Comparison

L.E.D. Lab vs Wily!

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

Head to head
About

L.E.D. Lab

Create dynamic visual experiences for LED displays without custom programming. Animate images, videos, and particles, and synchronize them with music or external audio inputs. Ideal for artists, designers, and hobbyists looking to add animated color to various projects.

Highlights
  • Create and animate scenes with images, videos, and camera feeds
  • Animate particle color, velocity, and brightness for LED strips
  • Synchronize visuals with music from your library
  • Audio reactivity for parameter control
  • External control via MIDI, DMX, ArtNet, OSC
  • Color keying and tiling for advanced compositing
  • Supports various LED controllers and external monitors
Features
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L.E.D. Lab is the quickest, easiest, most powerful way to drive your LED display! Custom programming is no longer required to get up-and-running. It is ideal for artists, professional display designers, architects, VJs, lighting designers, hobbyists, and anyone wanting to add a little animated color to their sculpture, art car, home, business or wardrobe. L.E.D. Lab allows you to create a list of Scenes, which can be played back in order or shuffled. There are currently two kinds of Scenes: ● Pictures Scene - A montage of still images, videos, and live camera feeds is designed. The position, velocity, rotation, size, and coloring of each picture can be animated. You can use your own photos and videos, and the iPad camera. Rendering to odd-shaped displays is made possible with photographically-generated map files. ● Strips Scene - Particles of color are sent down each strip. The velocity, hue, saturation, and brightness of each particle can be animated. Other features include: ● Music - Create lists of Tracks. Each track plays a song from your music library, along with any number of Scenes. You can elaborately choreograph a song, or let the Scenes play in random order. ● Audio Reactivity - Any animatable parameter may be controlled by the amplitude of audio in a specified frequency range. ● External Control - Any animatable parameter may be controlled by MIDI, DMX, ArtNet, or OSC. ● Color Keying - An image, video file, or live video feed can be made selectively transparent, making it easy to mix in with other images. ● Tiling - Any image, video file, or live video feed can be tiled in any or all directions, with adjustable spacing and fade-out. ● Display Modes - Editing can be performed with or without the LEDs connected. The editing UI can also be hidden, allowing operation in a "kiosk" mode. So what kind of LED display can you make with L.E.D. Lab? Some Examples: http://ledlabs.co Any iOS device can be used to play Scene Lists. An iPad is best for full editing. L.E.D. Lab works with the following LED controllers: ● PixelPusher (our favorite) ● Art-Net ● sACN ● DDP/Minleon/TekLights ● RGB-123 ● FadeCandy/FCServer ● OpenPixel It can also display to an external monitor or projector, serving as a VJ app. Extensive help information is provided for the rich user-interface: ● Help Explorer - Displays help text for any knob, slider, button, popup, list, or view inside a magnifying glass you drag around the screen. (See this in the last screen shot.) ● Help Topics - Little chapters to read about some of the more detailed functionalities. ● Help Tutorials

About

Wily!

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Wily! is a virtual control surface for controlling the lighting software PREGO (E.GO Controls) and HATHOR (ADB). Wily! synthesizes the characteristic accesses of the lighting consoles (hardwares) with the feedback of the softwares. Wily! had been designed to allow the light creation process to be uninterrupted and collegial. It is possible to work together, from several places simultaneously on one or several PREGO or HATHOR stations. Its simplicity of handling makes it a tool for all. It will give the necessary feedback to the lighting engineers, allowing them to intervene on their light in symbiosis with the showroom and electricians. Efficient and indispensable, you will appreciate it as well in creation, operation or on tour. Characteristics : - easy handling - modularity (each additional iPad multiplies the amount of accesses) - wired or wireless operation - personalization options per user - "console" mode or "client" mode - secure connection - allows to extend the accesses of compatible consoles PREGO + HATHOR - Ergonomics designed for main console use - ideal as backup, complement, tour, feedback, preparation ... - multi-iPad work simultaneously (independent or coupled) - plug'n'play - full access to playback registers (playbacks, fields, independents, playback master, Grand master ...) - control of moving lights - full access to all types of records - Channels information throughout the pipe - calibration of color changers with copy functions - full access to patch - and many others ! Notes: The purchase of PREGO or HATHOR software is essential. Wily! also works with PREGO or HATHOR offline, UNO128 and OnPC.

Screenshots

L.E.D. Lab4 screens
Wily!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Wily! at none against L.E.D. Lab's 11. Wily! also leads on iOS requirement (12.4 vs 15.6). 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. L.E.D. Lab sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Wily! asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

L.E.D. Lab ships an update every 4 months, Wily! every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
L.E.D. Lab versus Wily!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterL.E.D. LabWily!
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB216 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristopher SchardtPangolab

In-app purchases

11 purchases

L.E.D. Lab

One-time11
  • Live Microphone$9.99
  • Live Video$9.99
  • LED Display$19.99
Show 8 more
  • External Control$19.99
  • Music$19.99
  • External Screen$39.99
  • Authoring$49.99
  • LED Artist Pack$59.99
  • VJ Pack$79.99
  • Advanced Mapping$84.99
  • Everything Pack$209.99
None

Wily!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is L.E.D. Lab free?
L.E.D. Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Wily! free?
Wily! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do L.E.D. Lab or Wily! have ads?
Neither L.E.D. Lab nor Wily! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, L.E.D. Lab or Wily!?
L.E.D. Lab ships an update every 4 months, and Wily! every 7 months. Most recently, L.E.D. Lab was updated on October 2, 2026 and Wily! on October 6, 2026.

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