Lime DJ vs SpecialRequest: Which song request app for DJs in 2026?

The short answer

• Price. SpecialRequest Premium costs US$6.99 a month or US$59.99 a year (CA$9.99 and CA$79.99 in Canada), the lowest price of the song request apps we compare. Lime DJ's plans are US$14, US$19 and US$35 a month, and the cheapest still costs US$156 a year.
• Free plan. SpecialRequest's free plan runs real events: unlimited guests and requests, live votes, tips and song recognition. Lime DJ's free account comes with a demo database, two music bingo games and two client portals.
• Apps. SpecialRequest has full apps for iPhone, Android and Mac, plus the web. Lime DJ is a website with a basic iPhone app for notifications; on Android, you add the site to your home screen.
• DJ software. Lime DJ syncs requests to a TIDAL playlist. SpecialRequest syncs them to a Tidal or Apple Music playlist.
• Played songs. On Lime DJ, you mark the song playing now. SpecialRequest hears what you play and marks requests played on its own, on the free plan.
• Only at SpecialRequest. An access code for private events, song previews right in the app, requests limited to guests at the venue, and reviews from your guests after the night: we didn't find them on Lime DJ's pages.

What you pay

Lime DJ prices everything in US dollars, with three plans: Basic at US$14 a month (US$13 a month billed yearly, so US$156 a year), Pro at US$19 and Pro+ at US$35, which adds music bingo. Its terms describe prepaid plans that don't renew on their own, with no refunds for unused time. A free account exists, with a demo database, two music bingo games and two client portals; its pages don't say it can run your live shows.

SpecialRequest has two plans. Free covers unlimited events, guests and requests, the QR code and link, live votes, song search in Apple Music, Tidal or Spotify, an access code, tips and song recognition. Premium adds everything else, DJ software sync, BPM and key, song previews, your repertoire, the booking page, the agenda, posters, guest reviews, refusal reasons and the chat, for US$6.99 a month or US$59.99 a year (CA$9.99 and CA$79.99 in Canada). If you'd rather not subscribe, the Season pass is three months of Premium for US$17.99 (CA$24.99), paid once.

Lime DJ's prices are the US dollar amounts on its pricing page on October 25, 2026. SpecialRequest's are on our pricing page, and the stores show them in your currency. Over a year, SpecialRequest Premium costs US$96 less than Lime DJ's cheapest plan.

A real app, or a website

Lime DJ runs in the browser. Its App Store page shows a free iPhone app, version 1.0 from July 2024, that its site describes as a basic app for notifications; for Android, its pages suggest adding the website to your home screen.

SpecialRequest has full apps on iPhone, Android and Mac, and the same account on the web. You create events, accept or decline requests and follow your tips from your phone, in the booth, without a laptop open on a website. Your guests, like with Lime DJ, need nothing: they scan the QR code and request from their browser.

In SpecialRequest

Your events, your QR code and your requests in one app, on iPhone, Android or Mac. Create an event

Getting requests into your DJ software

Lime DJ syncs requests to a TIDAL playlist your DJ software can read, and works with VirtualDJ's "Ask the DJ". We found no Apple Music sync on its pages.

SpecialRequest puts the songs you accept in a Tidal or Apple Music playlist that Serato DJ Pro, rekordbox and djay Pro read, or VirtualDJ with Tidal. Both apps show the BPM and the key of a request; SpecialRequest also marks the request played once it hears it in the room.

In SpecialRequest

Connect your Tidal or Apple Music account once, and every song you accept lands in the event's playlist, ready in your DJ software. With Premium. DJ software sync

Played songs and previews

On Lime DJ, you mark a request "Playing Now" or "Not Available" yourself, and to hear a song first, Lime DJ opens the matching track in Spotify.

SpecialRequest listens to the room and marks requests played on its own, on the free plan, so guests see their song came up and you never touch the phone mid-set. With Premium, you also hear a short preview of any request right in the app before you decide.

Tips

Both apps take tips by card through Stripe. Lime DJ deposits them in your Stripe account, can make them mandatory with a minimum, and moves tipped songs up the queue. Its site doesn't state its own fee on tips.

On SpecialRequest, tips are part of the free plan, and the guest's card is only charged when their song actually plays. If the night ends before you get to it, the guest pays nothing, and you have no refunds to manage. The fee is 10% + $0.30 per tip, Stripe's fees included.

Private events, the venue and reviews

We found no access code on Lime DJ's pages: its options cover the number of requests per show and per person, duplicates and a word filter, and it can ask guests for their email. SpecialRequest adds a four-digit access code to any event, on the free plan, and with Premium, it can take requests only from guests who are at the venue.

After the night, Lime DJ sends guests to your Google reviews. SpecialRequest asks them to rate the night and leave a comment, and shows you every review with Premium.

Where Lime DJ does more

To be fair, Lime DJ is a bigger toolbox for some nights. Its site lists music bingo, a lyrics player, photo albums your guests fill that play as a slideshow, guest pages translated into more than 100 languages, several users per account, and monthly charts with a CSV export. If you host karaoke or bingo nights, that's worth a look.

SpecialRequest stays focused on requests, and on doing them well, at a price that doesn't need a busy month to pay off.

Design

This part is an opinion. Lime DJ's many modules make sense for a karaoke host who runs bingo on Tuesday and a band on Friday. For a DJ who mostly wants requests, we find it a lot to set up, and a lot to pay for.

SpecialRequest was designed around the one thing your guests do all night, request a song: large type you can read in a dark room, one action per screen, and a request page that looks like part of your event. Try the free plan at your next gig and judge for yourself.

Side by side

Switching from Lime DJ

Nothing to migrate: your events are one-night things. Here's how to try SpecialRequest at your next gig without paying anything:

1. 1Create your free account, in the app on iPhone, Android or Mac, or on the web.
2. 2Create your event, add an access code if it's private, and print the QR code.
3. 3Turn on tips with a minimum if you want them: they're in the free plan, and guests only pay when their song plays.
4. 4Want DJ software sync, BPM and key and song previews for a busy season? The Season pass gives you three months of Premium, paid once, no subscription.

In SpecialRequest

The free plan covers events, guests and requests without limits, with tips and song recognition, no credit card needed. See the plans