All comparisons
Comparison • 9 min read

Free EasyWorship alternative: TheOpenPresenter

EasyWorship has been the default in small church media booths since 2003. It's dependable, volunteer-friendly, and cheaper than ProPresenter. What changed is the deal: version 8 is a subscription priced by your weekly attendance, so the bill grows as the church does.

If you're looking for a free, open-source alternative, something a volunteer can run from a phone without installing anything, this page lays out where TheOpenPresenter is a solid replacement, and, just as importantly, where EasyWorship is still the better option.

At a glance

TheOpenPresenter is a strong alternative if you want:

  • ✓ Software that's free and open source (AGPL 3.0), with no monthly bill that grows with your attendance
  • ✓ To build and control presentations from a phone, tablet, or any browser, from anywhere
  • ✓ Multiple people running the same screen at once, in real time
  • ✓ Google Slides synced straight onto the screen
  • ✓ Your Planning Center service plans imported straight into the service
  • ✓ A setup that isn't tied to one Windows or Mac machine in the booth

Stick with EasyWorship if you need:

  • • NDI and alpha channel output into OBS, vMix, or a video mixer for your livestream
  • • CCLI SongSelect import with automatic copyright reporting
  • • A large bundled media library of backgrounds and countdowns
  • • A fully offline machine in the booth with a mature stage display

Feature comparison

EasyWorship TheOpenPresenter
Price From $17.50/month (Basic, billed yearly), subscription only Free / open source (AGPL 3.0)
How pricing scales By average weekly attendance, the bigger you grow the more you pay Free, size doesn't change the price
Perpetual licence Version 7 was sold outright, version 8 is subscription Yes, or self-host free forever
Cost per extra user Campus licence covers machines at one site Free, unlimited users, anywhere
Free trial / free tier 30-day trial, no free tier Free forever
Platforms Windows and Mac (version 8), install required Any browser, plus a desktop app and TV apps
Web-based (no install) No, native app Yes, runs in any browser
Real-time collaboration (multiple operators) No, one machine holds the schedule Yes, multiple controllers at once
Prepare the service from home On the machine EasyWorship is installed on Any device with a browser
Control from phone / tablet Yes, free Remote app, same network only Yes, any browser, nothing to install
Google Slides sync No Yes, sync directly
PowerPoint import Yes Yes
Bible / scripture display 90+ translations, many are a paid add-on 2,300+ translations included, plus custom upload
Embed a live web page Yes, one-click web display Yes
Video (YouTube / Vimeo / upload) Yes Yes
Video backgrounds behind lyrics Yes Yes
Countdown / timer / rundown Yes Yes
Stock media library Yes, 49,000+ items on the Premium plan No, bring your own
Screen share to the output No Yes
Multiple independent outputs Yes Yes, each can show different content
Digital signage / always-on TV No Yes
AI lyric formatting No Yes
Self-host / own your data No, local files on one machine Yes
Works offline Yes, presenting is fully offline Desktop app works offline, cloud needs a connection
Stage display / confidence monitor Yes, foldback with clock and alerts Beta
Lower thirds / overlays / alpha channel Yes No
NDI (network video) Yes, in and out, plus NDI HX No
Livestream integration (OBS / vMix) Yes, via NDI and alpha channel No
MIDI / presenter remotes Yes No
CCLI / SongSelect import + reporting Yes, built in with auto-reporting No
Planning Center integration No, requested for years Yes, import your plan's songs and lyrics
Maturity Shipping since 2003, very established Younger, actively developed

We've highlighted the wins on each side deliberately. EasyWorship is clearly ahead on livestream output (NDI and alpha channel), CCLI SongSelect with automatic reporting, its bundled media library, offline operation, and a mature stage display. TheOpenPresenter is ahead on price, real-time collaboration, web and phone control from anywhere, Google Slides, included Bible translations, screen share, digital signage, and openness. Which column matters more depends entirely on your church. The exception worth noting: Planning Center. Churches have been asking EasyWorship for it for close to a decade and it still isn't there. We import your service plans directly.

Where EasyWorship is still better, and who should stay

We're not going to pretend otherwise:

  • • You livestream with lyrics on the stream. EasyWorship sends NDI and alpha channel video into OBS, vMix, or a mixer, so lyrics key over your camera feed. We don't do NDI, so that workflow isn't possible with us yet.
  • • You rely on CCLI SongSelect and reporting. EasyWorship has SongSelect built in, lyrics arrive pre-formatted, and copyright usage can report itself. We don't. You import lyrics from other sources or add them yourself.
  • • You want media supplied for you. The Premium plan bundles tens of thousands of backgrounds, countdowns, and title media. We don't ship a media library, you bring your own.
  • • Your building has unreliable internet. EasyWorship presents fully offline. Our cloud version needs a connection, though TheOpenPresenter Studio, our desktop app, runs offline too.
  • • You depend on a polished stage display. Foldback in EasyWorship has years behind it, with next-item previews, a clock, and alerts to the stage. Ours is still in beta.

If that's you, TheOpenPresenter isn't the right switch today. Bookmark us and check back.

Where TheOpenPresenter wins

For most small and mid-sized churches, the things below matter more than NDI ever will:

It's free, and it stays free as you grow

EasyWorship prices by average weekly attendance, so growing the church raises the bill. TheOpenPresenter is AGPL 3.0, so you can self-host it, read the code, and it can never be taken away from you. For churches under 50 weekly attendance, the full cloud plan is free through our sponsorship programme, storage and AI credits included.

Not tied to the booth computer

EasyWorship lives on an installed machine, and its remote app needs your phone on the same network. TheOpenPresenter is a web address. A volunteer can build the service at home on a laptop, and run it on Sunday from a phone in the back row.

Real collaboration

Several people can control the same presentation simultaneously, in real time. Prepare the service together during the week; run it together on Sunday. No single indispensable operator, and no copying a schedule file from one computer to another.

Google Slides, synced

Build announcements and sermon slides in Google Slides, where your team already works, and sync them straight onto the screen. With EasyWorship you'd export to PowerPoint and re-import every time something changes.

Planning Center, imported

Connect your Planning Center account once and pull in the service plans your team already builds there. The songs come across with their arrangement lyrics, so the set is ready before you touch a slide. EasyWorship users have been asking for this on the support forum since 2016.

Bibles included, not sold separately

EasyWorship gives you a handful of free translations and charges for many of the modern ones. We include 2,300+ translations, and you can upload your own if yours isn't there.

Share any screen, live

Push an operator's screen straight to the output over the network, handy for a last-minute website, a live document, or anything not built as a slide.

No laptop required

Plug a Fire TV Stick, Chromecast, or Android TV device into the screen and present straight to the TV. The same setup drives lobby or announcement displays through the week. See how.

Switching from EasyWorship

You don't have to rip everything out at once:

  1. Start free. Create an account. No card, no commitment.
  2. Bring your existing slides. Import PowerPoint files, or sync from Google Slides. For songs, paste the lyrics in and let the AI formatting split them into slides.
  3. Connect a screen, a browser on any device, or a TV stick. Setup guide.
  4. Run one service as a trial alongside EasyWorship. Keep the booth machine as backup until you're confident.

Most teams find a single mid-week meeting is the low-risk way to test it before trusting it with a Sunday. If your EasyWorship licence is a version 7 perpetual, there's no rush either way, it keeps working while you try.

Frequently asked questions

Is TheOpenPresenter really free?

Yes. It's open source under AGPL 3.0, so you can self-host it for free forever. The hosted cloud version is free for small churches, and free entirely (storage and AI included) for churches under 50 weekly attendance via our sponsorship programme.

Can it fully replace EasyWorship?

For most small-to-mid churches, yes. The gap is on the production side: if you send NDI or alpha channel video into OBS or vMix, or your song workflow runs through CCLI SongSelect, EasyWorship is still ahead.

I bought EasyWorship outright. Is my licence gone?

No, a version 7 perpetual licence keeps working on the machine it's installed on. But version 8 is sold as a subscription priced by weekly attendance, so staying current now means an ongoing bill. That's the point where a lot of churches start looking around.

Does it run on Mac and Windows?

It runs in any modern browser, so any OS works, including Linux and Chromebooks. There's also a desktop app, TheOpenPresenter Studio, for a native offline experience, plus TV apps for Fire TV and Android TV.

Does it work with Planning Center?

Yes. Connect your Planning Center account once, then import the service plans your team already builds there, songs and arrangement lyrics included. EasyWorship has no Planning Center integration, its own Planning BETA is a separate product you export from.

Can I move my EasyWorship songs and slides over?

There's no direct EasyWorship file import. You can bring content in via PowerPoint import, Google Slides sync, or a Planning Center service plan, and for loose song lyrics our AI formatting turns pasted text into slides in an instant.

Can multiple people control it at once?

Yes, in real time, from separate devices. EasyWorship runs from one machine with a remote app attached to it, so this is one of the biggest differences.

Does the remote work off the church wifi?

Ours does. The EasyWorship Remote app needs your phone on the same network as the computer. TheOpenPresenter is just a web address, so a volunteer can prepare and control the service from home, on mobile data, or from the stage.

What about livestreaming?

This is where EasyWorship is stronger. It sends NDI and alpha channel video straight into OBS or vMix. We don't do NDI yet, so if lyrics have to be keyed over your stream, stay where you are.

Does it handle CCLI / SongSelect?

No. EasyWorship has SongSelect built in with automatic copyright reporting. We don't. You import lyrics from other sources or add them yourself, and we don't track CCLI usage.

Do I have to pay extra for Bible translations?

Not with us. EasyWorship includes a set of free Bibles and sells many modern translations as add-ons. TheOpenPresenter includes 2,300+ translations, and you can upload your own.

Can I use it for digital signage too?

Yes. Because it runs in a browser on a TV stick and can loop slides, images, and web pages, the same setup can drive lobby or announcement screens during the week.

Try it free

If you're a small church that wants presentation software without a monthly bill that climbs with your attendance, that a volunteer can run from a phone, that your whole team can use at once. TheOpenPresenter is built for you.
Try it online now See the church plan

Free to start, no card needed. Or read how to get set up for church.

Verdict: if lyrics have to reach your livestream over NDI, or SongSelect is how your songs get in, stay on EasyWorship for now. For everyone else, there's no reason to pay by the head.