Ollie vs The Stage
The Stage bundles a line reader into a whole career toolkit, from reels to expenses. Ollie does one job, learning your part, and goes deep on it. We make Ollie, so read this knowing that. Everything we say about The Stage comes from their own public pages, linked at the bottom.
Last updated November 2026
Why pick Ollie
Built around memorizing, not bundled with it
Ollie's modes follow how lines get learned: hear the scene, run it with first letters or your lines hidden, then test yourself. The Stage lists a line reader and a line memorizer among more than a dozen other tools.
It tracks what you've learned
Test me scores each hidden line and keeps a per-line record. We didn't find line-by-line progress tracking on The Stage's pages.
Your cast can rehearse together
In a group session, castmates join from their own devices and Ollie reads any part nobody's covering. The Stage can share your sides by link, and a friend can record their lines from a link. We didn't find a live group session.
Free to start
Ollie is free to start. The Stage is $15 a month or $99 a year, and its pages don't describe a free plan. They do offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on web purchases.
Side by side
| Feature | Ollie | The Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | OllieLearning a whole part, especially for a stage production | The StageAn actor's whole working life, from running lines to reels, auditions and expenses |
| Tracks what you've learned | OllieYes. Test me scores each line you say with it hidden, by how many of its words it heard, and keeps a per-line record. Free accounts get three scored runs a week | The StageNot described on the pages we read |
| Live group rehearsal | OllieYes, available now. Castmates join from their own devices and Ollie reads any part nobody's covering. Free hosts can invite one guest, for up to 40 minutes a session and 80 a week. Standard and Pro allow 4 people, larger plans more | The StageNot described as a live session. Sides can be shared by link, and friends can record their lines from a link, with no account |
| Director mode | OllieComing soon | The StageNot described |
| Line-learning tools | OllieListen, Practice and Test me modes. Show, First letters or Hide your lines. Spoken commands like “Ollie line” | The StageA line memorizer that hides your line and moves on when you have it, plus a teleprompter |
| Listens for your line | OllieYes, with hands-free on. It hears when you stop speaking. Scored lines use cloud transcription with an on-device fallback | The StageYes, using your device's speech recognition |
| Voices for other parts | OllieAI voices you cast per character. Standard voices run in your browser; premium voices come with higher paid plans | The StageYour phone's voice, a recording of a real friend, or an AI voice |
| Script import | OlliePDF, Word (.docx) and plain text. Scanned PDFs are read up to 100 pages | The StageUpload or paste. File formats not described |
| Self-tape recording | OllieComing soon | The StageYes, with slate and noise removal |
| iOS app | OllieComing soon | The StageYes |
| Where it runs | OllieA browser on phone, tablet or laptop, with nothing to install. Can be added to a home screen | The StageiPhone, plus Safari or Chrome on Mac, Chrome on PC and Android |
| Availability | OllieInvite-only beta | The StageOpen |
| Price | OllieFree to start, with one active script and no per-minute charge for rehearsing. Paid plan prices not yet published | The Stage$15 a month or $99 a year. No free plan described |
What's here, and what's next
Group mode
Available nowYour cast joins from their own devices and rehearses the same scene together, wherever they are. Ollie reads any part nobody's covering.
Director mode
Coming soonDirectors upload the play, invite their cast into their roles, and see each actor's rehearsal time and memorization progress, then leave line notes and role notes right on the script. Cast members can join just for that production and keep their own Ollie account too.
iOS app
Coming soonOllie already runs in your iPhone's browser. An iOS app is on the way.
Self-tape
Coming soonOllie reads the other parts while you put yourself on tape, so the scene you've learned is the scene you record.
What The Stage does well
- Self-tape with slate and noise removal, and an iOS app, today. Self-tape and iOS are coming soon to Ollie.
- Career tools Ollie doesn't try to be: reel builder, actor website, resume, audition tracker, calendar and expenses.
- Open to anyone now, while Ollie is in an invite-only beta.
What it costs
The Stage is a flat subscription: $15 a month, or $99 a year. That price covers its whole toolkit, so it's worth asking how much of it you'll use.
Ollie is free to start, and its standard voices run in your browser with no per-minute charge. Free accounts have limits, including one active script and three scored Test me runs a week. We haven't published paid plan prices yet.
Privacy
The Stage says sides stay private in your account by default and shares are opt-in. Its AI voices send line text to a voice provider, while its phone voice and friend recordings don't. Its terms and privacy notice say your content isn't used to train AI models. Ollie sends your script to AI providers to parse it, and says it doesn't use scripts or voice to train AI models. Its standard voices are generated in your browser, while premium voices and speech transcription use cloud providers.
For the details, read Ollie's privacy policy and The Stage's.
See for yourself
The best way to judge a scene partner is to run a scene. Try one in Ollie's demo, with no sign-up. If you're about to learn a full part, our guide to learning a whole play will help whichever app you use.
Try a scene now, then bring your script.
Upload your script and Ollie reads every other part out loud, waits for you to say your lines, and keeps track of the ones you've really learned. Ollie is in an invite-only beta, and the demo needs no sign-up.
Sources
The Stagedetails come from these pages, read November 5, 2026. "Not described" means we didn't find it on them, not that it doesn't exist. Prices and features may have changed, so check their site for current details. Spotted something wrong? Email us at the Support link below and we'll fix it.
The Stageis a product of its respective owner. Ollie isn't affiliated with or endorsed by The Stage.