Ridermaker and StageBuilder Pro both live in the browser, both make stage plots, and both spit out a PDF you can send to a venue. Past that, they part ways — they're built for different people doing different jobs. This is a straight comparison of the two, so you can tell in a couple of minutes which one is worth your time.
A note on fairness up front: everything below about Ridermaker is drawn from its own site and a hands-on look, as of July 2026. We're describing it, not running it down — and where the two tools genuinely overlap, we say so.
Ridermaker is an online stage plot maker paired with a channel list and a rider builder, running entirely in the browser with no install. You drop stage items onto a virtual stage — instruments, microphones, monitors, and set pieces like curtains, truss, and lighting — then build a channel list alongside it with custom columns and colors. You can add technician contacts and production requirements, import a background image, and export the whole thing as a single combined PDF: the plot and the paperwork in one document.
That's a genuinely useful package for one specific person: a band leader or solo act documenting their own setup and sending it ahead to a club. The channel list and rider live next to the plot, so you're not maintaining three separate files. For a single act on a single stage, that covers the job.
The honest caveats are the same ones that apply to most tools in this corner of the market. Ridermaker is 2D only — there's no way to orbit the stage or check things in three dimensions. There's no automatic placement; you position every item by hand. There's no real-time collaboration; it's a solo document you export and email. And the interface, while functional, feels a step or two behind current web apps — visually dense and a bit fiddly compared to what people now expect from a browser tool.
StageBuilder Pro is a real-time 3D stage plot builder aimed at intermediate-to-pro touring production. It also runs entirely in the browser with no install, but the core difference is dimensional: you build in a live 3D scene, orbit the stage from FOH, the wings, or straight overhead, then flip to a clean 2D plan for the printed advance. Spatial problems that a flat diagram hides — a riser under a low truss, subs stacked into a sightline — are obvious the moment you can rotate the view.
The item library spans 200+ items across five departments: audio, lighting, video, staging, and backline. Items snap to a configurable grid and auto-snap to truss edges and deck surfaces. And instead of placing everything by hand, you can describe the rig in plain language — "two line arrays each side, four subs ground-stacked center, FOH console 60 ft out" — and the AI Build assistant (Pro and above) places it instantly, in-browser, with no server round-trip. Export is a one-click PDF that combines the 2D overhead, a grayscale tech view, the 3D perspective, and input and output lists of mic types, stand requirements, and channel assignments you can color-code by department; the lists and a bill of materials also download as CSV. Every account can send a read-only rider link, and on Elite, live multi-user editing lets a whole production team work the same plot at once.
| Feature | Ridermaker | StageBuilder Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Web / browser — no install | Web / browser — no install |
| 2D / 3D | 2D only | Real-time 3D + 2D plan |
| Item library | Stage items — instruments, mics, monitors, curtains, truss, lighting | 200+ items across 5 departments (audio, lighting, video, staging, backline) |
| Input / channel list | Built-in channel list; custom columns & colors | Auto-generated from the plot; color-codeable by department |
| Rider / paperwork | Channel list + rider builder (tech contacts, production requirements) | Full rider PDF: 2D plan + tech view + 3D view + input/output lists |
| Placement | Manual | Manual + plain-language AI Build (Pro and above) |
| Collaboration | None — solo document | Live multi-user editing (Elite; invitees join free) + read-only rider links on every account |
| Export | Combined PDF (plot + lists) | One-click PDF; input/output lists and BOM as CSV |
| Pricing | Free (1 rider, unlimited PDFs); annual Pro & Premium tiers | Free tier; Pro $10/mo ($100/yr); Elite $20/mo ($200/yr); $400 Lifetime |
| Account requirement | Account-based | None to start building (local storage); free account to export, share and sync |
Strip away the feature list and it comes down to three things.
Dimension. Ridermaker is a 2D drawing; StageBuilder Pro is a 3D scene you flatten to 2D for print. For a four-piece band on a flat stage, either tool will do the job. For anything with vertical structure — risers, truss, flown video, stacked subs — the 3D view is where you catch conflicts before load-in instead of during it.
Speed of the first draft. In Ridermaker you place every item by hand. In StageBuilder Pro you can start from a band or DJ template, or on Pro, type the rig in plain English and let AI Build lay it out, then adjust. On a busy advance, that's the difference between a five-minute draft and a fussy twenty.
Who touches the document. Ridermaker is a solo file you export and email. StageBuilder Pro is built for a production team — on Elite, the PM, FOH, monitors, and LD can all be in the same plot at once, and every account can send a read-only link to everyone who only needs to look.
Neither tool is "better" in the abstract — they're aimed at different work.
If you're a solo act or a band documenting your own setup — one stage, sent ahead to a venue — Ridermaker's combined plot-and-rider PDF covers exactly that, and its free plan will get a lot of acts across the line. StageBuilder Pro covers it too: the free plan builds a straightforward plot and exports the PDF, and the 3D, templates and input lists come along at no cost.
If you're a production manager or an FOH/monitor engineer coordinating audio, lighting, video, and staging across a run of venues — and you want a 3D layout, an AI first draft, and a whole team in one document — that's the job StageBuilder Pro is built for, and the same tool grows with a band that starts small. It's free to start, no account needed until you export.
Ridermaker is a browser-based stage plot maker paired with a channel list and rider builder. You place stage items, configure a channel list with custom columns and colors, add technician contacts and production requirements, and export a combined PDF. It's a 2D tool with no install required.
Ridermaker has a free plan that stores one rider with unlimited PDF exports, plus low-cost annual Pro and Premium tiers that add more stored projects, custom channel columns, and an output list. StageBuilder Pro is also free to start, with Pro at $10/mo and Elite at $20/mo.
Ridermaker is a 2D stage plot and rider maker aimed at bands documenting their own setup. StageBuilder Pro is a real-time 3D builder that a simple band can use for free and that scales up to touring production, spanning audio, lighting, video, staging, and backline, with a plain-language AI Builder (Pro), live collaboration (Elite), and a one-click PDF that combines a 2D plan, a tech view, the 3D view, and input and output lists.
No — Ridermaker is 2D only. If you need to orbit the stage, stack risers and subs, or check truss and sightlines in three dimensions, a 3D builder like StageBuilder Pro is built for that while still exporting a printable 2D plan.
There's no direct import, but a stage plot is a small document. Open StageBuilder Pro in your browser, drop in your gear from the asset library, and label it to match your channel list. No install or account is needed to start; exporting the PDF takes a free account.
For a wider look at the field, see our roundup of the best stage plot apps and software in 2026, or the complete stage plot guide for what belongs on the plot itself.
No install, no account to start — build your plot in 3D, drop to a 2D plan, and export a full rider PDF with a free account.
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