Comparison

Light Captain vs Light Rider

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Light Captain

Control DMX lighting systems for parties, concerts, and theater. Suitable for beginners and professionals, it offers intuitive scene creation, advanced programming, and fixture libraries. Requires a specific interface for operation.

Highlights
  • DMX lighting control
  • Scene and chase programming
  • Music synchronization
  • Fixture library
  • Password-protected mode
  • Color and effect control
  • Moving light control
Features
Read full description

This lighting control app for DMX devices leaves nothing to be desired: it is just as suitable for party use as for concert or theater performance. The app is aimed at both beginners, who are taking their first DMX steps, and demanding users. Therefore, the app is very clearly and logically structured, so that even inexperienced users can quickly find their way around. At the same time, Light Captain offers many solutions that also make the work of professionals easier and enable more complex lighting situations. The app is suitable for all types of spotlights: White light spotlights, colorful LED spotlights, compact lighting systems of all kinds, lighting effects, or moving lights. Even the DMX protocols of show lasers or multi-effects can be mapped. To operate the app as a lighting controller, the Eurolite freeDMX interface is required. For beginners and professionals: In the first section (Chases), users who want to use different lighting scenes and chases for parties or concerts will feel most comfortable. Chases can be controlled either by adjusting the speed or by music control. Advanced users will prefer the second section, which also allows individual programming of cues and scenes with individual fade times. A password-protected mode allows operators to recall and adjust lights only, but not change programs or shows. Light Captain is therefore also suitable for installations and clubs where the lights are pre-programmed and need to be operated by different people without sources of error. Programming: A large and constantly growing library of fixtures already offers many models pre-programmed. Creating other fixtures is just as easy. For professional requirements, values can also be restricted or default values assigned and the individual positions of the color and gobo wheels can be defined. "Lamp on/off" commands for discharge lamps are also easy to assign and recall later. Control: Light Captain can inherently control four color segments on each fixture, each with up to 8 basic colors. No matter if KLS system, LED bar with 4 segments, or wash light with four rings, everything can be easily created and adjusted. For color effects, there is a separate effect section with 6 pre-programmed effects, which can also be modified in the expansion stages. For moving lights, there is a 16bit capable control. In addition to positioning, there is an effects unit that can be used to create motion effects quickly and effectively. Another control level is used to adjust gobos, prisms, zoom, focus, etc. Eight Freepatch controls can be freely assigned. Even complex multi-effects or show lasers can be sensibly created here. Frequently used settings can be stored on pre-cues and called up again and again. There are 15 general memory locations, 15 memory locations that store color values, and 15 memory locations that store position values. Theater mode (only available in the Full version) allows you to control your lights in programmed shows and performances. It allows you to save scenes in a specific order and then have them play during the performance.

About

Light Rider

Control DMX lights with pre-programmed effects and live adjustments. Choose from a vast library of fixtures to create dynamic light shows synced to music, ideal for DJs. Supports multiple DMX universes via Wi-Fi.

Highlights
  • 15,000+ lighting fixtures
  • Pre-programmed effects (Move, Color, Flash)
  • Live FX control (speed, fade, fan, size, shift)
  • Music synchronization (Beat Tap, audio Pulse)
  • Supports up to 4 DMX universes
  • Wi-Fi connectivity
Read full description

Light Rider lets you control your DMX lights without needing to program anything. Choose from over 15,000 lighting fixtures and once added, they will bounce, chase, ride, sparkle and perform a light show like you’ve never seen before! Built on over 25 years of DMX lighting control experience, Light Rider finally puts a great light show into the hands of a working DJ, who might not have the time to spend hours programming scenes before a show. Carefully crafted by Light Rider’s developers and DJs - Move FX are on the left, Color FX on the right, Flash FX in the middle and presets along the bottom. Ride your FX live with the speed, fade, fan, size and shift controls. Sync with the music using Beat Tap and audio Pulse analysis Light Rider supports up to 4 DMX universes (2048 channels) with iPad via WiFi. To connect the app with your lights, you can use: -Any Nicolaudie Group Ethernet - DMX interface (e.g. Sunlite Suite2-FC, Daslight DVC4-GZM) -Any Art-Net device (In-App purchase) -Our brand new Light Rider Wi-Fi DMX interface

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Light Captain at 44% against Light Rider's 0%. Light Captain also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Light Captain sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Light Rider sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Light Captain ships an update every 5 weeks, Light Rider every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and July 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Light Captain versus Light Rider: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLight CaptainLight Rider
PriceFreeFree
Rating—1.5 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—8 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS14.3 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB139 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteinigke Showtechnic GmbHNicolaudie UK Ltd

Customer experience

Light Captain

Written reviews16 reviews
Positive43.8%
Neutral31.3%
Negative25.0%

Light Rider

All ratings5 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral14.3%
Negative85.7%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Light Captain

One-time4
  • Basic Light Captain$22.99
  • Upgrade Light Captain$22.99
  • Full Version Light Captain$44.99
Show 1 more
  • ArtNet - Add On$89.99
1 purchases

Light Rider

One-time1
  • Unlock Art Net$129.99

Questions

Is Light Captain free?
Light Captain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Light Rider free?
Light Rider is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Light Captain or Light Rider have ads?
Neither Light Captain nor Light Rider shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Light Captain or Light Rider?
Light Captain ships an update every 5 weeks, and Light Rider every 2 months. Most recently, Light Captain was updated on September 19, 2026 and Light Rider on July 21, 2026.

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