CueCall vs. BackstageOS: two takes on the stage manager's desk

BackstageOS is stage-management-centric: production and rehearsal reports, schedules, script breakdowns, props and costumes, contacts and show documentation.

Where BackstageOS wins

  • It is shaped around the stage manager's paperwork, which is the right shape if the prompt book is your centre of gravity.
  • A team that wants documentation and nothing beyond it.

Where CueCall differs

  • This is the closest comparison of the set; the difference is breadth on either side of the stage manager's desk.
  • CueCall covers the same documentation — rehearsal reports drafted from the calendar, scene breakdowns, props and costumes, contacts — and adds the phases around it: auditions and cast offers before rehearsals begin, budget and expenses throughout, a shared company inventory and roster across productions, and a marketplace for renting pieces from other theatres.
  • Blocking is drawn on uploaded ground plans with set pieces that keep per-cue positions, and the script viewer pins notes and cues to the page.

Side by side

Reports and paperwork

  • BackstageOS: Production and rehearsal reports, schedules and show documentation.
  • CueCall: Rehearsal reports drafted from the calendar event, run sheets, cue sheets, mic plots and contact sheets.

Script

  • BackstageOS: Script breakdowns.
  • CueCall: A script viewer with page-pinned notes and cues, versions and an annotated export.

Casting

  • BackstageOS: Not its focus.
  • CueCall: Auditions through to cast offers.

Budget

  • BackstageOS: Not its focus.
  • CueCall: Budget lines, expenses and reimbursements.

Company resources

  • BackstageOS: Per production.
  • CueCall: One roster and one inventory pool across every production, plus the rental marketplace.

Pricing

  • BackstageOS: See the vendor's current plans.
  • CueCall: Per show, not per user: the first two shows free for a year each, then $14.99 a year per show or $49 a year for unlimited shows.

Which to choose

Choose BackstageOS if stage management paperwork is the need, and the rest of the production is handled elsewhere.

Choose CueCall if you also want casting, budget and company-wide inventory in the same place as the paperwork.

Some companies run both, and nothing in CueCall requires using every part of it.

What CueCall deliberately does not do

  • Ticketing, box office and patron CRM. Out of scope by design; pair CueCall with a dedicated provider such as Tessitura, Spektrix or AudienceView.
  • Fundraising and donor management. Donors and sponsors can be listed in a show program, but CueCall does not run campaigns, process gifts or keep donor records.
  • Payroll and contracts.
  • Live show calling or cue playback. CueCall documents cues; it does not fire them.

CueCall pricing

  • The first two shows are free for a full year each, with every feature and unlimited users.
  • Additional shows are $14.99 per year each.
  • Unlimited shows: $49 per year.
  • Pricing is per show, not per user — adding your entire cast, crew and creative team costs nothing extra.
  • School district pricing with student login: $299 per year with five classrooms included, then $70 per classroom. This is the plan for schools that need district single sign-on and a signed data processing agreement. A classroom is a class or group of up to 35 students, with unlimited shows, and orders are paid by purchase order and invoice.
  • After a show's year ends there is a 7-day grace period, then the show becomes read-only. Data is never deleted.

The CueCall features this compares

  • Rehearsal Reports — Rehearsal reports drafted automatically from the day's notes and timeline, reviewed by the stage manager, then published and emailed to the team.
  • Tech Cues — Light, sound, deck and other cues recorded against scenes, with a master cue view and filtering by type.
  • Mic Plot & Wireless Assignments — A mic plot generated from character and scene data, adjusted by hand in a grid, and exported or imported.
  • Inventory & Ownership Tracking — Costumes, props and set pieces catalogued with photos, categories, QR codes and owned/rented/borrowed status plus rental history.
  • Budgets & Expenses — Budget lines and recorded expenses with receipts, where who can see or spend against the budget is granted person by person.

Read next

Company positioning above reflects each product's own public description of itself; verify current features and pricing with the vendor before relying on it.

  • The long version: BackstageOS alternatives, in depth
  • How CueCall compares to other theatre software — An honest map of theatre software — scheduling, scripts, casting, blocking, stage-management paperwork, ticketing — and where CueCall fits among them.
  • CueCall vs. Propared — Propared is a planning-first calendar for live events; CueCall attaches the schedule to casting, inventory, budget and paperwork. Where each one wins, side by side.
  • CueCall vs. ProductionPro — ProductionPro centres on the script and score; CueCall is a prompt-book-shaped script viewer plus the casting, inventory, budget and paperwork around it. Side by side.
  • CueCall vs. Cast98 — Cast98 runs auditions, conflicts and company communications; CueCall runs the audition and then the production that follows it. Where each one wins, side by side.
  • CueCall vs. Stage Write — Stage Write is the Broadway standard for spacing charts; CueCall documents blocking on ground plans, synced to the music, as one thread of the production. Side by side.

Try CueCall

Your first two shows are free for a full year each, with every feature and unlimited users. Pricing is per show, not per user.