VIBRESIA

Live show compared

QLab vs Resolume: show control or a VJ application?

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

If you are running a designed show, where a technical director presses GO and cues fire in order across sound, video, lighting and the rest of the rig, pick QLab: Full-Featured is US$1,399 once, and it runs on a Mac. If you are performing video to a room, triggering clips and effects as the music goes, pick Resolume: Avenue is €299 and it runs on Mac, Windows. They overlap in one place, which is a Mac user with a rig who wants to know whether a show system or a VJ application is the right shape for the evening.

QLabResolume
What it isShow control and media playback software for macOS that cues sound, video, lighting and show control from one workspace.VJ and media-server software (Avenue, Arena) and a visual programming tool (Wire), for macOS and Windows.
PriceFree version; paid from US$299€299, one-time
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 13.4 Ventura or later, or Windows 10 or later, with 8GB of RAM and an AMD, Iris Pro or Apple silicon graphics card
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. After that the licensed features need a licence again.Free to use indefinitely, but video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until a serial number is entered.
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 themAn industry-standard pair: Avenue for VJing, Arena adding media-server features
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.Working VJs and venues running video on screens and projectors.

Control and connections

QLabResolume
MIDIYes: QLab sends and receives MIDI, including MIDI Show Control, and MIDI cues are a paid feature unlocked by any licence.Yes: Avenue and Arena take MIDI in and send MIDI out, including pad colour feedback, from multiple enabled devices, and Wire adds MIDI In and MIDI Out nodes for generating and reading MIDI data.
OSCYes: QLab accepts incoming OSC over TCP and UDP and sends OSC messages out, with an OSC dictionary of workspace and application level commands.Yes: Avenue and Arena accept OSC input and can send OSC output to other applications over the network, and Wire adds OSC In and OSC Out nodes for reading and writing OSC inside a patch.
SyphonYes: With a video licence, QLab can send Syphon outputs and receive Syphon input, and masks and geometry apply before the Syphon output.Yes: Avenue and Arena provide Syphon input and output on macOS, and Wire can read and write Syphon textures through its Texture In and Texture Out nodes.
SpoutNo: QLab has no Spout output, because Spout is a Windows-only protocol and QLab runs on macOS only.Yes: Avenue and Arena provide Spout input and output on Windows, and Wire can read and write Spout textures through its Texture In and Texture Out nodes.
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: NDI input is always enabled in Avenue and Arena, and NDI output can be broadcast from the composition, with Arena additionally treating NDI outputs as separate screens in the Advanced Output.
DMXYes: QLab patches and controls lighting over DMX using Art-Net version 3 nodes or the listed USB-DMX interfaces.Yes: DMX output over Art-Net is available in Arena only, and Arena also accepts Art-Net DMX input from a lighting desk, so Avenue has no DMX support.
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: Video input works from webcams and capture cards, with native low-latency support for Blackmagic, AJA and Datapath devices, and video output goes to the displays connected to the computer.

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 designed show with cues, lighting and show control, several people need to work on the same workspace, or you need video masking and edge blending across more than one screen. Full-Featured is US$1,399 once, and the free tier already runs audio, video and lighting cues.

Pick Resolume if

you are performing video to a room, you want to trigger clips and effects rather than cue a timeline, or you need it on Windows as well as a Mac. Avenue is €299 and Arena is €799.

Why people compare them

They are both ways of running a show on a Mac, and both end up with video on a screen in front of an audience. The difference is what happens before the show starts.

Resolume is vj and media-server software (avenue, arena) and a visual programming tool (wire), for macos and windows. QLab is show control and media playback software for macos that cues sound, video, lighting and show control from one workspace. One is an application you perform from, with decks of media and effects that you trigger. The other is a workspace of cues, designed in advance, that somebody runs through.

Where QLab wins

It runs the whole show, 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

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 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

The free tier is genuinely usable. 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 Resolume wins

It is an instrument, not a script. Resolume does an industry-standard pair: Avenue for VJing, Arena adding media-server features. You pick the clip, you ride the fader, and the show follows the music rather than a timeline. demo mode expires after 60 minutes, and cues and settings cannot be copied into the demo workspace.

It runs on Windows too. Resolume is listed for Mac, Windows. QLab is Mac only, so a booth running Windows cannot use it.

It costs less to start with. Avenue is €299 against US$599 for one QLab feature set, and QLab's cheapest paid tier leaves out multi-screen video and more than 16 DMX addresses.

You can try it for as long as you like. Free to use indefinitely, but video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until a serial number is entered.

Where both fall short

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 cap what you can drive. the number of outputs is capped by the graphics card, so a single machine is limited to five outputs plus one control monitor. And more than two channels of audio output needs an audio licence, so the free tier is limited to two channels.

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.

Resolume Avenue is €299, one-time, Arena is €799, one-time and Wire is €399, one-time, each a one-time purchase with 12 months of updates included, and the licence keeps working after that. QLab is priced in dollars and Resolume in euros, so the rate on the day you buy is yours to check.

Questions people ask

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 Resolume runs on Mac, Windows, so on a Windows machine it is the one that works.

Is QLab more expensive than Resolume?

QLab's full set is US$1,399 once and Resolume Avenue is €299, but they are not the same thing: QLab's price buys the audio, video and lighting licences, while Resolume's Avenue buys the VJ application. QLab's free tier already runs audio, video and lighting cues, up to two channels of audio and 16 DMX addresses.

Can I try QLab or Resolume 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. free to use indefinitely, but video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until a serial number is entered.

Which one is for lighting control?

QLab. It patches and controls fixtures over DMX using Art-Net, with instrument definitions for over 1400 fixture types from more than 60 makers, and unlimited patchable addresses on a paid licence. In Resolume, DMX output is an Arena feature rather than an Avenue one.

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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.