Songkick vs Bandsintown vs Ents24 GigAlert vs CatchWorm: an honest comparison

Last reviewed: Oct 2026. Written by Lelen, founder of CatchWorm. Yes, we make one of these, so we've tried to be fair and we link to each company's own pages so you can check.

The short answer: Songkick and Bandsintown are mature, free apps that mainly alert you to shows near the locations you set. Ents24 GigAlert is the most established UK option, covering Great Britain and Northern Ireland. CatchWorm is a newer, free, UK-based web app that emails you about new dates worldwide or in your country and helps you plan travel and stays. All four are free for fans.

CatchWorm is a free, UK-based concert discovery and trip planning service that emails you when artists you follow announce new tour dates worldwide, not just near you, and helps you find ticket links, travel and somewhere to stay.

Comparison table

"Not in its app description" means we didn't find the feature in that company's official listing. It doesn't prove the feature doesn't exist. App store figures as of 18 Oct 2026.

Songkick

Best for: fans who mostly go to gigs in one or a few cities and want a polished, free phone app.

Songkick's App Store listing says it will notify you "as soon as they announce tour dates nearby". Its help centre explains that you track cities, and "by tracking a new city, you'll receive notifications whenever your tracked artists announce new events in that location". You can track more than one city, which helps if you split your time between places.

Where Songkick is stronger than CatchWorm

• Mature iPhone and Android apps with push notifications
• A very large user base ("over 15 million music fans", per its listing)
• One-tap artist imports from your music library, Apple Music, Spotify and others
• Social features such as sharing plans with friends, and fan reviews on artist pages

Things to know

• Alerts are tied to the cities you track, so you need to add each place you'd travel to
• Songkick is now run by Suno Inc., which acquired it from Warner Music Group in November 2025

Bandsintown

Best for: fans who want a free app focused on what's on around them, and who like following artists directly.

Bandsintown describes itself as helping you "discover concerts near you" and sending alerts "when they announce shows near you". Its help centre says "your location can only be set to one city at a time" for notifications, and you can adjust a distance radius in the app.

Where Bandsintown is stronger than CatchWorm

• Free iPhone and Android apps with push notifications, and 10M+ downloads on Google Play
• Spotify and Apple Music sync to follow artists quickly
• Features such as requesting a tour stop in your town and reading reviews

Things to know

• Notifications cover one location at a time; you can search other cities, but alerts follow your set location
• The Google Play listing says the app contains ads

Ents24 GigAlert

Best for: UK fans who want alerts for shows anywhere in the UK, plus comedy and theatre.

Ents24 calls itself "the UK's biggest live guide". It's an independent UK company that has been running since 1999 and introduced artist tracking in 2005. You can track artists, venues and events, and get alerts when dates are announced and when tickets are about to go on sale. Ents24 says you can choose alerts nationally or for selected areas.

Where Ents24 is stronger than CatchWorm

• Deep UK listings: Ents24 says it adds 14,000 new shows a month
• Free iPhone and Android apps, plus email and desktop notifications
• Covers music, comedy, theatre and festivals, and tracks venues as well as artists
• Presales, offers and VIP packages through Ents24
• Decades of experience and a large customer base

Things to know

• Ents24's FAQ says it concentrates on Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with occasional Dublin listings, so it's not built for following artists abroad
• Ents24 sells some tickets itself, so booking fees may apply on those sales

CatchWorm

Best for: fans who'd travel for the right show, at home or abroad, and want help planning the trip.

CatchWorm is free for users. When you set up alerts for an artist, you choose Worldwide or your country. You can ask for alerts about new tour dates, tickets going on sale, tickets back on sale from the official seller and new announcements. Each show has a page with ticket links, travel options and places to stay. CatchWorm adds no fees; it may earn a commission from partner links. "On sale" doesn't mean available.

Where CatchWorm is stronger

• Alerts aren't tied to a radius or a single city: choose Worldwide or your country
• Alerts when tickets go back on sale from the official seller, as well as on-sale and new-date alerts
• Each show page brings together ticket links, travel options and places to stay
• Free for users, with no fees added to tickets
• Email alerts, so you don't need social media or another app on your phone
• UK-based and independent

Where CatchWorm is weaker today

• It's in beta, run by one founder, and still growing
• For now, no native phone app or push notifications; alerts come by email only
• Smaller catalogue: its sources may not list every performer or show
• Alerts may not be immediate, because sources are checked periodically
• No automatic import from your music library or streaming services for now

Explore artists to follow the ones you'd travel for, or read why people look for a Songkick alternative.

Which should you choose?

• You only go to gigs in your own city: Songkick or Bandsintown will probably cover you.
• You go to gigs anywhere in the UK and like comedy or theatre too: Ents24 GigAlert is a strong choice.
• You'd travel abroad for an artist, or want new dates wherever they're announced: CatchWorm, with Worldwide alerts.
• You want to plan the whole night, including how to get there and where to stay: CatchWorm.
• You want the best chance of not missing anything: use two. For example, Ents24 or Songkick for local discovery, plus CatchWorm for the artists you'd travel for. Add the artist's own mailing list for presales. See how to hear about UK tour announcements without social media.

How we compared

We read each service's own website, help centre, terms and UK app store listings in October 2026. We only included facts we could find in those sources, and we've linked them below. Features change, so check the provider's own pages before you rely on something. If we've got something wrong, tell us through Contact and we'll correct it.

Sources: Songkick App Store, Google Play, Support, Terms. Bandsintown App Store, Google Play, Help: locations. Ents24 About, FAQ, GigAlert, App Store. CatchWorm FAQs and terms of use. The terms identify the operator, reviewed 19 October 2026.