Karaoke 5 vs Performous
Karaoke 5
karaoke5.comPerformous
performous.orgSide by side
| Figure | Karaoke 5 | Performous |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €2.08/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 18 | 1 |
| Spec score · Karaoke Software | 9.1 (#2) | 8.3 (#8) |
| Release news | The homepage announces Karaoke5 version 54.08 released on October 13, 2026. | The 1.3.1 release added missing-audio detection, Fedora 39 pipeline support and a Performous+ theme, while fixing macOS startup and Windows UTF-8 issues. |
| System requirements | Listed requirements include Windows 8/10/11 or macOS Catalina through Tahoe, a dual-core 2.7 GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM, 384 MB video memory and 5 GB disk space. | The stated baseline is Windows, Linux or OS X on a computer able to run 3D games; microphones and USB controllers are optional by mode. |
| What it does | Karaoke5 is desktop karaoke software combining playback, lyric synchronization and live tools for singers, DJs and karaoke hosts. | Performous combines karaoke, band-game play and dancing, scoring players as they perform songs. |
Plans
Karaoke 5
- Karaoke5 FreewareFree
- Lite FreewareFree
- 1 Year HOME Upgrade Service€25 a year
- HOME upgrade service€25 a year
- Immediate Technical Assistance€30, paid once
- Annual Subscription HOME€35 a year
- Annual Subscription HOME for 1 PC€35 a year
- HOME one-time license€55, paid once
- 1 Year PRO Upgrade Service€65 a year
- PRO upgrade service€65 a year
In their own words
Karaoke 5
Karaoke 5 is a karaoke player, lyrics synchronizer, and tool for singers, DJs, and karaoke hosts. It supports K5, MIDI, KAR, KFN, MP3, WMA, CD+G, and video formats such as MP4 and FLV. Dual-screen mode sends lyrics to a second monitor or TV while the operator runs the program on a computer. Guests can use smartphones to request songs, message, vote, and chat. Its voice assistant searches a user's database, a P2P network, and YouTube, with support for eight languages. YouTube tools include search, previews, and downloading tracks into a database or playlist. A real-time vocal remover can make a karaoke backing track from an original song, and a music quiz generates questions from the user's library with multiplayer and multiple game modes. The free player and manager costs nothing but excludes synchronization, YouTube downloads, mobile management, and the quiz. Annual subscriptions start at €35 a year for HOME on one PC; PRO annual subscriptions cost €75 a year for three PCs. One-time licenses are also listed.
Performous
Performous is free software combining karaoke, band games, and dancing on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its modes include vocals, lead, rhythm and bass guitar, drums, and dancing, with multiplayer support. Scored singing shows pitch so players can adjust their performance; karaoke mode displays lyrics without notes or scoring. The project says pitch detection works with laptop or webcam microphones. Controllers are autodetected, and the game can use a keyboard, microphones, USB guitars and drums, and dance pads. Supported song formats include Frets on Fire, UltraStar, SingStar XML, and StepMania. Composer edits and converts notes for music games, offering pitch analysis, zoomable timing, note synthesis, and format import and export. Composer lists SingStar XML, UltraStar TXT, and Frets on Fire MIDI formats. Free karaoke song packages are available under different libre and restricted license terms. The site says its free-song page does not yet include band-game or dancing songs. Performous is licensed under GNU GPL version 2 or later, with documentation, Discord, and a GitHub feedback page.