VIBRESIA

Show software compared

QLab vs ProPresenter: show control or presentation software?

By Syd Lawrence, a visual artist and developer who makes Vibresia. Facts last checked 2 November 2026; updated 3 November 2026.

If you are running a theatre show, a concert or an installation, and you need sound, video, lighting and show control all cued from one timeline, pick QLab: Full-Featured is US$1,399 once, and its free tier already runs audio, video and lighting cues. If you are running a church service, where the lyrics and the scripture matter more than the lighting desk, pick ProPresenter: Standard is US$29 a month, it runs on Windows as well as a Mac, and worship tooling is built in.

QLabProPresenter
What it isShow control and media playback software for macOS that cues sound, video, lighting and show control from one workspace.Presentation and live production software for showing lyrics, slides and media, and for driving screens and video outputs.
PriceFree version; paid from US$299Free version; paid from US$29
Runs onMacMac, Windows
RequirementsmacOS Big Sur, which is macOS 11, or later, on any Mac that can run it, with 4GB of memory treated as a minimum and an internal SSD recommendedmacOS 13.5 Ventura or later, or Windows 10 version 1903 or later, with macOS 15 or Windows 11 recommended
Free versionDemo Mode unlocks all of QLab's licensed features for up to 60 minutes in a separate workspace, and copying cues and settings into the demo workspace is disabled.The trial runs 14 days, starts as soon as the request is completed, requires a credit card at sign-up and converts automatically to a monthly or annual subscription.
Known forOne central place to build sound, video, lighting and show control cues, with a timeline view for arranging cues and a workflow system for finding and editing themWorship tooling is built in, with automatic lyric and copyright integration and access to 125 Bible translations
Best forPeople who build and run live shows on a Mac and need audio, video, lighting and show control cues fired from a single workspace, in theatres, concerts and live events.Churches and their volunteer or staff media teams running weekly services and live events, plus the live production and broadcast teams the maker also lists. It suits operators who build a planned show of lyrics, slides and media in advance and drive several screens from it.

Control and connections

QLabProPresenter
MIDIYes: QLab sends and receives MIDI, including MIDI Show Control, and MIDI cues are a paid feature unlocked by any licence.Yes: ProPresenter sends and receives MIDI, and can use incoming notes to trigger slides, media and macros.
OSCYes: QLab accepts incoming OSC over TCP and UDP and sends OSC messages out, with an OSC dictionary of workspace and application level commands.No: No OSC support was found; the maker documents HTTP and TCP/IP control, MIDI, DMX and timecode, and its own help centre search returns no OSC article.
SyphonYes: With a video licence, QLab can send Syphon outputs and receive Syphon input, and masks and geometry apply before the Syphon output.Yes: ProPresenter can send its output to other applications on the same Mac over Syphon, and Syphon is a macOS-only output type.
SpoutNo: QLab has no Spout output, because Spout is a Windows-only protocol and QLab runs on macOS only.No: No Spout support was found; the maker lists Syphon as the Mac-only shared output and names no Windows equivalent.
NDIYes: QLab can receive NDI video as a camera cue source and publish video stages as NDI streams, with NDI audio input and output.Yes: ProPresenter can create a virtual NDI output that shows over the network to any software or hardware that receives NDI.
DMXYes: QLab patches and controls lighting over DMX using Art-Net version 3 nodes or the listed USB-DMX interfaces.Yes: ProPresenter can be controlled by a lighting console over DMX or Art-Net, but this is macOS only.
Video in and outYes: QLab plays video cues to screens and projectors and, with a video licence, outputs video via Blackmagic Design devices, Syphon and NDI.Yes: ProPresenter outputs video to broadcast hardware, including separate key and fill channels for broadcast graphics applications.

Every row comes from the app's own documentation, on the date shown in the sources below. "Not that we could find" means we could not find it documented, not that the app cannot do it.

Pick QLab if

you are running a show where sound, video and lighting have to fire together, you need video masking and edge blending across more than one screen, or several people need to work on the same show at once. Full-Featured is US$1,399 once, and the free tier runs audio, video and lighting cues already.

Pick ProPresenter if

you are running a church service, you want lyrics, scripture and copyright lookup built in, you need it on Windows as well as a Mac, or the budget is per person rather than per show. Standard is US$29 a month, and falls per seat as you add them.

Why people compare them

They end up in the same rack because both cue a show from a timeline on a Mac, and both are what a venue or a church reaches for when someone asks what runs the show.

QLab is show control and media playback software for macos that cues sound, video, lighting and show control from one workspace. ProPresenter is presentation and live production software for showing lyrics, slides and media, and for driving screens and video outputs. One is built for a show with lighting in it. The other is built for a service with a congregation in it. A production that has both, which is more common than people expect, has to pick which one is in charge.

Where QLab wins

It cues everything, not just the pictures. One central place to build sound, video, lighting and show control cues, with a timeline view for arranging cues and a workflow system for finding and editing them

The video engine does the awkward things. A video engine rebuilt on Apple's Metal framework, with multi-screen output, masking, edge blending, per-cue blend modes, text cues and Syphon and NDI input and output

The lighting side is properly done. Lighting patched over Art-Net or USB with unlimited patchable DMX addresses, and QLab 5 ships with instrument definitions for over 1400 types of lighting fixture from over 60 manufacturers

Several people can work on it at once. Multi-user collaboration, so several people can edit one workspace at once and a stage manager can follow along with read-only access

The free tier runs real cues. A free tier that already runs audio, video and lighting cues with unlimited cue lists, plus a 60-minute demo of every paid feature

Where ProPresenter wins

It runs on Windows as well as a Mac. ProPresenter is listed for Mac, Windows. macOS Big Sur, which is macOS 11, or later, on any Mac that can run it, with 4GB of memory treated as a minimum and an internal SSD recommended

The worship tooling is built in. Worship tooling is built in, with automatic lyric and copyright integration and access to 125 Bible translations

It costs less to start with. Standard is US$29 a month or US$289 a year for one seat, and the price falls per seat as you add them, against US$599 for the cheapest paid QLab licence. ProPresenter is sold to new users as a subscription only

It has a full trial. the trial runs 14 days, starts as soon as the request is completed, requires a credit card at sign-up and converts automatically to a monthly or annual subscription. One trial is allowed per organisation. Unlike the free version the trial is a fully registered copy, so there is no watermark and it can be used in front of a live audience.

Where both fall short

Neither is free to run a show on. the free mode is a watermarked Local Editor seat: it edits on one computer only, does not sync to the cloud, and puts a ProPresenter watermark on outputs. QLab's free tier stops at two channels of audio output and 16 DMX addresses, and more than two channels of audio output needs an audio licence, so the free tier is limited to two channels.

Neither is a music visualiser. Both are general tools for video, and both expect you to bring the content and decide how it reacts. If what you want is visuals that react to what the Mac is playing, with nothing to prepare, that is a different job than either of these does.

Both need the show made before the show. Whichever you pick, the visuals are only as good as the material you prepared and the cues you built. Neither turns a folder of files into a performance by itself.

What it costs

QLab's licences are perpetual one-time purchases, not a subscription. One feature set is US$599, one-time, two are US$1,099, one-time and the full set is US$1,399, one-time, each covering installation on two computers. Site licences are US$299, one-time per activation with a minimum of ten.

ProPresenter Standard is US$29 a month a month or US$289 a year a year for one seat, and the price falls per seat as you add them. Both are in dollars, so the rate on the day you buy is yours to check.

Questions people ask

Can I try QLab or ProPresenter for free?

Yes, both. demo Mode unlocks all of QLab's licensed features for up to 60 minutes in a separate workspace, and copying cues and settings into the demo workspace is disabled. After that the licensed features need a licence again. the trial runs 14 days, starts as soon as the request is completed, requires a credit card at sign-up and converts automatically to a monthly or annual subscription. One trial is allowed per organisation. Unlike the free version the trial is a fully registered copy, so there is no watermark and it can be used in front of a live audience.

Which one is for a church service?

ProPresenter. Worship tooling is built in, with automatic lyric and copyright integration and access to 125 Bible translations QLab is the one for a show with a lighting desk in it.

Does QLab run on Windows?

No. macOS Big Sur, which is macOS 11, or later, on any Mac that can run it, with 4GB of memory treated as a minimum and an internal SSD recommended ProPresenter runs on Mac, Windows, so on a Windows machine it is the one that works.

Which one cues the lighting?

QLab. It patches and controls fixtures over DMX using Art-Net, with instrument definitions for over 1400 fixture types from more than 60 makers. ProPresenter can be driven from a lighting console over DMX or Art-Net, but on a Mac only, and its own cueing is built around a service rather than a show.

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Sources

Every fact about another app on this page comes from the source listed for it, on the date shown. We make Vibresia, so we've tried to say where each of the others is the better choice. If something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.