FreeShow vs OpenLP

FreeShow is free, open-source presentation software for lyrics, slides, scripture, and media, with a focus on worship presentations. Its editor changes text font, size, and color, adds outlines and shadows, and allows edits during a presentation. Slides can autoplay on timers; countdowns and MIDI commands can control slide changes or external actions. FreeShow supports simultaneous output views, web output for mobile devices, NDI output, and mobile remote control. Images and videos can serve as slide backgrounds, and built-in YouTube and Vimeo players are listed. Users can look up scripture passages and create song slides from song-title searches; the features page describes access to over 200 Bibles through API.Bible. The software imports from PowerPoint, ProPresenter, EasyWorship, and OpenSong and exports content in multiple formats. Cloud sync supports collaborative work across computers, covering songs and settings; media uses a repository linked to the local file system. FreeShow runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The project began in late 2021, and its first release was in February 2022.

OpenLP is worship presentation software for churches preparing and projecting material during services. Searchable song and Bible verse databases let users put content on screen immediately or arrange it in a prepared service order. The program can run PowerPoint and OpenOffice presentations, videos, and audio files. A built-in web app lets devices on the network control slides and search content; the stage view is available through a browser on the local network. Free Android and iOS remote apps are also available. OpenLP integrates with VLC for video display and audio playback, and supports presentation control through PowerPoint, PowerPoint Viewer, and LibreOffice Impress on specified platforms. Plugins can import service plans from the Planning Center Online v2 API and control OBS Studio scenes and sources. Song imports include sources such as CCLI SongSelect, EasyWorship, ProPresenter 4, and SongShow Plus. OpenLP is free to download and use, with a plan listed at free. It is licensed under the GNU General Public License, which permits use, distribution, and modification. The listed platforms are Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows. The Flatpak is described as experimental and unsupported by the team.