IEM Rig vs Stagerack
The deepest hand-drawn device library in touring audio, sold as a paid licence.
Measured against the live product on 22 August 2026
Stagerack and IEM Rig both draw rack elevations for live production, and they are built on opposite bets. Stagerack bet on artwork: an in-house redrawn device library with front, rear and side views, sold as a licence. IEM Rig bet on the signal: what plugs into what, whether that patch is valid, and the patch sheet that comes out the other end — given away free.
The practical difference is what you get for nothing. Stagerack has a desktop sandbox you can try without an account, but creating or opening a project needs a paid licence. IEM Rig opens the whole planner, including wiring, signal flow and PDF export, without a sign-up.
What each one costs
IEM Rig
- Free tier
- The whole planner, no account
- Paid tier
- None
- PDF export
- Included
Stagerack
- Free tier
- Sandbox only, desktop, no saving
- Entry
- $35 / 30 days
- Top tier
- $18/mo · $215/yr
Feature by feature
IEM Rig leads 12 of 16 rows; Stagerack leads 3.
| IEM Rig | Stagerack | |
|---|---|---|
| Price to produce a finished document | Free | $35 for 30 days |
| Free tier | Whole planner, no account | None — no trial either |
| Device catalogue | 329 devices, 96 makers | 993 devices, 176 brands |
| Front / rear artwork | Yes, ports are wireable | Yes, hand-redrawn vector |
| Side / depth view | No | Yes |
| Custom patch panels | No | Yes |
| Cable-level wiring | Yes, port to port | No |
| Auto-wire | Yes, proposes the patch | No |
| Signal-flow diagram | Yes | No |
| Patch list / I-O schedule | Yes | No |
| Off-rack stage elements | Mics, wedges, FOH, truss | Racks only |
| Works on phone / tablet | Yes | Desktop only, stated on their site |
| PDF export | Yes, free | Yes, with a licence |
| Priced bill of materials | Yes, cables included | No |
| CSV / spreadsheet export | Gear, patch and rack sheets | No |
| Product maturity | Production | Labelled BETA v0.10.52 |
Where Stagerack is stronger
No tool wins everything, and pretending otherwise would waste your time.
A bigger, better-drawn catalogue
We counted 993 devices across 176 brands on their public database page — roughly three times our 329. The artwork is redrawn in-house rather than generated, it is visually consistent, and it includes a side view that we do not offer at all. If your rack is mostly lighting, video or network gear, they will have more of it than we do.
Custom patch panels
You can build a one-off patch panel in Stagerack. Every touring rack has one, and we have no equivalent yet. This is a real gap on our side, not a positioning difference.
Where IEM Rig is stronger
It knows what plugs into what
Stagerack places boxes in rails. IEM Rig models the ports on the back of each device, wires them together, proposes the patch for you, checks it for loopbacks and sample-rate clashes, and hands you a patch list. That is the document your rental house and your venue advance actually need.
The whole thing is free, with no account
There is no licence, no trial clock and no sign-up wall. You can open the planner, build a rack, wire it and export a PDF without ever giving us an email address.
It leaves the rails
A monitor rig is not just the rack — it is the rack plus the mics, the wedges, the FOH console and the truss. IEM Rig places off-rack elements and wires to them. Stagerack is racks only.
Pick Stagerack
Choose Stagerack if you need the widest device artwork, a side view, or custom patch panels, and a $35 licence is not an obstacle.
Pick IEM Rig
Choose IEM Rig if you need the wiring, the signal flow and the patch sheet — or if you want to produce a finished document today without paying.
Common questions
Is there a free version of Stagerack?
No. Stagerack offers a desktop-only sandbox you can open without an account, but there is no free tier and no trial — an account without a licence cannot create or open a project. The entry price is a $35 pass covering 30 days. IEM Rig is free and needs no account.
Which has more gear?
Stagerack. Counting the per-brand listings on their public database page on 22 August 2026 gives 993 devices across 176 brands, against 329 devices from 96 manufacturers in IEM Rig. Ours are focused on in-ear monitor and playback rigs and each one carries modelled rear ports so it can be wired.
Can Stagerack show signal flow or a patch list?
No. Stagerack draws rack elevations and exports a PDF project report. It does not model connections between devices, so it cannot produce a signal-flow diagram or a patch list. That is the main functional difference between the two tools.
Does Stagerack work on a phone?
No — their site states the builder is available on desktop only. IEM Rig works on phones and tablets with touch pan and zoom, and installs as an app.
Try it against your own rig
Build the rack, wire it, and export the patch sheet. No account, no trial clock, nothing to cancel.
Open the plannerOther comparisons
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.