What is StageText

StageText is a desktop app for displaying subtitles (surtitles) at live performances such as plays and musicals. Basic is free; Pro is a one-time purchase at ₩199,000 list price, discounted 35% to ₩129,000 until December 31, 2026. It runs on macOS and Windows, imports a PDF script, lets you edit it cue by cue, and sends the result to an external display in Show Mode.

At a glance

CategorySubtitle / surtitle playback app for live performance
Current version1.12.0
PlatformsmacOS 12.0 or later, Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
PriceBasic free · Pro ₩129,000 one-time (list price ₩199,000, 35% off until December 31, 2026)
File format.stxt2
Made byPinballz (solo developer)
Downloadstagetext.app/en/download

Who it is for

StageText is built for assistant directors and stage managers who run subtitles at small and mid-size theatres, students handling subtitles for a school play or musical for the first time, and operators of foreign-language productions with translated surtitles or accessible performances with captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. People who have been building show subtitles in PowerPoint pick it up fastest.

What it does

  1. Import Scripts — Import a PDF script and StageText recognizes which character’s lines they are and drafts the subtitles.
  2. Bulk Apply Track Styles — Set font, size, color, and position on a track and every subtitle in that track updates at once.
  3. Customize Line Formats and Prefixes — Fine-tune styles by character and type, and set prefixes such as character names.
  4. Automatic Word-Based Line Breaks — Lines wrap by word for readable subtitles.
  5. Multi-Track Support — Place dialogue, sound effects, and translation subtitles in separate positions on screen.

What it is not

  • Not a video subtitle (SRT) editor. It is a live playback tool where an operator advances cues during the show.
  • Not live speech recognition. It displays a script prepared in advance, in order.
  • Not a full show-control system like QLab. It does one thing: subtitles.

Glossary

  • Project — All subtitles for one production, saved as a single .stxt2 file.
  • Track — A group of subtitles by type: dialogue, translation, sound effects. Each track has its own screen position and default style.
  • Cue — One screen of subtitles shown each time the operator advances.
  • Line — One line of text inside a cue. Each line can have its own style and prefix per speaker.
  • Edit Mode — The screen where you import the script and edit cues and styles.
  • Show Mode — The dedicated output window that sends subtitles to an external display during the show. Supports blackout.
  • .stxt2 — The StageText project file extension.

Pricing

StageText comes in two editions, Basic and Pro. Basic is free and includes the core features without limits: unlimited tracks, PDF script import, Show Mode output (1920×1080), and Glypheo export. Pro is a one-time purchase of ₩129,000 (VAT included; list price ₩199,000, 35% launch discount until December 31, 2026) that you keep for life, and adds PPTX export, NDI® output (macOS and Windows), and screen resolutions other than 1920×1080. Those three are the only Pro-only features; track count is unlimited regardless of edition (NDI® is a registered trademark of Vizrt NDI AB, https://ndi.video/). One license key activates on 2 devices, and future updates are free. Payment is handled by Lemon Squeezy, with a full refund within 14 days of purchase. See the pricing page and the refund policy for details.

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