Comparison · updated August 2026
Concert Archives alternatives
This is the closest thing we have to a direct competitor, so read the rest with that in mind. Concert Archives has been building since 2013 and is the most complete concert diary in existence. There's exactly one structural thing it doesn't do — and whether that matters to you is the whole question.
Concert Archives is genuinely good
A lot of "alternative" pages are written by people hoping you won't check. So: Concert Archives launched in 2013, runs on iOS, Android and the web, and by its own count holds well over a million documented concerts across hundreds of thousands of venues. It has a diary, photos and videos, notes, favourites, bucket lists, setlists on concert pages, friend follows, a newsfeed, group meetups and anniversary reminders for shows you went to years ago.
That is a more feature-complete product than ours. It's been built patiently by a community for over a decade and it has been covered in the sort of press most independent apps never get near. If you're already using it and happy, this page is not going to give you a reason to leave, and we're not going to invent one.
We make one of the alternatives here. On mobile coverage and sheer number of features, we lose. Those are the honest terms of the comparison.
One of us was actually there.
Every concert app in the world, Concert Archives included, runs on self-declared attendance. You say you were at a show, and the record accepts it. There's no malice in that — it's just how these products have always worked, because until phones had reliable location there wasn't another option.
Afterglow's one structural difference is that you can check in at the venue and have the show carry a verified stamp, visibly distinct from shows added afterwards. We're strict about it in the direction that costs us: shows you add retrospectively are not marked verified, because we weren't there to verify them. A stamp that's handed out freely isn't a stamp.
Whether that's worth anything depends entirely on what your list is for. If it's a private diary, you already know what you went to and verification adds nothing — go and use Concert Archives, it's better stocked. If the list is something you'd show people, the difference between a verified stamp and a ticked box is the whole difference.
GPS check-in while you're there. The one thing no other concert app does.
Designed for one-handed use in a dark room, because that's when it's used.
More features, longer track record, and an iOS app we don't have.
Concert Archives vs Afterglow
The rows that go against us outnumber the ones that don't. Scroll sideways on a phone.
| Feature | Concert Archives | Afterglow |
|---|---|---|
| Running since | 2013 | Considerably less |
| Concert database size | ✓ Millions of entries | ✓ Comparable — and logs anything |
| Log any show, incl. unlisted | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Verified attendance | ✗ Self-declared | ✓ GPS check-in at venue |
| Photos & videos | ✓ Yes | ✓ Show Room — verified attendees only |
| Friends & feed | ✓ Follows, newsfeed, meetups | ✓ Friends feed |
| Setlists on concert pages | ✓ Yes | ✗ None |
| Bucket lists & favourites | ✓ Yes | ✗ Not built |
| Anniversary / flashback reminders | ✓ Yes | ✗ Not built |
| Artist alerts | ~ Announcement browsing | ✗ Not built yet |
| Platforms | ✓ iOS · Android · Web | ~ Android · Web (no iOS app) |
| Bulk import of past shows | ✗ No | ✗ No — one at a time |
| Price | Free | Free — no paid tier |
Five rows go their way, two go ours. We think ours are the important ones, but you can see the shape of the trade.
Where people do get frustrated
Drawn from public app store reviews rather than our opinion — and worth reading alongside the fact that plenty of long-term users are perfectly happy.
App stability
The recurring complaint in reviews is bugginess — crashes, notifications that stick around, flows that don't quite behave. Reviewers who raise it usually say they're staying anyway because the underlying thing is worth the friction, which tells you something about how good the core product is.
Festivals are fiddly
A specific and widely repeated one: adding a festival can pre-select every act on the bill, with no quick way to deselect, so you're manually unpicking a hundred entries to record the six sets you actually saw. If your history is festival-heavy, try that flow before committing an afternoon to it.
You're helping build the database
Because it's community-powered, gaps exist — small venues, club nights, local bills — and filling them is part of the deal. Some people enjoy that and become prolific contributors. Others find it tedious. Neither reaction is wrong, but it's worth knowing which one you are before you start.
Design is a matter of taste
Interface changes have drawn strong opinions in both directions, which is what happens to any product with a devoted long-term userbase. We're not going to pretend our design is objectively better — it's different, and newer, and built phone-first. Look at both and pick the one you'd want to open on the walk home.
Which one is for you
Genuinely different answers depending on what you're after.
You want setlists and bucket lists and flashbacks, you're on an iPhone, or you simply want the longest-established concert database there is. All of those point one way, and it isn't ours.
- Since 2013, millions of documented concerts
- Setlists, bucket lists, favourites, anniversary reminders
- iOS and Android apps as well as the web
- Established, active community
- Attendance is self-declared, with no verification
- Reviewers report stability issues and awkward festival flows
Best for: Completists and long backlogs
The list is something you'd show people, and you'd rather it were provable than merely claimed. Check in while you're standing in the room and the stamp is verified — the one thing no other app in this category offers, ours or theirs.
- GPS-verified check-ins, kept meaningfully strict
- Built phone-first for use at the venue, not afterwards at a desk
- The Show Room — only people verified at that show can post
- Public passport page — share it, hide single shows, or opt out entirely
- Independent, UK-based, free with no paid tier
- Fewer features overall
- No setlists, bucket lists or anniversary reminders
- No artist alerts or push notifications
- No iOS app; iPhone users get the web app
- Past shows added one at a time, and not marked verified
Best for: A verified record built as you go
Using both is legitimate — Concert Archives as the deep historical archive, Afterglow as the check-in habit. It does mean entering shows twice, since no concert app imports from another. If you're weighing up the whole category, the six-app roundup is the fuller picture, and the Letterboxd comparison explains why the verified part matters more here than it would for films. Neither app does artist alerts well — for that, Bandsintown is the answer, and for setlist data it's setlist.fm.
Concert Archives alternatives — FAQ
What's the best alternative to Concert Archives?
Honestly? For most people, nothing — it's already the most complete concert diary available. Afterglow is worth considering for one specific reason: GPS-verified check-ins, which no other concert app offers. If setlists, bucket lists and an iPhone app matter more to you than verification, stay where you are.
Does Concert Archives have a mobile app?
Yes — iOS and Android, alongside the website. Reviewers report stability problems and some awkward flows, particularly around festivals, but the apps exist and are maintained. On platform coverage they beat us: we have no iOS app.
Does Concert Archives verify attendance?
No — and nor does anything else except Afterglow. You add a show and the record accepts it. For a private diary that's completely fine. It only matters when the list is something other people see.
Can I move my history between them?
No. No concert app imports from another, there's no shared standard for attendance data, and ticket vendors don't expose order histories to third parties. Switching means re-typing. Our guide to finding every concert you've been to at least makes the rebuilding part systematic.
Can I use both?
Yes, though they overlap more than most pairings in this space. The workable split is Concert Archives for the deep back catalogue and Afterglow for checking in as you go. Both are free, so the only real cost is entering shows twice.
