Review Insights · App Store
Backstage - Casting Calls
Backstage LLC · 18,257 ratings · ★ 4.7
4.7
★★★★★
18,257 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 58 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"money"
15 negative reviews mention this · 26% of all complaints
★★★★★ "It is a money trap. The concept sounds great. No free trial. You pay $20 to try, and realize that the app is useless especially for UGC content creators. They just keep sending you fake job posting that no one ever gets back." - Yayphone27
2
"subscription"
13 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Subscription. In 2026 everything that pushes a subscription is getting one star until they correct their business model." - Raw Fish
3
"apply"
10 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "You have to pay to MAYBE get a job. It is what it is but, most people are probably looking for something you don’t have to pay to find gigs for. If you just want to find/apply to gigs for free this is not for you." - Sadly, disspapointing
4
"email"
9 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "👎🏽. Doesn’t allow me to edit anything on my account, and I no longer can log in using my email attached, only allows logins via apple and google." - JOJVJAJN
5
"been"
8 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "impossible to cancel. we subscribed to this program and it has been extremely difficult to cancel" - SareyMae
6
"every"
8 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Horrible. App,website,emails that go right to trash. None work together. Fill out filter form every time you use the app is awful. Then then send me roles most nationwide and for the opposite sex. At this time I just want local stuff in Chicago. …" - un happy banjo dude
7
"backstage"
8 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Steals your money. I tried time and time again to cancel my subscription. Despite this, I was charged for the 3-month subscription. I want my $75 back cause I know that it says don’t be late to unsubscribe, but i wasnt and still was charged. Backstage give me…" - Backstage pay me
8
"free"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "It is a money trap. The concept sounds great. No free trial. You pay $20 to try, and realize that the app is useless especially for UGC content creators. They just keep sending you fake job posting that no one ever gets back." - Yayphone27
9
"anything"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "👎🏽. Doesn’t allow me to edit anything on my account, and I no longer can log in using my email attached, only allows logins via apple and google." - JOJVJAJN
10
"account"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "👎🏽. Doesn’t allow me to edit anything on my account, and I no longer can log in using my email attached, only allows logins via apple and google." - JOJVJAJN
11
"something"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "You have to pay to MAYBE get a job. It is what it is but, most people are probably looking for something you don’t have to pay to find gigs for. If you just want to find/apply to gigs for free this is not for you." - Sadly, disspapointing
12
"getting"
7 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Subscription. In 2026 everything that pushes a subscription is getting one star until they correct their business model." - Raw Fish
📋 All 58 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
It is a money trap
The concept sounds great. No free trial. You pay $20 to try, and realize that the app is useless especially for UGC content creators. They just keep sending you fake job posting that no one ever gets back.
👎🏽
Doesn’t allow me to edit anything on my account, and I no longer can log in using my email attached, only allows logins via apple and google.
impossible to cancel
we subscribed to this program and it has been extremely difficult to cancel
You have to pay to MAYBE get a job
It is what it is but, most people are probably looking for something you don’t have to pay to find gigs for. If you just want to find/apply to gigs for free this is not for you.
the “free trial” is not free
do not offer a free trial if it isn’t free. that is outrageous and now i can’t download any apps because i didn’t have the funds for it (luckily), but now i also can’t update my apps. WTF
edit: No it didn’t end, lol. This app literally used incorrect phrasing and advertising. Do not recommend, it’s all paywalled, and the app itself isn’t that revolutionary to do anything. They’re lucky I didn’t have the funds, but if I did, i’d be disputing.
edit: No it didn’t end, lol. This app literally used incorrect phrasing and advertising. Do not recommend, it’s all paywalled, and the app itself isn’t that revolutionary to do anything. They’re lucky I didn’t have the funds, but if I did, i’d be disputing.
Have to pay
No one wants to pay for a job be fr
Waste
Not worth the purchase. Limited options and will not issue a refund
Horrible
App,website,emails that go right to trash. None work together. Fill out filter form every time you use the app is awful. Then then send me roles most nationwide and for the opposite sex. At this time I just want local stuff in Chicago. Need to navigate for an hour to find anything. Next time you open app, nothing is save as far as preferences. All nationwide jobs, which I’m sure is all this social media influencers. Will not be renewing.
Weird business practice
The fact I have to pay for something that’s like indeed for new V/A but makes not the employers pay to promote but the employee to use the app I feel is a disgrace especially the prices that they offer
Subscription
In 2026 everything that pushes a subscription is getting one star until they correct their business model.
Steals your money
I tried time and time again to cancel my subscription. Despite this, I was charged for the 3-month subscription. I want my $75 back cause I know that it says don’t be late to unsubscribe, but i wasnt and still was charged. Backstage give me my money back
Scammers with no customer service
Very poor customer service. There is no phone number to contact if something goes wrong, and email support is extremely slow. They usually reply after one or two days, and then completely stop responding. This is very unprofessional. My account stopped working, and I contacted support over a week ago with no resolution and no proper assistance at all. I am extremely disappointed and would not recommend this app due to the lack of reliable customer support.
Its so god dang expensive
18 dollars a month…actors are already poor and charging us 18 dollars a month is insane, I could see a 5 dollar sub HELL. A 10 dollar sub BUT 18 DOLLARS to maybe get casted for something is terrible
Login failed
It didn’t stop asking me to pay what I have already paid and don’t let me log into my account
Super laggy, expensive.
Unable to save changes on profile the first try, you must restart again and again and again. Botches photos and adds a glitchy grain. Filtered results are not filtered correctly.
Horrible app
I've used the app on and off for several years and it has never been a good app.
There are always problems and if I email customer service about it they will tell me I am wrong, I don't know what I'm doing, other people like the problem, until I take it to social media and then they'll actually try and fix it but they'll still fail.
The app does not have the same information as the website.
Whether you're on the website or the app there are always listings that are just mysteriously missing that will pop up weeks later even if you haven't changed your filters at all excludes them and then brings them back at a random time.
Also the fact that you can't unsubmit for anything is obnoxious.
Having to scroll past every audition you've ever done the videos you want to include is stupid.
And then you get to the ridiculous prices.
There are always problems and if I email customer service about it they will tell me I am wrong, I don't know what I'm doing, other people like the problem, until I take it to social media and then they'll actually try and fix it but they'll still fail.
The app does not have the same information as the website.
Whether you're on the website or the app there are always listings that are just mysteriously missing that will pop up weeks later even if you haven't changed your filters at all excludes them and then brings them back at a random time.
Also the fact that you can't unsubmit for anything is obnoxious.
Having to scroll past every audition you've ever done the videos you want to include is stupid.
And then you get to the ridiculous prices.
Customer service does not exist
I noticed that for the most part they respond to every comment on here in the hopes to come off as a lively to attract new subscribers. But once you become an actual paying customer and you submit a legit customer inquiry to their customer service email DO NOT expect a response. I submitted an inquiry over 3 days ago and immediately received a response from a “flash support bot” saying that they are escalating me to a human (whatever that means) but silly me thought oh maybe they will respond within a day or two but so far nothing after 3 days. So if you have an urgent question or concern do not hold your breath for support, we are on our own.
Bug
The app is amazing and I’ve been getting steady work starting out , so I would rate it a 5 star but it keep signing out when I apply to audition or send it self tapes , even tho my password is saved I don’t know how to fix it
Why
Why does it only have 18 and older but not 13 it says here that 13 year olds can get this app so why do I only see 18 and older
Unhappy
I signed up for the trial and never got a notification saying my trial was up and they tried but failed to take the payment. I went on the app to try to end membership and it wouldn’t allow me to (I believe you have to go to the site) but said if I didn’t update payment method by a certain date it would automatically cancel membership, but did not say anything about continuing to try so I didn’t think I had todo anything but wait until the date it said on the app. No they still took the money so I contacted them as soon as it was taken and told them what happened and they are refusing to refund me. It’s not a lot of money but with everything going on with the shut down my funds are limited. This is unacceptable and their rules don’t apply to everyone. They never sent me a reminder that they were gonna take talent as it states on their site. I woukd give 0 stars because I never figured out how to do anything on the app.
Not a good app for starters
I went on here hoping I’d find something start my career with but turns out every ad just wants someone with years and years experience I think the subscription on here is robbery and should just be free seeing that it’s very hard to even get a message back
Tried to discontinue
The app won’t let me discontinue payment
KICKED ME OUT AND STOLE MY MONEY
i made a profile and payed for the year subscription. The next day i open the app and it had signed me out and still wont let me sign back in.
Chronic App Crash
Constantly malfunctioning. Outrageously expensive for the lack of value.
Glitched.
I can’t open the app at all. Basically the backstage logo slides on my screen then after that the whole app crashes and I can’t open it. It’s a repetitive process and I haven’t found a fix.
I was almost kidnapped
I went to an audition and was almost kidnapped so many scams on this website and I called backstage to let them know and they didn’t care
Bad customer service
I have sent more than 5 emails to try and get my age verified on backstage. I have gotten nothing back,no email,call or anything. This is absolutely ridiculous. What in the world do I have to do to get help with my account?
Major bugs
Can’t log in due to it saying my email address is invalid. Only other way is to reset password and that doesn’t work either. Not easy to navigate. Confusing and needs major changes.
Terrible
This app will not let you cancel renewals. I will have to call my credit card
Paid for 1yr then was blocked!?
I paid for a year of Backstage then the app prevented me from logging in for the rest of my 1yr purchase. Then every producer I’ve worked with said they refuse to hire anyone from Backstage. Total scam. Look elsewhere for work. About to join a class action lawsuit against Backstage for stealing money and not providing a service. Waste of money and complete waste of time.
Mirrored App
This is obviously a mirrored replica of the REAL and original app! Don’t want your time. Your settings will change no matter how many times you set them and your submission will go nowhere. Try researching and locating the authentic app to download ✌️
So STUPIDD
I couldn’t apply for a job unless I got a subscription which is a WASTE OF MONEY
Unpleasant experience
Horrible app. I paid for subscriptions and it said I had no membership. Tried fixing it for 3 weeks never got a response. So I asked for a refund and what did they do? Kick me out of my account. Don’t waste your money on this app who has no customer support.
Horrible Customer “Service”
None of the filters ever worked, more trouble than it was worth so I tried to cancel my paid subscription when it was up for renewal to no avail. I finally emailed for help
and received a response stating they turned-off “auto-renew” and cancelled my subscription, assuring me I would not be charged. Two weeks later my bank sent a fraud alert and lo and behold it was Backstage billing me $199.95. I then received an email from Backstage customer service letting me know my charge was declined so I responded right away, including the former correspondence stating they cancelled my subscription.
A few days later (today) they tried to again deduct $199.95 from my bank account and sent yet another email telling me my payment was declined. Shouldn’t this be on record somewhere within this company? These must be bots, there’s absolutely no connection to any of my correspondence, just around and around. I have never been so frustrated and aggravated nor dealt with such unprofessionalism. They may as well just cast “Groundhog Day” over and over and over…
and received a response stating they turned-off “auto-renew” and cancelled my subscription, assuring me I would not be charged. Two weeks later my bank sent a fraud alert and lo and behold it was Backstage billing me $199.95. I then received an email from Backstage customer service letting me know my charge was declined so I responded right away, including the former correspondence stating they cancelled my subscription.
A few days later (today) they tried to again deduct $199.95 from my bank account and sent yet another email telling me my payment was declined. Shouldn’t this be on record somewhere within this company? These must be bots, there’s absolutely no connection to any of my correspondence, just around and around. I have never been so frustrated and aggravated nor dealt with such unprofessionalism. They may as well just cast “Groundhog Day” over and over and over…
Money seekers
I can’t apply or do anything without having to pay for something WHICH I CANT cause 1 don’t have money 2 don’t have a card I can use to pay and 3 jobless
There are so many glitches right now it’s insane.
I’ve been using backstage for years now and the app has always been a little glitchy for multiple things. Sometimes my messages won’t send so I have to type them out 2 or 3 times and watch it to make sure the message actually sent. My iPhone is also no longer compatible with the app since the app requires the latest iOS, so thats annoying but I switched to just logging in online and using it that way. I like the app, it was fast and easy to apply to things, oh well, I have an old phone its probably my fault. But now the actual site isn’t working properly on every single one of my devices too. Right now when I try to look through projects it shows me only the really old listings, and I’ve tried adjusting the filters to showcase relevant/ newest material but that function is not working. It used to work perfect but for the past 2 or 3 days it has stopped. All of the new listings are getting mixed in with the old so its very hard to apply to projects now since I’m missing half of them due to this glitch. If this glitch isn’t fixed I don’t see a point in keeping backstage. It has failed me in now almost every single way possible. At this state its not useable. I’m done. And if you tell me to email customer support, I have.
Logs you out every time…just dumb and annoying.
The app auto logs off every time you close the app. Dumbest UX & UI design feature.
Money hungry
Literally no point of downloading it unless u wanna spend 30$ a month
Notifications pester
You can’t apply for any role unless you pay for the subscription, and yet the app serves you at least 5 notifications per day.
This app is practically unusable
Can’t center you headshot, a bug keeps me from entering most of my information, and it is overall not user friendly. Super frustrating.
Takes money out of account (Scam)
I paid for one month to see if I could land any auditions and it was helpful, until I didn’t pay the next month and got an email that my account would closed/canceled by march 15. I just got charged 25$ a week after that email was sent to me, even though you guys told me my account was canceled. That’s a few days worth of groceries for a barely getting by student like me. Do not use this if you don’t have the money for them to randomly take from you!!
You have to pay
Any time I find a casting I need a subscription to even apply to it
Trust the bad reviews.
I've had this app for a very short period of time, and I don't hate it because it's hard to find jobs, I hate it because it's impossible to. $200 they take and the app is horrible. When I first got it, I ignored the bad reviews. I'm telling you, do not be like me. The app is horrible. If you click on a pop up message, it probably won't pop up because you get constantly kicked out of the app. Saving searches are completely broken. I said I wanted things in a 50-300 mile radius and it gave me jobs from England. (I'm in Arkansas.) Applying for a job is SO confusing. Just recently I worked all day and night to perfect a monologue for an audition, got it down, and when I finally hit submit, the app tells me I'm not allowed to apply without a cover letter. This is the first time this has been mentioned. I have no time to create a cover letter. This app may be good for some, and may have very few perks, but makes no sense and continues to disappoint.
Don’t get hustled
$25 a month??? To hear about auditions?? Don’t be fooled, this is completely unnecessary, just use google and local papers. Also, why would have such a strict password requirement?? What my risk here? Suspicious
Expensive
There is no trial to see what you’re getting and it’s expensive
Developer responds with an insult “we understand if it doesn’t fit your budget”
They missed the point. A person should be able to see what they are purchasing
Developer responds with an insult “we understand if it doesn’t fit your budget”
They missed the point. A person should be able to see what they are purchasing
Money [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ιοο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅]
It costs money so I can't even use it. It is way easier to just use the website!
-5 stars Worst app I’ve ever spent money on
I got this app around a year ago and have so far received absolutely zero jobs even From independent NON paid gigs
I am signed with an agency, so there should be some degree of easiness/opportunities, but there has been not even a single reply or acknowledgment of the Numerous applications I made this is a complete west of money if you don’t already have basically no need for this app (complete oxymoron)
I understand that having some form of degree/experience would enhance the chances but for supposedly being accessible at entry-level I have received nothing and only lost $100
-100/10 I’m mostly mad at it getting my hopes up because it seemed not a scam
I am signed with an agency, so there should be some degree of easiness/opportunities, but there has been not even a single reply or acknowledgment of the Numerous applications I made this is a complete west of money if you don’t already have basically no need for this app (complete oxymoron)
I understand that having some form of degree/experience would enhance the chances but for supposedly being accessible at entry-level I have received nothing and only lost $100
-100/10 I’m mostly mad at it getting my hopes up because it seemed not a scam
Saved searches disappeared
Saved searches have disappeared in latest update. No matter how many new ones i make they dont save
App still needs a dark mode
…
$25 per month!?
Backstage’s subscription is just another unfair PAY TO PLAY scenario posed on the acting community. Actors are already struggling. Do better. There should be a free subscription like some of the other platforms. I would put up with watching ads.
+ 8 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
93%
Positive (4-5★)
3%
Neutral (3★)
4%
Negative (1-2★)