Beltr vs KaraFun
KaraFun streams a catalog you rent for $9.99 a month. Beltr turns the songs you already own into karaoke on your own computer — for a one-time $19.99. Here's the honest side-by-side.
KaraFun Premium is $9.99 a month — about $120 a year, renewing for as long as you keep it. There's a free tier limited to 30-second previews, and a separate KaraFun Pro plan for commercial and venue use. Beltr is $19.99, once — roughly two months of KaraFun — and then it never charges you again. The trade: KaraFun gives you a licensed catalog to stream; Beltr makes karaoke out of music files you already own.
KaraFun plans vs Beltr
| Plan | What you get | Monthly | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| KaraFun Free | 30-second previews of catalog tracks | $0 | $0 |
| KaraFun Premium | Full streaming access to KaraFun's licensed catalog | $9.99 | TKTK (≈$120 at the monthly rate) |
| KaraFun Pro | KaraFun's commercial / venue tier TKTK | TKTK | TKTK |
| Beltr | Unlimited karaoke from music files you already own, made on your own computer | None | $19.99 once, then $0 |
What you'll have paid
| Beltr | KaraFun Premium (monthly rate) | |
|---|---|---|
| Today | $19.99 | $9.99 |
| After 1 year | $19.99 | $119.88 |
| After 2 years | $19.99 | $239.76 |
| After 3 years | $19.99 | $359.64 |
| After 5 years | $19.99 | $599.40 |
The KaraFun column is $9.99 × months at the monthly rate. Prepaying for a year is normally cheaper than twelve monthly payments, so the real annual figure is likely lower — it's marked TKTK above until it's verified. Beltr's column is one $19.99 payment with free updates, so it doesn't move. Prices checked against KaraFun's public pricing page; confirm before relying on them.
The catch
Cheaper isn't automatically better. Here's what you give up moving from KaraFun to Beltr, stated plainly — decide with it in front of you.
Beltr ships with no catalog to browse or search. A licensed library is KaraFun's entire product, and Beltr has nothing comparable — this is the single biggest difference between the two, and the main reason to pick KaraFun instead.
Beltr works on audio you already have: MP3, FLAC or WAV sitting on your own drive. If a song isn't in your library, Beltr can't turn it into karaoke — you'd have to buy the track first. Small or patchy music collections get much less out of it.
KaraFun's tracks are purpose-made karaoke recordings with backing vocals and key and tempo controls. Beltr strips the vocal out of the original recording with on-device AI. It's good, and it's the whole point of the app — but it isn't the same thing as a track built for karaoke from the start.
Separation runs on your own machine and takes a minute or two per song the first time you add it. KaraFun streams instantly to a phone, tablet or TV with nothing to process and nothing to install. Beltr needs a Mac, PC or Linux machine in the room.
Beltr is a one-time $19.99 desktop app that turns songs you already own into karaoke using on-device AI. KaraFun is a $9.99/month subscription to a fixed streaming catalog. Choose Beltr if you want to own your setup, sing your own music, and stop paying monthly. Choose KaraFun if you'd rather stream from a large ready-made catalog and don't need your own files.
Side by side
The facts that actually matter when you're deciding. Comparison based on KaraFun's public pricing and product pages, July 2026.
| Beltr | KaraFun | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 one-time | $9.99 / month |
| Cost after one year | $19.99 (still) | ~$120 at $9.99/mo, then it renews |
| Sing songs you already own | Yes — any MP3, FLAC, WAV | No — catalog only |
| Song library | Your entire music collection | KaraFun's licensed catalog |
| Songs can disappear | No — they're your files | Yes — if licensing changes |
| Works offline | Yes — fully on your computer | Streaming (Premium offline sync) |
| AI vocal removal on your songs | Yes — on-device (Demucs) | Pre-made catalog tracks only |
| Your audio leaves your computer | No — nothing is uploaded | Streamed from KaraFun's servers |
| Ready-made pro catalog | Uses your own library instead | Yes — large licensed catalog |
| Free tier | 5 full songs | 30-second previews |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows, Linux | Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, TV |
The math
Beltr is $19.99, one time. KaraFun Premium is $9.99 a month at the monthly rate — about $120 a year, and it renews for as long as you keep it.
Why people switch
The four complaints that come up again and again — and how owning your setup fixes each one.
Streaming catalogs only have what's licensed — and songs get pulled when rights change. Beltr works on the music you already own, so if it's in your library, you can sing it tonight.
Monthly plans keep billing whether you host karaoke twice a year or never. Beltr is one payment. Sing at New Year's, forget about it until next year — no charge waiting for you.
Streaming karaoke leans on your connection, and offline use means pre-syncing catalog tracks first. Beltr separates vocals and plays entirely on your computer — nothing to stream, nothing to sync.
Beltr runs its AI on-device — your audio never leaves your machine. No uploads, no accounts required to make a track, no per-song cloud limits.
More than a catalog
Because it runs on your computer, Beltr turns your living room into the stage.
Big, readable, word-synced lyrics on the main screen so the whole room sings along.
Guests scan a QR code to queue songs and run the room from their phones — no app install, no logins.
Score singers live for a game-night feel, or keep it casual — your call.
Beltr films the performance and drops a vertical clip on your phone — made on your machine, shared only when you tap.
Being fair
We'll be straight with you: KaraFun is a great product for a different need. If you want a huge catalog of professionally produced karaoke tracks — with backing vocals, on-screen lyrics, and key/tempo controls — ready to stream with zero setup, and you're happy to pay monthly and don't care about using your own music files, KaraFun's catalog is excellent and hard to beat.
Beltr is for the other kind of person: someone who wants to sing their own songs, own their setup with one payment, and keep everything on their own computer. If that's you, read on.
Download
Pick your OS. Own your karaoke for a one-time $19.99 when you're ready.
Windows without the Store? Download the .exe installer · triggers SmartScreen
Pricing
Start with the 5-song free trial. Unlock everything with a one-time $19.99 purchase — no subscription to cancel later.
One-time purchase
One-time · no subscription · lifetime updates
FAQ
KaraFun Premium is $9.99 a month, which comes to about $120 a year at the monthly rate. There's also a free tier limited to 30-second previews, and a separate KaraFun Pro plan for commercial and venue use. Beltr is a one-time $19.99 instead, with no recurring charge at all.
$9.99 a month for KaraFun Premium at the monthly rate. It renews every month for as long as you keep the plan, so two years of KaraFun is roughly $240 and five years is roughly $600. Beltr is $19.99 paid once — about two months of KaraFun — and then nothing.
At $9.99 a month, a year of KaraFun Premium works out to about $120. KaraFun's prepaid annual plan is normally cheaper than twelve monthly payments — check karafun.com for the current figure (TKTK). With Beltr there's no annual figure to check: after the first $19.99, every following year costs $0.
KaraFun's published plans are recurring subscriptions; we can't confirm a lifetime or one-time option, so treat that as unverified (TKTK). If a permanent one-time purchase is what you're actually looking for, that's exactly what Beltr is — $19.99 once, free updates, nothing to renew or cancel.
Premium is the consumer plan for singing at home, at $9.99 a month. Pro is KaraFun's commercial tier, intended for venues and public performance, at a higher price (TKTK). Beltr is a home app sold once at $19.99 — note that venues generally need their own public-performance licensing whatever karaoke software they run.
KaraFun's free tier lets you preview catalog tracks as 30-second clips. Whether a full free trial of Premium is currently offered, and for how long, is something to confirm on karafun.com (TKTK). Beltr's free trial is 5 complete songs with no signup and no card.
Yes — that's what Beltr is built to be. It's a one-time $19.99 desktop app that turns music files you already own into karaoke, with synced lyrics on your TV and phones as remotes. The trade-off is real: you bring your own songs, because there's no licensed catalog to browse.
Over time, yes. Beltr is a one-time $19.99 purchase; KaraFun Premium is $9.99 per month — about $120 a year at the monthly rate. Beltr costs about the same as two months of KaraFun, then it's yours forever with no further charges.
No. KaraFun plays songs only from its licensed streaming catalog; you can't karaoke a music file you already own. Beltr turns your own songs (MP3, FLAC, WAV) into karaoke on your own computer.
Yes. Once installed, Beltr separates vocals and plays karaoke locally on your computer with no internet required. KaraFun is a cloud streaming service; its Premium plan can pre-sync some tracks for offline use, but it stays limited to KaraFun's catalog.
Streaming catalogs can lose songs when licensing agreements change. With Beltr, your karaoke tracks are made from your own files, so nothing can be removed from your library.
No. Beltr is a one-time $19.99 purchase with a free 5-song trial. No subscription, ever. Lifetime updates are included and one license covers 2 devices.
If you want a large, ready-made catalog of professionally produced karaoke tracks with zero setup, and you don't need to use your own music files, KaraFun's subscription catalog is a strong option.
macOS (Apple Silicon), Windows 10/11, and Linux (AppImage or .deb).
Yes. Beltr shows synced lyrics on your TV and lets guests queue songs and control the session from their phones by scanning a QR code — no app install required.
Ready when you are
Turn the songs you already own into a full karaoke night — TV lyrics, phone remotes, on-device AI. One payment, yours forever.
Try 5 Songs FreeMac, Windows, Linux · One-time $19.99 · 5 songs free, no card