Honest comparison
Setlist.fm alternatives
Let's get the awkward part out of the way first: nothing replaces setlist.fm's setlist archive, and this page isn't going to pretend otherwise. But a lot of people searching for an alternative don't actually want a different setlist database — they want something better at the other job setlist.fm happens to do. Here's the honest map.
What setlist.fm does that nothing else does
Setlist.fm is one of the great achievements of fan-built internet infrastructure. It's a wiki: people who were at a show type in what got played, someone else corrects the encore order, and over years that accretes into a song-by-song record of live music going back to the 1950s. By the site's own count it now holds more than two million setlists. Nobody else has anything remotely comparable, and nobody is going to build it again — that kind of archive is the product of a decade and a half of unpaid, obsessive care.
It's also genuinely useful in ways that have nothing to do with tracking. You can see what a band has been opening with on the current tour, find out whether they're still playing the one song you want to hear, or settle an argument about whether they played it in Glasgow in 2014. If any of that is what you came for, stop reading and use setlist.fm. There is no alternative and you don't need one.
The reason "setlist.fm alternative" gets searched isn't usually that people want different setlist data. It's that they've been using setlist.fm as a concert diary — and noticed it isn't really built to be one.
That's the honest framing for this page. Setlist.fm has an attendance feature, and it's decent: mark yourself as having been at a show and you get stats — total gigs, most-seen artists, songs you've heard live. For plenty of people that's genuinely enough. But it's a feature bolted to a database, not the point of the product, and it shows.
Three different things people mean
"Setlist.fm alternative" covers at least three unrelated needs. The right answer depends entirely on which one is yours.
Setlist data
Stay put. Setlist.fm is the answer, it's free, and the coverage gap between it and anything else is enormous. Concert Archives has some setlist data and JamBase is strong on jam-band setlists specifically, but neither is a replacement — they're supplements for particular scenes. If the site has been frustrating you lately, it's usually the interface rather than the data, and the data is the irreplaceable half.
A record of the gigs you've been to
This is the one where alternatives genuinely help. Setlist.fm's "I was there" marking gives you a list and some statistics, but it can only log shows that have a setlist entry — which quietly excludes a lot of what you've actually attended. Club nights, DJ sets, festival side stages, the local band you saw in a pub back room: no setlist, no entry, no way to log it. If your gig-going lives in that half of the world, the archive isn't the right container for it.
You'll also notice there's no verification of any kind. Anyone can mark themselves as attending anything, which is fine for personal stats and useless the moment you want the record to mean something to someone else.
Something social
Setlist.fm has a community, but it's a contributor community rather than a social network — people collaborating on data, not friends seeing what friends are up to. There's no feed of what people you know are going to, no way to find out who else was in the room, no sharing a night with the people who were at it. That's a different product, and this is the gap most of the alternatives below are trying to fill.
Who owns it
Setlist.fm has been owned by Live Nation Entertainment — Ticketmaster's parent company — since it was acquired over a decade ago. In fairness, the site has been left largely alone since: the community still drives the data and it hasn't been turned into a ticketing funnel. Whether corporate ownership of a fan archive bothers you is a judgement call, not a technical fault, and we're not going to inflate it into one.
Setlist.fm vs the alternatives
Including the rows where Afterglow comes off worse. A comparison table that only flatters the person who made it isn't worth reading.
| Feature | Setlist.fm | Concert Archives | Afterglow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setlist database | ✓ Unmatched — the reason to use it | ~ Some data, far smaller | ✗ None — not what it's for |
| Log shows you attended | ~ Only shows with a setlist entry | ✓ Any show | ✓ Any show |
| Verified attendance | ✗ Self-declared | ✗ Self-declared | ✓ GPS check-in at the venue |
| Friends & social feed | ✗ Contributor community, not a feed | ✗ No | ✓ See what friends are going to |
| Artist following & alerts | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ Not built yet |
| Recommendations from your taste | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No — discovery is via friends only |
| Push notifications | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ Not yet |
| Bulk import of past shows | ✗ One at a time | ~ One at a time, fast entry | ✗ One at a time |
| Shareable public profile | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Optional — or hide single shows |
| Mobile experience | ~ App exists, feels dated | ~ Web only, desktop-shaped | ✓ Built mobile-first |
| Ownership | Live Nation Entertainment | Independent | Independent, UK-based |
| Price | ✓ Free | ✓ Free | ✓ Free — no paid tier |
| Platforms | iOS · Android · Web | Web | Android · Web (no iOS app) |
What's worth using alongside it
For a wider field including Bandsintown, Songkick and JamBase, we've written a fuller roundup of concert tracking apps.
The definitive record of what got played, where and when. Also does basic attendance tracking and stats as a side feature. Keep using it — the question is only whether it's doing everything you want.
- Setlist coverage nothing else approaches
- Free, community-run data, open API
- Artist following and alerts
- Attendance stats are genuinely fun
- Can only log shows that have a setlist entry
- No verification — anyone can claim anything
- Contributor community, not a social feed
Best for: Anyone who cares what was played on stage
The closest thing to a dedicated attendance database. Long-running, browser-based, and it will happily log anything — including all the shows setlist.fm has no entry for.
- Logs any show, setlist or not
- Deep venue and tour history pages
- Fast to add a long backlog
- Independent and free
- Interface is showing its age
- Web only — awkward on a phone at a venue
- No verification or social layer
Best for: Archivists with a big backlog and a laptop — more in our Concert Archives comparison
A concert passport rather than an archive. Check in at the venue for a GPS-verified stamp, keep a permanent history, and see what friends are going to. We don't do setlists and have no plans to.
- GPS-verified check-ins, visibly distinct from shows you add yourself
- Logs any show — no setlist required
- Built mobile-first, for use at the venue
- Friends' activity, not an algorithm
- Public passport page you can share, opt out of, or hide single shows from
- Free, independent, UK-based
- No setlist data at all
- No artist alerts or push notifications yet
- No iOS app — iPhone users get the web app
- Past shows are added one at a time; there's no bulk import
Best for: Logging the night itself, on your phone, in the room
Use both. They're not the same tool.
We're not trying to move anyone off setlist.fm, and we'd be lying if we said we could. The two things record different halves of the same night: setlist.fm remembers what the band played. Afterglow remembers that you were there — with a stamp that means something because it was made at the venue, not typed in afterwards.
A realistic setup looks like this. You're at the show; you check in on your phone and the stamp is verified. Afterwards, if the setlist matters to you, you add or check it on setlist.fm like you always have. One tells you what was played; the other is your record of a life spent going to gigs. Neither is trying to do the other's job.
Check in at the venue and the stamp is verified. Shows added later sit in your passport as self-reported — the difference is visible.
Club nights, DJ sets, side stages, a mate's band in a pub. No setlist entry required for it to count.
See what people you know are going to, and who else was in the room at shows you've logged.
Share your passport publicly, opt out of the public page entirely, or hide the individual shows you'd rather keep private.
One thing to be straight about before you sign up: there's no bulk import. If you've got years of setlist.fm attendance history, you'll be adding it one show at a time. If you're rebuilding from scratch rather than copying a list you already have, our guide to finding every concert you've been to covers where the records are hiding. For upcoming shows rather than past ones, Bandsintown is still the one to beat.
Setlist.fm alternatives — FAQ
Is there anything that replaces setlist.fm's setlist database?
No, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. Decades of crowd-sourced setlists, built by contributors over many years, covering shows back to the 1950s — that archive is not going to be rebuilt. If you want to know what was played on a given night, setlist.fm is the answer.
Can you track which concerts you've been to on setlist.fm?
Yes — mark yourself as attending and you'll get stats on gig count, most-seen artists and songs heard live. The catch is that you can only log shows that already have a setlist entry, which rules out club nights, DJ sets and most small local gigs. There's also no verification of any kind, so the record is personal rather than provable.
Who owns setlist.fm?
Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster's parent company, acquired it over a decade ago. To be fair to them, the site has been left broadly alone and the community still runs the data. Whether that matters to you is a personal call.
Can I use setlist.fm and a concert tracking app together?
Yes, and that's what we'd actually recommend. They record different things — songs on stage versus nights in your life. Afterglow is deliberately not a setlist archive, so there's nothing to migrate and no reason to choose.
What's the best alternative for tracking attendance specifically?
Concert Archives if you want the longest-running database, with setlists, bucket lists and flashbacks on top. Afterglow if you want verified check-ins, the Show Room and friends' activity. Both are free, so trying both costs you nothing but an evening. The full roundup covers the rest of the field, and if the idea you're chasing is Letterboxd but for gigs, that's its own comparison.
