FreeShow
Modern worship presentation software with lyric and scripture integration
Free
FreeShow represents a new generation of church presentation software that challenges the dominance of ProPresenter and EasyWorship with a completely free, open-source alternative. Developed with modern web technologies, it brings a fresh interface and contemporary features without the substantial licensing costs of commercial alternatives. The application runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, making it accessible regardless of your tech setup. The interface feels modern and intuitive - a notable improvement over some legacy church presentation software that still looks like it was designed in 2005. Drag-and-drop song management, visual service planning, and clean presentation controls make Sunday morning operation straightforward. Lyric presentation handles the core function churches need. Import songs from various formats or create them directly. The built-in library grows as you add songs, with search making retrieval instant. Multiple display layouts let you customize how lyrics appear - with or without backgrounds, varying font sizes, and different text positioning. Scripture integration connects to multiple Bible versions. Search by reference or keyword, and scripture displays with proper formatting. The system remembers your preferred translation and presentation style. What sets FreeShow apart for technically-oriented churches is its advanced output options. Multiple monitor support handles complex setups with separate stage displays and audience screens. NDI output enables sending video over network to streaming encoders or other systems. MIDI control lets you integrate with audio consoles or lighting controllers. The remote control feature works through any web browser, letting you advance slides from a phone or tablet. This proves invaluable for pastors who move around the stage or want control during teaching moments. Media support handles images, videos, and audio. Build services with a mix of songs, scripture, announcements, and video content. The timer feature helps keep services on schedule with visible countdowns. Being open-source means the software improves continuously through community contribution. Bug fixes arrive quickly, and feature requests get considered. However, this also means support comes primarily from community forums rather than dedicated customer service.
Download FreeShow from freeshow.app - choose the version matching your operating system. The installer is straightforward on all platforms. No account creation or license keys required. After installation, the welcome screen introduces key concepts. Take the quick tour to understand the interface organization. The main areas include your media library, service planning panel, and preview/output controls. Start building your song library. Import existing songs if you have them in compatible formats (OpenLP, ProPresenter, and others). Alternatively, add songs manually by entering lyrics and organizing into verses, choruses, and bridges. The search feature finds songs by title, lyrics, or metadata once your library grows. Configure your output displays before Sunday. Connect your projector or confidence monitors and tell FreeShow which display handles what. Preview shows on your main screen while output goes to external displays. Test this setup before service to avoid surprises. Set up your Bible translations in settings. FreeShow supports multiple versions for scripture display. The scripture search interface lets you find passages by reference or keyword search. Build your first service by adding items from the library. Arrange songs, scriptures, announcements, and media in your service order. Save the service for retrieval on Sunday morning. Practice presenting to build confidence with the controls. Keyboard shortcuts speed up slide advancement. The remote control option lets you or a volunteer control from anywhere with a phone. Run through your complete service flow to identify any issues. Join the FreeShow community through their Discord server for tips, troubleshooting, and feature discussions. Many experienced users share templates, solutions, and best practices.
- A small church running on donated computers found FreeShow worked flawlessly where commercial software required expensive licenses or wouldn't run on older hardware. The volunteer-run tech booth learned the software quickly, and the congregation sees professional-looking lyrics and scriptures every Sunday.
- A church plant allocated zero budget for presentation software in year one. FreeShow let them present worship content professionally from day one. As they grew and eventually considered ProPresenter, they found FreeShow met all their needs and redirected the budget to other priorities.
- A church with technical volunteers leveraged FreeShow's NDI output to integrate presentation with their streaming setup. Video output flows over network to OBS for compositing with camera feeds. The MIDI triggers connect with lighting changes. All for free.
- A multi-site church standardized on FreeShow across all campuses after calculating software licensing costs. Each campus runs independently while sharing the same song library through cloud sync. When songs get updated at one campus, all locations receive the changes.
- Completely free with no licensing costs, feature limitations, or subscription fees
- Modern, intuitive interface that's easier to learn than many commercial alternatives
- Cross-platform support for Windows, Mac, and Linux
- Advanced features like NDI output and MIDI control rival expensive software
- Active open-source development with regular updates and improvements
- Remote control via web browser enables flexible presentation management
- •Smaller community means fewer tutorials and resources than established software
- •Some features still maturing compared to decades-old commercial alternatives
- •Support relies on community forums rather than dedicated customer service
- •Song library import from some formats may require manual cleanup
Desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Yes
How does FreeShow compare to ProPresenter?
ProPresenter offers more mature features, extensive training resources, and professional support but costs $399+ for licensing. FreeShow covers 90% of typical church needs at no cost. For churches with complex productions and budget for software, ProPresenter may justify its cost. For most churches, FreeShow provides everything needed.
Can we import our existing song library?
FreeShow imports songs from various formats including OpenLP, ProPresenter, OpenSong, and plain text files. Results vary by source format - some import cleanly while others need manual adjustment of verse/chorus markers. Budget time for library migration.
Does FreeShow work with multiple monitors?
Yes, FreeShow supports multiple outputs including main audience displays, stage/confidence monitors, and streaming outputs via NDI. Configure each output independently for different content or layouts. This flexibility matches or exceeds some commercial software.
Is FreeShow stable enough for Sunday morning?
FreeShow is used reliably by many churches weekly. As with any software, update between services rather than right before. Keep a backup plan (printed lyrics) for any presentation software. The active development means bugs get fixed quickly when reported.
What Bible translations are available?
FreeShow includes numerous public domain translations and can import others. Common versions like KJV, ASV, and WEB are readily available. Some modern translations require separate licensing regardless of software used.
How do we get support for FreeShow?
Support comes through community channels: the Discord server provides real-time help from other users, GitHub issues track bugs and features, and documentation covers common topics. No phone or email support like commercial software, but the community is responsive and helpful.