pricing and features described here were taken from bandzoogle.com in August 2026 and may have changed. Bandzoogle is a trademark of Bandzoogle Inc. and is not affiliated with Back On Stage. If anything above is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
