Free Church Presentation Software Compared: OpenLP, FreeShow, Quelea & VideoPsalm

Your church can put song lyrics, Bible verses, and announcements on a screen this Sunday without paying a software subscription. Four mature options stand out as genuinely free church presentation software: OpenLP, FreeShow, Quelea, and VideoPsalm.

We make church accounting software, not presentation software, so we have no horse in this race. We wrote this guide because small churches ask us about it all the time. Most small churches run on two kinds of software: something to put words on the screen, and something to keep the books. This article covers the first one honestly, and briefly mentions the second at the end.

Free church presentation software at a glance

All four are free to download and use, with no trial period and no watermark.

• OpenLP: runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, and FreeBSD. Known for its phone and tablet remote apps and a stage view on any device. Help comes from a manual and community forums.
• FreeShow: runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Known for separate room, livestream, and stage outputs, NDI, lyric search, and cloud sync. Help comes from online docs.
• Quelea: runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Known for sending lyrics to phones in the pews and built-in projector test patterns. Help comes from a community forum.
• VideoPsalm: runs on Windows (Mac only through Boot Camp or Parallels). Known for 400+ Bible translations and 10,000+ songs you can download inside the app. Offers email support.

OpenLP: the long-running standard

OpenLP is the best-known free option and a safe default for most small churches. It is open source, built by volunteers, and its developers state it is, and always will be, free. The current release is 3.1.7, and work on version 4.0 is under way.

What it does well

• Shows songs, Bible verses, images, videos, custom slides, and PowerPoint or LibreOffice presentations.
• Free Android and iOS remote apps, plus a browser remote, so a pastor can change slides from a phone.
• A built-in stage view that any device on the church network can open as a stage monitor.
• Imports songs from other popular presentation programs.

Keep in mind

• On a Mac, installation requires typing a short command in the Terminal app. The download page gives the exact steps.
• Help comes from the manual and community forums, not a support line.

Best for: a church with an older Windows laptop or a mix of computers that wants a proven, no-cost tool.

FreeShow: the most modern free option

FreeShow has the most polished feel of the four and the longest feature list. It is built by Live Church Solutions, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and funded by donations rather than subscriptions. The organization says it is not a business and FreeShow will always be free.

What it does well

• Separate outputs for the room, the livestream, and a stage display, each with its own look.
• NDI output, so lyrics can go to a streaming computer without extra cables or converters.
• Type a song title and it searches for the lyrics; type a reference and it builds scripture slides.
• Countdown timers, timed autoplay, and MIDI control for lighting cues.
• Imports from PowerPoint, ProPresenter, EasyWorship, and OpenSong, and exports so you are never locked in.
• Cloud sync, so more than one volunteer can prepare slides from different computers.

Keep in mind

• More features means more to learn. A volunteer who only advances lyrics may find it busier than they need.

Best for: a church that livestreams, or one moving off a paid program like ProPresenter or EasyWorship.

Quelea: thoughtful touches for the congregation

Quelea is a free, open-source program released under the GNU GPL v3 license. It is written in Java, so it runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, including donated or older machines. The current version on its site is 2024.0.

What it does well

• Sends lyrics in real time to any phone with a web browser, with adjustable colors. That helps anyone who struggles to read the screen.
• A separate stage view that shows chords to the band but not to the congregation.
• Video backgrounds, and Bibles in the free Zefania XML format in many languages.
• Imports from EasyWorship, OpenLP, OpenSong, and other sources.
• Built-in test patterns to help line up and focus a projector.

Keep in mind

• It is a desktop program with no cloud sync, so slides are prepared on the church computer.

Best for: a church with older members, or a volunteer setting up a projector for the first time.

VideoPsalm: the biggest built-in library

VideoPsalm is a free Windows program developed by volunteer Christians for evangelical churches. Its standout is content: it offers 400+ Bible translations in 140+ languages, plus an online library of 10,000+ songs, downloadable in a few clicks from inside the program.

What it does well

• A simple "viewer" mode, so a brand-new volunteer only presses the down arrow to advance.
• Chords over lyrics, bilingual slides, and on-the-fly corrections during the service.
• Controls PowerPoint files from inside the program, and works with OBS for livestream lower-thirds.
• Runs from a USB stick, so the same service plays at home and at church.
• Email support in English, French, and German.

Keep in mind

• It runs on Windows only. Mac users need Boot Camp, Parallels, or VirtualBox.

Best for: a Windows-only church, a bilingual congregation, or a church that wants songs and Bibles ready without typing.

Free forever vs. a free trial

Watch for the difference between free software and a free trial. Well-known paid programs such as ProPresenter, EasyWorship, and Proclaim are subscriptions that typically run a few hundred dollars a year. Proclaim, for example, offers a 14-day free trial, then a paid plan. A trial ends; the four programs above do not.

Paid programs earn their price with phone support, larger media libraries, and features busy multi-site churches use. For a church of 50 to 150 people with one screen, a free program usually covers everything you need.

The cost free software does not cover: song licensing

Free software does not give you permission to project copyrighted songs. Typing lyrics into a program to show on a screen counts as making a copy, so most churches need a copyright license for any song not in the public domain. CCLI is the most common provider; its Church Copyright License is priced by church size, and livestreaming needs an additional streaming license.

Two practical habits keep you covered:

• Show each song's copyright line and your CCLI license number on at least one slide of that song.
• Report the songs you use when CCLI asks. Several of these programs can store each song's CCLI number to make that easier.

Public-domain hymns need no license, which is one reason many small churches lean on classic hymnals. Your license, projector bulbs, and screen are real expenses, and your treasurer will want them in the budget.

Which one should your church choose?

Pick by your biggest constraint, then try it for a Sunday or two. Since all four are free, testing two side by side costs nothing but an afternoon.

• Livestreams, or leaving ProPresenter or EasyWorship? Start with FreeShow.
• Want the proven default with phone remote apps? Start with OpenLP.
• Older members who struggle to read the screen? Start with Quelea.
• Windows only, and want songs and Bibles ready to download? Start with VideoPsalm.
• Macs only? Start with FreeShow or OpenLP.

The other software your church needs

Once Sunday's screen is sorted, the next question is usually Monday's paperwork: who gave what, which fund it belongs to, and whether the budget is on track. That is where ChurchBooks3 comes in. It is not presentation software, and it will not replace any program above.

ChurchBooks3 is simple church accounting software built for small churches and volunteer treasurers. It handles:

• Donation tracking and year-end giving statements for your donors
• Fund accounting, so designated gifts stay in their funds
• Budgets and monthly financial reports for your board
• Membership records

If your church already keeps its books in a spreadsheet or a general business program and it feels like more work than it should be, try ChurchBooks3 free. If you are just starting out, our sample church chart of accounts shows where expenses like your CCLI license belong.

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenLP really free?

Yes. OpenLP is open source; its developers say it is free to download, use, and share, now and always.

What is the best free church presentation software for a Mac?

FreeShow and OpenLP both run natively on macOS. Quelea also runs on Mac through Java. VideoPsalm needs Windows.

Do we still need a CCLI license if the software is free?

Usually yes. The license covers the right to display copyrighted lyrics, which no software provides. Public-domain hymns are the exception.

Can free presentation software handle a livestream?

Yes. FreeShow sends lyrics over NDI, and VideoPsalm works with OBS. A separate streaming license from CCLI is still needed for copyrighted songs.

Can we move our songs from EasyWorship or ProPresenter?

Usually. FreeShow imports from ProPresenter and EasyWorship; Quelea and VideoPsalm import from EasyWorship; OpenLP imports from several other popular programs.