A free EasyWorship alternative that runs on your phone
EasyWorship is good software. The problem for a lot of churches isn't the software — it's everything the software needs around it: a Windows computer, a licence, and someone who knows how to drive it.
If you have been searching for something to replace EasyWorship because you don't have a laptop to spare on a Sunday morning, this page is for you. GoSlide is a free worship presentation app built for exactly that situation: the phone already in your pocket is the whole control room.
The actual problem with EasyWorship for small churches
It isn't that EasyWorship is bad. It's that it assumes a setup many congregations simply don't have:
- It needs a Windows PC. That's a dedicated machine that has to live at the church, stay updated, and not get borrowed during the week.
- It's paid software. For a church running on offerings, a recurring licence competes directly with things like chairs and electricity.
- It has to be installed and maintained. Someone owns that. When they travel, the projection often travels with them.
- The learning curve is real. Volunteer rotation means re-teaching the interface every few months.
None of that is a knock on the product. It's just a poor fit when your media team is one volunteer with an Android phone.
How GoSlide approaches it differently
GoSlide starts from the opposite assumption: the phone is the only hardware you can count on. Everything follows from that.
It runs in a browser
There is nothing to download and no licence key. Open goslide.app/app on your phone and you are in the controller. Add it to your home screen and it behaves like a normal installed app, including offline.
The phone controls, the screen displays
You open the output view on whatever is attached to the projector or TV, and control it from your phone. The two stay in sync over a live WebSocket connection, so a tap on your phone changes the screen effectively instantly.
It works when the Wi-Fi doesn't
Songs, scripture and settings are stored on the device. If the church internet drops mid-service, the service keeps running.
Your library follows you
Build a setlist on your phone during the week; sign in on the tablet at church on Sunday and it's already there. No USB sticks, no emailing files to yourself.
Side by side
| GoSlide | EasyWorship | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Paid licence |
| Runs on a phone | Yes — built for it | No |
| Needs a Windows PC | No | Yes |
| Installation | None — opens in a browser | Desktop installer |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
| Library syncs across devices | Yes, built in | Not by default |
| Bible built in | Yes, many translations | Yes |
| Best suited to | Churches without dedicated hardware | Churches with a media desk |
To be fair about it: if your church already has a working media desk, a trained operator and a Windows machine that never moves, EasyWorship's deeper feature set may still serve you better. GoSlide is aimed at the churches that never had that setup in the first place.
Getting your first service running
- Open the output on your display. If you have a smart TV, open
goslide.app/tvin its browser. If not, see our guide on projecting from a phone to a TV without a laptop. - Open the controller on your phone at goslide.app/app and pair it to the display.
- Build your setlist. Search the built-in hymn and song bank, or paste in your own lyrics. Add scripture readings as you go.
- Run the service. Tap to advance. The screen follows.
Most people who are already used to running projection get through a first service without needing instructions.
Common questions
Can I import my EasyWorship song database?
Not directly — there's no EasyWorship database importer. In practice this matters less than it sounds. GoSlide ships with a large hymn and song bank built in, and most churches find that rebuilding their actual weekly rotation takes one sitting, not a migration project.
Is it really free, or is there a paid tier waiting?
It's free to use. The project exists because its author watched churches struggle with the cost and complexity of presentation software.
What if I'd rather have desktop software?
Reasonable. OpenLP, OpenSong, Quelea and FreeShow are all free and open source, and they're genuinely good. They just need a computer. We compare the landscape in free worship presentation software.