NoSongRequests.com 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. NSR Pro is $10 a month or $100 a year, and Elite $20 a month or $200 a year.
• Free plan. NSR's Starter plan is free up to 100 requests a month, and its store pages say tipping is disabled in the free version; its app also asks non-subscribers to subscribe to block or decline requests. SpecialRequest's free plan has unlimited requests, votes, declining, tips and song recognition.
• Tips. Both take card tips through Stripe. NSR keeps them for Pro, and marks its Venmo, PayPal and Zelle tips as unverified. SpecialRequest has them on the free plan, and the guest's card is only charged when their song plays.
• Only at SpecialRequest. Requests limited to guests at the venue, reviews from your guests after the night, a chat with the guest behind each request, and a request page in French: we didn't find them on NSR's pages.

What you pay

NSR has three plans, priced in dollars. Starter is free, with up to 100 requests a month, a QR code and request page, and the apps. Pro, at $10 a month or $100 a year, adds unlimited requests, tips, bookings and ticket sales, DJ software integrations and its event modes. Elite, at $20 a month or $200 a year, adds up to 25 event pages and profiles, for teams. You subscribe on its website; the apps themselves are free.

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.

NSR's prices come from an archived copy of its own pricing page dated July 31, 2026, shown in dollars. SpecialRequest's are on our pricing page, and the stores show them in your currency. Over a year, SpecialRequest Premium costs about $40 less than NSR Pro.

A free plan you can actually use

NSR's Starter plan is free up to 100 requests a month. A busy wedding can go through that in one night, and its App Store and Google Play pages say tipping is disabled in the free version. Its app's release notes add that blocking, unblocking and declining requests ask non-subscribers to go Pro.

SpecialRequest's free plan has no request limit. Guests request and vote, you accept or decline, tips work, and song recognition marks songs played. You pay for Premium when you want DJ software sync, BPM and key, previews or a booking page, not to get through a busy Saturday.

In SpecialRequest

Create your event, show the QR code, and take requests without limits on the free plan. Create an event

Tips

Both apps take card tips through Stripe, with mandatory tips and minimums. NSR calls them verified tips and keeps them for Pro; it also shows your Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or M-Pesa handles, which it marks as unverified, since it can't confirm those payments.

On SpecialRequest, tips are in the free plan, and the guest's card is only charged when their song actually plays: nobody pays for a song they didn't hear, and you have no refunds to sort out. The fee is 10% + $0.30 per tip, Stripe's fees included.

What your guests get

Both request pages open from a QR code, with nothing to install, and both let guests show their support for the songs already requested. SpecialRequest asks guests to sign in with Google to vote, so one person can't push a song up ten times.

Where SpecialRequest goes further: with Premium, it can take requests only from guests who are at the venue, and after the night, guests rate the event and leave a comment you can read. Each request also has its own private chat between you and the guest (Premium). We found none of these on NSR's pages, nor a request page in French.

Where NoSongRequests.com does more

To be fair, NSR has a lot. Its pages list apps for iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, a crate in Serato, playlist sync with Spotify, TIDAL or Apple Music, kiosk mode and a TV display, shoutouts, a photo wall, a merch store, ticket sales, BPM, key and energy, lyrics, password-protected request pages, and modes for karaoke, weddings and line dancing. Its Elite plan handles up to 25 profiles. If you run several DJs or sell tickets at your shows, that's worth a look.

SpecialRequest keeps to what a DJ needs most nights, with everything in one plan at a lower price. Kiosk mode is on the way.

Design

This part is an opinion. NSR fits a lot behind one QR code, and we find its pages and app busy as a result: many modes, many settings, many places to tap.

SpecialRequest's request page does one thing, with large type you can read in a dark room and one action per screen, so guests get to their song fast and back to the dance floor. Try both free plans and judge for yourself.

Side by side

Switching from NoSongRequests.com

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