Comparison

Modern WLED vs plaiiin Light

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

Head to head
About

Modern WLED

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Modern WLED is a simple, modern controller for WLED-compatible LED lights. Connect to WLED devices on your local Wi-Fi network, control power, brightness, solid colors, segments, and saved presets from one clean iPhone app. You can also create new lighting looks with AI-assisted design tools, then save your favorite generated designs for quick reuse. Features: - Discover WLED-compatible devices on your local network - Control power, brightness, and solid color - Create and manage segmented LED designs - Generate lighting ideas with On-Device AI Design and OpenAI Design - Save up to 3 favorite generated designs - Rename and apply saved presets quickly - Use Demo Light to explore the app without physical WLED hardware - Store your OpenAI API key securely in Keychain Modern WLED is designed for people who want a faster, cleaner way to control WLED lights and experiment with custom LED looks. A WLED-compatible ESP32 or ESP8266 device running WLED on the same Wi-Fi network is required for real light control. Pro features are optional and unlock On-Device AI Design and OpenAI Design. OpenAI Design requires the user to provide their own OpenAI API key. Privacy Notice: https://anshitbansal21.github.io/smartdesign-app-website/privacy.html Support Page: https://anshitbansal21.github.io/smartdesign-app-website/support.html

About

plaiiin Light

Features
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PlaiiinLight is the companion app for PlaiiinLightOS — free, open‑source firmware that turns any ESP32‑based LED lamp into something you shape with a sentence. Describe a pattern in plain words — "a slow aurora," "fire crackling in the corner," "a calm blue breathing glow" — and AI writes an effect that runs right on the lamp. A live in‑app preview shows the result before you push it to the LEDs, so you can iterate without ever touching the hardware. From the dashboard, drive every lamp at a glance — set color and brightness, switch between effects, and tune each one live with on‑screen dials for speed, scale, intensity, and more. Adjust a knob and the lamp responds instantly. Stream an animated GIF straight to the lamp, frame by frame, or write your own effect in JavaScript — Manage your effects it in the app, save it to the lamp, and upload or tweak it anytime. It all runs on the device itself, not in the cloud. Turn your lamp into a pixel canvas — paint, brush, spray and fill tools, live streaming as you draw, photo import, and images you save on the lamp itself to show again anytime. Got more than one lamp? Group them into a swarm and they act as one: a color, an effect, a brightness change or a tap on Off propagates to every member instantly, lamp to lamp over your Wi‑Fi. Add or remove members anytime, and show the whole swarm as a single dashboard tile. Onboard a new PlaiiinLightOS lamp over Bluetooth, then control it over your local Wi‑Fi network. Keeping it current is effortless: the app checks for new firmware, shows a badge and installs the update over the air with one tap — no cables, no computer. Adjust the lamp's settings — name, network, MQTT, and more — right from the app. Share a lamp with family or friends by minting a share key, scanning a QR code, or handing it over via Bluetooth — no re‑pairing, with roles that keep admins, creators, and users apart. Bring your own AI provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google). It's stored only in your device's Keychain — PlaiiinLight has no account to sign up for and no servers of its own. Your lamps, your key, your light.

Screenshots

Modern WLED4 screens
plaiiin Light4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: plaiiin Light at none against Modern WLED's 2. plaiiin Light also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Modern WLED sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. plaiiin Light asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Modern WLED ships an update every 2 months, plaiiin Light monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Modern WLED versus plaiiin Light: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterModern WLEDplaiiin Light
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAnshit Bansalplaiiin GmbH

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Modern WLED

Subscriptions1
  • WLED Pro Monthly3 Days trial$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • WLED Pro Lifetime$14.99
None

plaiiin Light

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Modern WLED free?
Modern WLED is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is plaiiin Light free?
plaiiin Light is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Modern WLED or plaiiin Light have ads?
Neither Modern WLED nor plaiiin Light shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Modern WLED or plaiiin Light?
Modern WLED ships an update every 2 months, and plaiiin Light monthly. Most recently, Modern WLED was updated on October 28, 2026 and plaiiin Light on October 24, 2026.

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