IEM Rig vs BuildYourRack
Strong general-purpose rack documentation with a genuine costed bill of materials.
Measured against the live product on 22 August 2026
BuildYourRack is aimed at server racks, network cabinets and AV installs. IEM Rig is built specifically for in-ear monitor and playback rigs in live production. That difference in audience explains almost every difference in the products.
BuildYourRack is the stronger documentation tool in a few concrete ways, and we say so below — it plans thermal load and circuit budget, it offers team accounts, and it draws a side view. Both tools cost a rack and both export the bill of materials to a spreadsheet; ours also prices the cables. Where IEM Rig is ahead is the signal layer and the catalogue: our gear is live-audio specific and human-checked rather than AI-generated, and we model the ports so a rack can actually be wired.
What each one costs
IEM Rig
- Free tier
- The whole planner, no account
- Paid tier
- None
- PDF export
- Included
BuildYourRack
- Free tier
- Hobby, €0 — 4 saved designs
- Entry
- €7.99–9.99 / month
- Top tier
- €99–125 / month
Feature by feature
IEM Rig leads 14 of 17 rows; BuildYourRack leads 3.
| IEM Rig | BuildYourRack | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Whole planner, no account | Hobby €0, sign-up required |
| Try without signing up | Yes | No |
| Device catalogue | 329 devices, 96 makers | Small, AI-generated |
| Specs checked by a human | Partly — 39 dimension-verified | No — all gear marked AI |
| Built for live audio | Yes — IEM and playback | Server, network and AV |
| Priced bill of materials | Yes, cables included | Yes, devices only |
| Where the prices come from | Tracked per device, kept current | You type your own cost |
| CSV / spreadsheet export | Gear, patch and rack sheets | Bill of materials |
| Weight and power totals | Yes | Yes, plus BTU/h and circuit budget |
| Side / depth view | No | Yes |
| Team accounts | No | Yes, up to 8 |
| Cable-level wiring | Yes, port to port | Not available on Hobby (free) |
| Signal-flow diagram | Yes | Not available on Hobby (free) |
| Auto-wire | Yes, proposes the patch | No |
| Patch list / I-O schedule | Yes | Grouping in the BOM, no patch list |
| Off-rack stage elements | Mics, wedges, FOH, truss | Racks and cabinets only |
| Describe a rig in words | Yes | No |
Where BuildYourRack is stronger
No tool wins everything, and pretending otherwise would waste your time.
Team accounts and community templates
Enterprise carries up to eight users with a shared workspace, and any build can be saved as a community template for others to start from. We are single-user, and our starting points are the archetype rigs we ship rather than anything the community contributes.
Thermal and circuit-load planning
Alongside weight and power they estimate BTU/h and let you set a circuit budget in watts and a maximum case weight, then track the rack against both. We show weight and power totals but none of the budgeting.
Teams, templates and three views
They offer team accounts up to eight people, saved community templates, and front, rear and side views with rendered, outline and filled artwork modes. We are single-user and have no side view.
Where IEM Rig is stronger
A catalogue built for live audio, by hand
Every device in BuildYourRack is marked AI-generated. Ours are curated for in-ear monitor and playback work — wireless transmitters, antenna distribution, mic splits, stage boxes, playback interfaces — with modelled rear ports, and each device gets its own reference page.
Wiring that exists today
BuildYourRack lists I/O routing on its pricing page, on both Hobby and Pro. Signed in on the free Hobby tier on 22 August 2026 we could not exercise it — the builder’s Routing tab was disabled, tooltipped "Coming soon". We did not test Pro, so treat this as one tier’s snapshot and confirm with them. IEM Rig wires port to port now, proposes the patch automatically, validates it, and draws the signal flow.
The prices are already in there
Their cost column starts empty — you enter a figure per module yourself, and it applies to that module everywhere. Every device in our catalogue ships with a tracked price that is re-checked on a schedule, so a rack costs itself the moment you build it, cables included.
It models the stage, not just the cabinet
Mics, wedges, FOH, playback machines and truss positions all live on the same canvas as the rack and can be wired to it. A rack diagram alone does not describe a monitor system.
Pick BuildYourRack
Choose BuildYourRack if you are documenting server or network cabinets, or if circuit-load planning and team seats matter more to you than signal flow.
Pick IEM Rig
Choose IEM Rig if you are building a monitor or playback rig and need the wiring, the patch sheet and gear data checked by someone who has done the job.
Common questions
Does BuildYourRack do I/O routing?
It is listed on their pricing page — "Limited I/O routing" on Hobby and "Full I/O routing & diagrams" on Pro. Signed in on Hobby on 22 August 2026 we could not exercise it: the Routing tab was disabled with a "Coming soon" tooltip. We did not test the Pro tier, so this is one tier’s snapshot on one day — check with them before deciding on it. IEM Rig ships port-level wiring, auto-wiring and a signal-flow view today.
Which one exports a spreadsheet?
Both do. BuildYourRack copies or downloads its bill of materials as CSV on the free tier. IEM Rig exports three CSV sheets, also free — a gear list, a patch list and a rack summary — and its costing includes the cables, which theirs does not. The patch list is the one neither of the other tools in this market can produce, because neither models a cable.
Is BuildYourRack good for live sound?
It can draw any 19-inch rack, but it is aimed at homelab, server and network documentation, and its gear library reflects that. For in-ear monitor and playback work you will spend time creating devices that IEM Rig already carries.
Can I use either one free?
Both have a free tier. BuildYourRack requires an account and caps you at four saved designs. IEM Rig needs no account at all and does not cap the planner.
Try it against your own rig
Build the rack, wire it, and export the patch sheet. No account, no trial clock, nothing to cancel.
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Figures on this page were observed directly on 22 August 2026 on each product’s live site and, where an account was available, inside the product on the tier named. Competitors ship changes; if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here for identification only.