Run of show software builds the minute-by-minute schedule for a live event or broadcast (the rundown), then helps a team execute it in real time as it runs: tracking the current cue, recalculating times when a segment runs long, and giving the control room, crew, and stage synced views of where the show actually is. This list is for AV freelancers, event producers, and small production teams comparing options, not broadcast engineers who already know their stack.
Every price below is sourced directly from the vendor's own site. Where a vendor doesn't publish pricing (Cuer, Cuez, ProductionPlanner, LiveRun), it's left out rather than guessed at.
| Tool | Hosted or self-host | Free tier | Live execution (build + run) | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RundownStudio | Hosted | Yes (Solo, 1 member) | Yes | $0 solo / $25 per event / $600/yr team |
| Lasso (formerly Shoflo) | Hosted | No (trial only) | Yes | $1,045/yr (1 user) to $6,950/yr (15 users), plus $1,250/yr add-ons |
| OnTime | Self-host (free) or hosted cloud | Yes (full self-hosted) | Yes | Free self-hosted / $20/mo Cloud PRO / $80/mo Cloud STUDIO |
| Overture | Hosted | No (7-day trial) | Yes | $399/yr (1 event) / $1,299/yr (5 events) / $3,999/yr (50 events) |
| Showcaller.io | Self-host (local network) | No (14-day trial) | Yes | $399/yr single license, 3 machine activations |
| StageTimer | Hosted or self-hosted desktop | Yes (3 rooms/timers) | No (timers only, no rundown builder) | Free tier; paid tiers and a desktop license (see stagetimer.io) |
| Rundown Creator | Hosted | No (trial, duration unstated) | Yes | $40/mo Basic / $90/mo Pro / $660/yr Educational |
| CuePilot | Not stated publicly | Yes (1 SOLO project) | Not publicly stated | Free tier confirmed; paid tiers not public |
| Cuer | Hosted | Yes (1 member, 3 rundowns) | Yes | Free / $25/mo Pro / $75/mo Premium / Enterprise custom |
| Runsheet | Hosted, zero setup | Yes (1 rundown, 3 screens) | Yes | Free / Pro $19/mo unlimited rundowns and screens |
RundownStudio
RundownStudio is the established hosted option for producers who want a straightforward rundown tool without broadcast-scale pricing. It covers the core feature set well: automatic time recalculation, live cue tracking, a built-in teleprompter, unlimited guest collaboration, PDF/CSV export, and Bitfocus Companion (Stream Deck) integration.
Who it's for: solo producers and small teams running events occasionally, who want a free tier or a per-event price rather than a subscription. Pricing: free Solo (1 team member, limited rundowns), $25 per event (2 team members, unlimited rundowns), or $600/yr Team plan.
Lasso (formerly Shoflo)
Lasso is a serious, actively-marketed rundown tool built for broadcast and large-scale live production: a drag-and-drop builder, Show Caller Tracking, a Global Elements Manager for shared segments across productions, a built-in prompter, and remote presenter access via secure links.
Who it's for: broadcast, sports, and large corporate teams with production budgets to match. Pricing:$1,045/yr for 1 user up to $6,950/yr for 15 users, plus paid add-ons ($1,250/yr prompter module, $1,250/yr elements manager). No public pricing is shown on Lasso's own product page; these figures come from its separate pricing page.
OnTime
OnTime is free, open-source, and genuinely full-featured: rundown editor, cuesheet and operator views, stage timer, backstage display, and OSC/HTTP/WebSocket/Companion integration APIs. This is excellent software if you or your team is comfortable standing up a Docker container.
Who it's for:technical AV crews willing to self-host, or teams that don't mind paying for OnTime's own hosted cloud instead. Pricing: free self-hosted (Docker/GitHub/NPM CLI), or Ontime Cloud at $20/mo (PRO, 3 simultaneous stages) / $80/mo (STUDIO, 10 stages).
Overture
Overture positions directly against the Excel-based run of show (“Excel is not a stage manager”) and is the closest match to a build-then-run pitch among the priced competitors: tabbed sessions, drag-and-drop rows with automatic time reflow, a follow-up flag view, landscape crew PDFs per discipline, a built-in venue lookup, and a mobile “Showtime” mode for live show control.
Who it's for: corporate event producers running general sessions for 700-7,000 people, agencies running multiple annual events. Pricing: $399/yr Basic (1 event), $1,299/yr Pro (5 events/yr), $3,999/yr Agency (50 events/yr), custom Enterprise. 7-day free trial, no free tier.
Showcaller.io
Showcaller.io runs as a local server on a machine in the production environment, so the whole team stays in sync over the local network without needing internet access during the show itself. It's priced as a single license rather than a subscription.
Who it's for: teams that want a self-hosted, offline-capable sync tool and are comfortable running it from a machine on-site. Pricing: $399/yr single license, 3 machine activations, 14-day free trial, full features, no card required.
StageTimer
StageTimer is the timer standard referenced constantly in AV and event-production conversations, and for good reason: it's a well-built, remote-controlled countdown timer synced across devices, with logos like Meta, BBC, and Spotify on its site. It's explicitly not a rundown builder, so it doesn't compete on this list's core job (building the schedule), only on the live-timer half of it.
Who it's for: anyone who already has a rundown and just needs synced countdowns and messages on stage and backstage screens. Pricing: free tier (up to 3 rooms, 3 timers/messages per room), with paid Pro and Premium tiers above that. Check stagetimer.io/pricing for current figures.
Rundown Creator
Rundown Creator is broadcast television rundown software aimed at TV, radio, and internet show production teams, with direct integration into TriCaster, XPression, Chyron, and Autoscript on its Pro tier.
Who it's for: broadcast production teams already running those graphics/playout systems. Pricing: $40/mo Basic, $90/mo Pro (adds the broadcast integrations), $660/yr discounted Educational tier for schools. A free trial is referenced in the footer nav, duration not stated on the pricing page.
CuePilot
CuePilot offers a free download with a single SOLO project and is free for students and educators. Its paid tiers aren't published with public numbers, so no price is stated here beyond the free tier.
Who it's for: individuals or students wanting to try a cue-based rundown tool at no cost before evaluating paid tiers directly on cuepilot.com.
Cuer
Cuer is hosted broadcast rundown software for live production, with real-time collaboration, precision showcaller controls, a teleprompter, an AD view, and an AI template creator. It has a genuine free tier and scales by team size rather than by event.
Who it's for: broadcast and live-production teams that want a collaborative, seat-based rundown tool. Pricing: free (1 team member, 3 rundowns), $25/mo Pro (up to 3 members, unlimited rundowns), $75/mo Premium (up to 15 members), Enterprise custom; 10% off on yearly billing.
Where Runsheet fits
Runsheetis a hosted, zero-setup tool that does both halves of the job together: build the rundown in an editable table, then run the show from it live, with a synced current-item view and countdowns on every connected screen (control, crew, stage), and times that reflow automatically when the schedule slips. There's no self-hosting to set up and no separate timer product to bolt on, and screens are shared by link, so crew and stage displays don't need viewer accounts.
It isn't the cheapest option (OnTime self-hosted is free) and it isn't built for broadcast scale (Lasso and Rundown Creator exist for that). It's aimed at the band in between: freelancers and small production teams who want the rundown and the live execution to work together, hosted, without standing up a server or paying broadcast-tier prices. Free covers 1 active rundown and 3 connected screens; Pro is $19/mo for unlimited rundowns and screens.
For the conventions a show caller actually uses on headset during a live show, see how to call a show. For a closer look at three tools spanning free/self-hosted to broadcast pricing, see OnTime vs RundownStudio vs Lasso.
FAQ
- What is the best run of show software?
- There isn't one winner, it splits by budget and scale. For solo producers and small teams, RundownStudio (free-$600/yr) and Runsheet (free-$19/mo) are the cheapest hosted options; OnTime is free if you can self-host it. For broadcast and large-scale live production, Lasso ($1,045-6,950/yr) and Rundown Creator ($40-90/mo) add prompter and graphics-system integrations the cheaper tools don't have. Pick based on scale, not brand.
- What's the cheapest run of show software?
- OnTime is free if you self-host it (Docker/GitHub/NPM), no software cost at all. If you want free and hosted with zero setup, RundownStudio's Solo tier and Runsheet's free tier (1 rundown, 3 screens) both cost $0.
- Is there free run of show software?
- Yes, several: OnTime (free self-hosted, full-featured), RundownStudio (free Solo tier, 1 team member), Runsheet (free, 1 rundown and 3 connected screens), and StageTimer (free tier, but timers only, not a full rundown builder). CuePilot also offers a free tier for a single SOLO project.
- What do broadcast teams use?
- Broadcast and large-scale production teams tend toward Lasso (formerly Shoflo, $1,045-6,950/yr) and Rundown Creator ($40-90/mo, with TriCaster/XPression/Chyron/Autoscript integrations), both built for TV-style production workflows. Overture ($399-3,999/yr) targets large corporate general sessions (700-7,000 people) rather than broadcast specifically.
- Do I need software or is a spreadsheet enough?
- A spreadsheet works fine for building the schedule. It usually breaks down live, when a segment runs long and every downstream time needs recalculating by hand while the show is still running. That's the actual gap run of show software fills: not the building, the running.
Build the rundown. Run the show. Every screen in sync.
Runsheet is the hosted place to build a run of show and then run it live, no setup, share links for control, crew, and stage screens. Free for 1 rundown, 3 connected screens.
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