For game masters on Apple devices, Summoning Stone is the strongest Pocket Bard alternative. It’s a pro-level app with fully customizable scenes grouped by campaign, access to millions of songs, room acoustics, a TV display and hands-free control, and its subscription costs less than Pocket Bard’s. Other options suit other needs.
We make Summoning Stone, so weigh our view accordingly. Facts about the other apps come from their own pages as of October 2026.
Why look beyond Pocket Bard?
- You want to build your own scenes and campaigns for each group you run.
- You want a TV display for artwork and maps.
- You want to control audio hands-free with Siri or a Stream Deck.
- You want your own music or a very large music library.
- You want a lower-cost subscription. See cheaper alternatives to Pocket Bard.
The alternatives
| Best for | Platforms | |
|---|---|---|
| Summoning Stone | Customizable scenes, millions of songs, TV display, Siri and Stream Deck, live streaming | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Syrinscape | A deep catalogue of purpose-built sound sets, in the browser | Browser-based player, plus apps |
| Audio Forge | Playing your own audio files, offline | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Tabletop Audio | Ambience with nothing to install | Any modern browser |
Summoning Stone
Build fully customizable scenes with music, layered ambience and effects, group them by campaign, and start any scene with one tap. Each plays exactly as you saved it, with reverb for caves, halls and churches. Create custom campaigns for each group you run, or start from community-made ones. Built-in audio is cleared for commercial use, so it suits live streaming. It’s free to download, with a free tier. See the full Summoning Stone vs Pocket Bard comparison.
Syrinscape
A very large library of sound sets, mixed in the browser, with support for uploading your own audio. Its site cites 7,087 music tracks and 1,800 SoundSets. See Summoning Stone vs Syrinscape.
Audio Forge
A soundboard for your own MP3, WAV and OGG files that works offline. See Summoning Stone vs Audio Forge.
Tabletop Audio
A website of ambiences and SoundPads that runs in any modern browser. See Summoning Stone vs Tabletop Audio.
Which Pocket Bard alternative should you choose?
- Summoning Stone if you’re on Apple devices and want customization, features and a tool that gets out of your way.
- Syrinscape if you want the biggest catalogue of sound sets in a browser.
- Audio Forge if you mainly want to play your own audio files.
- Tabletop Audio if you just want ambience with nothing to install.
For a wider view, see our guide to the best tabletop audio apps.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Pocket Bard?
For game masters on Apple devices, we think it’s Summoning Stone: fully customizable scenes, millions of songs, a TV display and hands-free control.
Is there a free alternative to Pocket Bard?
Summoning Stone is free to download, with free sounds, music, effects and up to five scenes. See what’s free.
Is there a Pocket Bard alternative for streaming?
Summoning Stone’s built-in audio is cleared for commercial use with attribution, so it suits live streaming. See stream-safe music.
Is there a Pocket Bard alternative for Android?
Summoning Stone is on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and Android is in development.