Scriptmate vs Rehearsal Pro: which rehearsal app to get in 2026
By Peter Lavskiy Updated 5 min read
Scriptmate reads the other parts out loud and waits for your cue. Free for seven days on iPhone. Get it on the App Store
| Feature | Scriptmate | Rehearsal Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Who plays the other characters | Natural voices made on the iPhone for English scripts, the built in voices for other languages, a different one per role, or your own recording of any line. | You. Record every other line yourself before you can rehearse. |
| When the next line plays | When you finish yours. Cue detection follows your line word by word. | On the recording's timing. Playback does not listen to you. |
| Getting the script in | Import a PDF or photos of paper sides, lines marked automatically. | Import, then record the scene line by line. |
| Self-tape | Built in, locked to landscape, reader in your headphones only. | Eyeline overlay for taping. No headphone-only reader. |
| Platform | iPhone. | iPhone and iPad. |
| Price | $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year, 7 day trial. | About $19.99 one time. |
Rehearsal Pro has been the working actor’s rehearsal app for over a decade. Scriptmate is the newest app in the category and it is ours, so read this with that in mind. The two are built on opposite ideas of what a rehearsal app is for, which makes the choice easier than most comparisons: pick the idea, and the app follows.
The difference in one sentence
Rehearsal Pro plays back a recording you made. Scriptmate listens to you and answers.
With Rehearsal Pro you record every line except your own, then the app plays your recording while the script scrolls like a teleprompter, repeating until you are off book. You control exactly how every cue sounds because you performed it. With Scriptmate the script comes in as a PDF or a photo of paper sides, the app marks your lines when you tap your character, gives every other role its own voice, and the reader comes in the moment you finish your line, because it follows your speech word by word.
Where Rehearsal Pro wins
Price. About $19.99 one time is the best deal in the category. If you rehearse constantly and hate subscriptions, it is hard to argue with.
Control over the read. A recording is exactly what you want it to be. If a director’s note changed how the other character delivers a line, you re-record that line and the read matches.
iPad. Rehearsal Pro runs on iPad as well as iPhone. Scriptmate is iPhone only.
Track record. A decade of working actors is a long time. Scriptmate does not have that history yet.
Where Scriptmate wins
Setup time. For a two page side due tomorrow morning, recording the whole scene before you can rehearse it is the step you do not have time for. Scriptmate goes from PDF to a running scene in seconds, with the other roles already voiced.
Timing. Playback does not listen. If you pause, paraphrase or restart, the recording keeps going and you end up serving its timing. Scriptmate waits, then answers when you finish, so the rehearsal trains you to respond rather than to hit a metronome. We wrote about why that matters in how to run lines without a reader.
The self-tape. Scriptmate records the tape in the same app, locked to landscape so a casting director never gets a vertical file, with the reader’s lines playing only through your headphones. The camera never hears the cue, you do. Rehearsal Pro gives you an eyeline overlay, and you solve the reader problem on camera day separately.
Which one to get
- You want to pay once and you are happy to record the other lines yourself. Rehearsal Pro.
- You get sides the night before and you self-tape regularly. Scriptmate.
- You need iPad. Rehearsal Pro, for now.
- You want a reader that keeps up when you paraphrase. Scriptmate, or any cue detection app. Rehearsal Pro is playback by design.
The wider field, including coldRead and blablabla, is in the rehearsal apps comparison, and the other options to Rehearsal Pro specifically are in Rehearsal Pro alternatives.
Questions
- Is Rehearsal Pro better than Scriptmate?
- For actors who want to pay once and control every word of the read, yes. Rehearsal Pro costs about $19.99 one time and plays back your own recording of the other lines. Scriptmate is a subscription, reads the other parts in its own voices, listens for your cue and records the self-tape in the same app.
- Does Rehearsal Pro listen for your cue?
- No. Rehearsal Pro plays your recording back while the script scrolls, so the timing is the recording's, not yours. Scriptmate follows your line word by word and answers when you finish it.
- Can I record a self-tape in Rehearsal Pro?
- Rehearsal Pro offers an eyeline overlay for taping. Scriptmate records the self-tape inside the app, locked to landscape, with the reader's lines playing only through your headphones so they stay off the recording.
- Which one is cheaper?
- Rehearsal Pro. It is about $19.99 one time. Scriptmate is $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year after a 7 day trial, with no one time option.
More comparisons
Scriptmate reads every other character out loud and waits for your cue, so you can rehearse a scene hands free and record a self-tape without the reader on your audio.
Download on the App Store