VIBRESIA

VJ software compared

Resolume vs MadMapper: which VJ software is right for you?

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

If you want a VJ application you can open and play a show from, pick Resolume: Avenue is €299 and Arena, at €799, adds the media-server features. If you want mapping and lighting to be the point of the software rather than an extra, pick MadMapper, whose warping tools, DMX control and shader editor are built in from the start. Both run on macOS and Windows, both are made for live shows, and both are paid: MadMapper's free demo watermarks its output and blacks out its DMX every 30 seconds, and Resolume's free version watermarks the video.

ResolumeMadMapper
What it isVJ and media-server software (Avenue, Arena) and a visual programming tool (Wire), for macOS and Windows.Video and LED mapping software for macOS and Windows, with mesh warping, DMX and Art-Net lighting control, and a live GLSL shader editor.
Price€299, one-timeFree version; paid from €39
Runs onMac, WindowsMac, Windows
RequirementsmacOS 13.4 Ventura or later, or Windows 10 or later, with 8GB of RAM and an AMD, Iris Pro or Apple silicon graphics cardmacOS 11 or higher, or Windows 10 or higher on 64-bit, with a GPU compatible with OpenGL 3.3
Known forAn industry-standard pair: Avenue for VJing, Arena adding media-server featuresBezier masking and mesh warping let you fit content to real surfaces
Best forWorking VJs and venues running video on screens and projectors.Artists, scenographers and technicians who need to project mapped video onto real surfaces and drive LED or DMX fixtures during a live show, and who trigger parameters from MIDI or OSC controllers.

Control and connections

ResolumeMadMapper
MIDIYes: 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.Yes: MadMapper takes MIDI in and out, and any MIDI or OSC controller can drive parameters live.
OSCYes: 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.Yes: MadMapper takes OSC in and out, and supports OSC Query for browsing its address space on the network.
SyphonYes: 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.Yes: MadMapper sends and receives Syphon textures, which its FAQ names as the macOS path for sharing a projector's video output.
SpoutYes: 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.Yes: MadMapper sends and receives Spout textures, which its FAQ names as the Windows path for sharing a projector's video output.
NDIYes: 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.Yes: MadMapper sends and receives NDI, for passing video between machines.
DMXYes: 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.Yes: MadMapper handles DMX over Art-Net, sACN and USB interfaces, with a fixture editor and its own output framerate control.
Video in and outYes: 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.Yes: MadMapper sends video to projectors and displays, one output per GPU-capable projector, up to 8k per projector.

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 Resolume if

you want to open an application and play a show from it, you want one tool that covers decks, effects and media playback, or your venue already runs Resolume and handover matters. Avenue is €299, and Arena at €799 adds the media-server features for bigger rooms.

Pick MadMapper if

you are mapping video onto real surfaces, running LED strips or DMX fixtures, or you want to write your own shaders and see them live. The warping and lighting tools are standard rather than an upgrade, and the shader editor is part of the software.

Why people compare them

These are the two VJ applications that come up together, because they do the same job from opposite ends. Resolume is built around decks of media and effects that you perform from. MadMapper is built around surfaces: warping content onto whatever shape is in front of you, and driving the lights in the room from the same timeline.

Both run on a Mac and on Windows, both are used for live shows, and both cost money for serious work. So the question is never which one is better, it is which one your show needs. If the show is a row of screens and a haze machine, Resolume is the simpler answer. If the show is a curved surface with a truss of fixtures, MadMapper is.

Where Resolume wins

It is a performance tool first. Resolume is an industry-standard pair: Avenue for VJing, Arena adding media-server features. You load your clips, build your layers, and perform from them, which is the job a VJ application exists to do.

One licence covers a lot. Avenue (€299) is the VJ application, Arena (€799) adds media-server features for bigger rooms, and Wire (€399) is a separate visual programming tool for building your own effects and generators. Each licence includes 12 months of updates and keeps working afterwards.

You can try it for as long as you like. Resolume is free to use indefinitely. The catch is that video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until you enter a serial number, which is enough to learn the software but not to play a paid show.

Where MadMapper wins

Mapping and lighting are the point of it. MadMapper does bezier masking and mesh warping let you fit content to real surfaces, and it also does dMX, Art-Net and sACN light control sits alongside the video tools, with a cueing system for the show. That is the difference worth checking against your show: in Resolume, Avenue lacks the professional-show features that are Arena only: projection mapping, edge blending, SMPTE timecode input, Denon StageLinq, Pioneer Pro DJ Link, DMX control, DMX fixture output, capture card output, groups and slice transforms.

You can write your own visuals in it. A built-in GLSL shader editor with live coding and a shared online material library, with a material library the community shares. For someone who wants to make their own look rather than choose from presets, that is a real advantage.

It can drive a lot of fixtures. MadMapper handles DMX over Art-Net, sACN and USB, with a fixture editor and its own control of the output frame rate, and it can send as many projector outputs as the graphics card allows.

The demo is genuinely free. The free demo shows a watermark on input, output and output preview, and loading and saving a project is disabled. The catch is what it leaves out: In the demo, DMX lighting devices blackout once every 30 seconds.

Where both fall short

Neither is free to run a show on. Resolume's unlicensed version watermarks the video and robs the audio of its voice. MadMapper's demo watermarks its output and blacks out the DMX devices every 30 seconds, so a lighting desk stops responding halfway through a cue. Both mean you are working with the trial, not the software.

Both need a 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.

Both have a ceiling on what one machine can drive. Resolume's number of outputs is limited by the graphics card, to five outputs and a control monitor. MadMapper's projector outputs are limited by the graphics card too, and its Space Scanner crops to a quarter of its resolution in the demo.

What it costs

Resolume Avenue is €299, one-time, Arena is €799, one-time and Wire is €399, one-time. MadMapper is €399, one-time for a perpetual licence, which covers the current version only, and €39 a month as a temporary one. MadMapper's own shop calls those from prices: they exclude tax and rise with the number of seats, and an educational discount of 30% applies.

So the entry points are €299 against €399, and the work you need Arena or Wire for, on the Resolume side, is what you are really choosing between. Neither maker converts its prices into pounds, so the rate on the day you buy is yours to check.

Questions people ask

Is MadMapper cheaper than Resolume?

MadMapper's perpetual licence starts at €399 and its temporary one at €39 a month. Resolume Avenue is €299 and Arena is €799. Both are priced in euros, and both shops call their figures from-prices that rise with the number of seats.

Which one is better for projection mapping?

MadMapper. Bezier masking and mesh warping are standard in it, and it uses structured light with a DSLR to calibrate a projection in 3D. In Resolume, projection mapping and edge blending are Arena features rather than Avenue ones.

Do Resolume and MadMapper both run on a Mac?

Yes, both run on macOS and Windows. Resolume needs macOS 13.4 Ventura or later, or Windows 10 or later, with 8GB of RAM and an AMD, Iris Pro or Apple silicon graphics card, and MadMapper needs macOS 11 or higher, or Windows 10 or higher on 64-bit, with a GPU compatible with OpenGL 3.3.

Can I try Resolume or MadMapper for free?

Yes, both. Free to use indefinitely, but video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until a serial number is entered. MadMapper's demo is free and unlimited in time: the free demo shows a watermark on input, output and output preview, and loading and saving a project is disabled.

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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.