Ormilio vs Holyrics

Holyrics is one of the best-known free programs for showing song lyrics in church, especially in Brazil. Ormilio is newer and does something different. Holyrics puts the words on the big screen from a computer. Ormilio puts the same words on everyone's phone and on the big screen, led from a phone.

Here is a simple look at both, so you can see which one your group needs, or how they work together.

What Holyrics is

Holyrics is a free program for Windows computers that shows songs and Bible verses on the big screen. It has themes and moving or video backgrounds, quick Bible verses, an audio and video player, an online lyric search, and a history of what was sung in each service. It also has a stage view for the team, a team schedule and reports on the songs you sing most.

On the phone, the Holyrics app is a remote: it controls the lyrics, the Bible and the media on the computer. Team members can also keep the songs on their phone to look at offline. A song list can be shared online so it opens in a browser. With a plugin, what is on the screen can also be shown in browsers on the same network, but someone has to set it up.

Holyrics is free. An optional paid add-on, Holyrics Plan, costs a few US dollars a month and adds online features for sharing with the team.

What Ormilio is

Ormilio is a simple web app for showing the words of songs and readings. The leader picks songs from the free library of public domain hymns and royalty-free songs, or pastes in their own words. Each verse becomes a slide. Then the leader puts today's songs in order and moves forward from a phone. They can tap Next line by line, or set the seconds per line and let the words move on their own.

Everyone else joins by scanning a QR code, tapping a WhatsApp link or typing a short join number. There is no app to install and no account to make. The words open on each phone, on the same line as the big screen. Each person can make the letters bigger, switch to dark mode, scroll back, and tap to catch up. The big screen shows the same words full screen, easy to read from the back.

Ormilio shows plain lyrics and readings only, in any language and alphabet. There are no chords, no audio, no video and no backgrounds. It is free forever for up to 10 songs and 20 people at once. Ormilio Plus costs $10 a month, paid in your own currency. In Brazil that means paying in reais, with Pix.

The main differences

Who the phone is for. In Holyrics, the phone mostly helps the team: it controls the program and keeps songs handy. In Ormilio, the phone is for everyone. Each person follows the words on their own screen, line by line, with the leader.

Wi-Fi and setup. To show the live words in browsers with Holyrics, phones need to be on the same network as the computer, and someone needs to set up the plugin. Ormilio works over the internet. People join on mobile data with a QR code or a WhatsApp link, and there is nothing to set up.

Computer or phone. Holyrics needs a Windows computer running during the service. With Ormilio, the leader can do everything from a phone. Holyrics does much more on the big screen, though: backgrounds, videos, audio, Bible verses and team planning. Ormilio shows only the words.

Can you use both?

Yes, and they fit together well. Keep Holyrics on the big screen with your backgrounds and Bible verses, and use Ormilio so everyone can read the songs on their phone. This helps the back rows and anyone who needs bigger letters.

They are separate tools, so today's songs go into Ormilio too, and someone moves the words forward in Ormilio while Holyrics runs on the computer. For a home group, a prayer meeting or a youth night with no computer, Ormilio can also do the whole job on its own.

Which one fits your group?

Choose Holyrics if you want a free, complete program for the church computer, with Bible verses, backgrounds, videos and team schedules on the big screen.

Choose Ormilio if you want everyone to read the words on their own phone, with no Wi-Fi setup and nothing to install, or if you meet without a computer or projector. Choose both if you love Holyrics on the big screen and want the whole room on the same line.