Comparison

Vectorworks Remote vs Photon 2

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

Head to head
About

Vectorworks Remote

Control your Vectorworks desktop software from your mobile device. Navigate, present, and view your designs remotely using various presentation and navigation tools. Requires Vectorworks 2015 or later installed on a Mac or Windows computer.

Highlights
  • Remote connection to Vectorworks desktop
  • Presentation remotes (pan, walkthrough, flyover)
  • Visualization remotes for Renderworks
  • Navigation remotes for Design Suite
  • Interactive design viewing and navigation
Read full description

The Vectorworks Remote app connects your mobile device to your Vectorworks desktop using a remote connection plug-in. Presentation remotes for pan, walkthrough, and flyover are available for all Vectorworks products. Visualization remotes are available for Renderworks and navigation remotes are available for Vectorworks Design Suite products (Design Suite, Architect, Spotlight, Landmark). Interactively use the remotes to view, navigate, and present designs without having to be at your desktop. Vectorworks Remote requires Vectorworks 2015 software or later to be installed on either a Mac or Windows operating system. To learn more, visit http://vectorworks.net.

About

Photon 2

This app provides a professional lighting console for controlling DMX and Philips Hue devices wirelessly. It allows users to create custom interfaces, manage lights, and synchronize effects to music for live events, performances, and filmmaking.

Highlights
  • Wireless Art-Net/sACN DMX control
  • Philips Hue Entertainment integration
  • Customizable user interface
  • Scene and sequence creation
  • Beat synchronization to music
  • MIDI controller support
Features
Read full description

Let's create your show with Photon 2. The next generation of professional DMX & Philips Hue lighting console has been rebuilt from the ground up for a better live experience. User-friendly and customizable, Photon 2 is perfect for musicians, nightclubs, live events, filmmakers, theater, stages… ◈ Wireless (Art-Net or sACN through WIFI) and ready to use, Photon reinvents the way to control DMX devices & Philips Hue*** with its single interface for all your lights. ◈ Create presets, combine them in sequences and synchronize your lights to music. Our beat tracker listens and animates your devices to the music rhythm. Live events will have no more secret for you. ◈ Want to turn your iPad into a real elegant personalized lighting control platform? The app features ground-breaking concepts that let you create your own user interface designed to make tasks practical and more intuitive. Connect external MIDI controllers like keyboards, pads, timecoders or others apps/softwares to control your fixtures. FEATURES (FREE VERSION) - 16 DMX channels - Multi-touch interface designed and optimized for iPad - Light group management. Link multiple lights together to perform the same action (colors, positions, brightness...) - Supports advanced controls (gobos/fog machine, focus) - Scene management: create presets, animate them in sequences - Create your dashboard and organize it as you wish - Art-Net/sACN/DMX channel monitor - Art-Net/sACN in multicast or unicast - Philips Hue Entertainment connection*** - Database with hundreds of pre-configured devices (fixtures) - Fixture creator to configure your devices STARTER (ONE-TIME PURCHASE) - 128 DMX channels - Create as many buttons (widgets) on your dashboard as you want - Enjoy the power of automatic BeatTracker and sync your lights to live music - Ableton Link support: sync your lights with your favorite DJ app or musical instruments - Background operation mode (Live Mode) PHOTON+ (SUBSCRIPTION) Everything in Starter included, plus: - 512 DMX channels (full universe) - Multi-Dashboard: create multiple dashboards to organize your widgets by lighting type, zone, or function. Swipe between them instantly during live performance - MIDI inputs: control dashboard buttons/faders with physical MIDI controllers (pads) or virtual ones (apps) - All next features on going * Requires an Art-Net to DMX bridge. Photon relies on Open Lighting Architecture (Open Lighting Project). *** Philips Hue Entertainment requires a Hue v2 or Pro bridge.

Screenshots

Vectorworks Remote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Photon 2 at 81% against Vectorworks Remote's 0%. Photon 2 also leads on ratings volume (72 vs 2) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). Vectorworks Remote's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. Photon 2 sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per year. Vectorworks Remote asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Vectorworks Remote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Photon 2 has 72 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of Vectorworks Remote's written reviews are positive against 81% of Photon 2's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vectorworks Remote ships an update every 3 months, Photon 2 every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Vectorworks Remote versus Photon 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVectorworks RemotePhoton 2
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.5 (72 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews80.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings272 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVectorworks, Inc.Photon Studio

Customer experience

Vectorworks Remote

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Photon 2

All ratings66 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive80.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative15.4%

In-app purchases

None

Vectorworks Remote

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Photon 2

Subscriptions2
  • Photon+ Founder$29.991 Year
  • Photon+$59.991 Year
One-time3
  • Starter Plan$44.99
  • Pro Plan$64.99
  • Pro Plan$79.99

Questions

Is Vectorworks Remote free?
Vectorworks Remote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Photon 2 free?
Photon 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Vectorworks Remote or Photon 2?
Vectorworks Remote is rated higher. Vectorworks Remote averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Photon 2 averages 4.5 from 72 ratings.
Do Vectorworks Remote or Photon 2 have ads?
Neither Vectorworks Remote nor Photon 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vectorworks Remote or Photon 2?
Vectorworks Remote ships an update every 3 months, and Photon 2 every 5 weeks. Most recently, Vectorworks Remote was updated on September 23, 2026 and Photon 2 on October 5, 2026.

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