I've run lyrics from a lot of places over the years. A laptop balanced on a music stand. A booth with three outputs and a stage display. And yes, once, a PowerPoint that someone emailed me ten minutes before service. We all have our scars.
Here's the good news: in 2026 you can run a really solid worship presentation setup for $0. The question isn't "can we do this for free?" It's "what do we give up if we do?"
📘 Free: the Church Software Savings Guide
14 pages, pastor to pastor, on cutting what your church spends on software and giving fees. Includes a savings scorecard and a five-day plan.
Free options worth your time
| Tool | Price | Strength | Honest downside | Our score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeShow | Free | Multiple outputs and remote control | "Lovingly clunky"; newer, some bugs; no built-in CCLI | 4.0/5 |
| WorshipTools Presenter | Free forever | SongSelect import, cloud sync, CCLI auto-reporting | Free plan lacks multiple outputs and remote; caps on storage and users | 4.1/5 |
| OpenLP | Free, open source | Windows, Mac and Linux | Fewer reviews collected | Not yet rated |
| Quelea | Free, open source | "Powerful, user-friendly, 100% free" | Fewer reviews collected | Not yet rated |
| VideoPsalm | Free | Simple | Windows only | Not yet rated |
| Holyrics | Free | Portuguese, Spanish, English | Most popular in Latin America | Not yet rated |
FreeShow
FreeShow is the one I'd point most small churches to first. One reviewer called it a volunteer-friendly middle ground between EasyWorship and ProPresenter, and it's free with multiple outputs and remote control, which a lot of paid tools charge for.
Honest downsides: one user called it "lovingly clunky" next to ProPresenter. It's a newer project, so test it before Sunday, because people do report bugs. And there's no built-in CCLI integration, so you'll handle reporting yourself.
WorshipTools Presenter
WorshipTools is free forever: unlimited songs and services, plus CCLI auto-reporting, and it links to SongSelect so you can import lyrics directly. Cloud sync means your worship leader can build the set from home, and r/churchtech users like its native Google Slides support.
The free plan caps you at 500 MB of storage, 10 users and 15 items per service, and it lacks multiple outputs and remote, which FreeShow has. Folks coming from ProPresenter also report a learning curve.
So the trade is pretty clear: FreeShow if you need multiple screens. WorshipTools if you want CCLI and SongSelect to just work.
When paying makes sense
Free software is great until your Sunday gets complicated. Multiple screens, a stage display, a livestream with lower thirds, a team of volunteers. That's when the paid tools earn their keep.
| Tool | Price | Our score | Reviewers love | Reviewers complain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProPresenter | $29/mo per seat | 3.7/5 | The standard; stage display; grows with you | Learning curve; renewal feels steep |
| EasyWorship | $210/yr Basic; $330/yr Premium | 3.8/5 | Volunteers learn it fast; great support | Crashes and freezes reported |
| Proclaim | $269.99/yr; unlimited seats | 3.7/5 | Cloud sync; Logos integration | Needs reliable internet; media costs extra |
| MediaShout | $599 one-time; Plus renews $199/yr | 3.7/5 | One-time purchase; SongSelect | Crashes reported; Windows only |
ProPresenter is the de facto standard, rated 4.6/5 from 2,000+ Software Advice reviews. It handles complex multi-screen and livestream setups better than anything else here. But it's got a learning curve, volunteers get confused by the terminology, and one church said its annual renewal of about $480 a year feels steep for a small church. Reviewers also call it overkill and resource-hungry for many small churches. Believe them.
EasyWorship gets high marks because volunteers pick it up quickly, and its support is praised (93% positive). But recurring crashes and freezes during services are reported, and paid Bibles and media raise the cost.
Proclaim is interesting if you're a Logos user, since the sermon-to-slides integration is a real time saver, and unlimited seats means everyone on the team can use it. It also has a free tier. But it depends on reliable internet sync.
MediaShout is the only one here you can buy once ($599 site license), which some churches really like. But only 66% of reviewers recommend it, and crashes are reported.
Don't forget the license
Whatever software you use, displaying song lyrics usually requires a CCLI license. Free software doesn't change that. WorshipTools does the reporting for you. FreeShow doesn't.
My honest recommendation
- Tiny church, one screen: WorshipTools Presenter. Free, CCLI built in, done.
- Small church, two screens or a stage display: FreeShow. Test it on a Wednesday first.
- Growing church with a livestream and a real team: ProPresenter is worth the money.
- Logos-heavy pastor: Look hard at Proclaim.
- Board hates subscriptions: MediaShout's one-time license.
Whatever you choose, run it for a few weeks before you cancel the old one. Nobody wants to learn new software at 10:58 on a Sunday morning.
Browse every worship presentation tool we track, or see free alternatives to Adobe for your slides and graphics.