Luminair vs Photon 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Luminair
This professional lighting control platform offers advanced DMX and smart light management for designers, filmmakers, musicians, and artists. It supports multiple DMX universes, RDM, and HomeKit integration, allowing for complex scene creation and playback.
- Multi-universe DMX control
- RDM support
- Apple HomeKit integration
- Fixture Cloud library
- DMX FX Engine
- Sound Active mode
- Luminair Remote for Apple Watch
Read full descriptionHide full description
Luminair is a professional-grade lighting control platform that gives lighting designers, filmmakers and TV professionals, musicians, artists and other enthusiasts advanced control over DMX-enabled lights, as well as "Smart" lights via Apple HomeKit. Control any light... Luminair's Fixture Cloud library contains over 30,000 fixture profiles. Luminair 4 adds a wide range of user-requested features like multi-universe support, RDM support, user interface improvements, Universal Search, support for Apple HomeKit, and so much more. Move beyond the lighting console! Join us and see why Luminair has been setting the standard for mobile lighting control since 2008! Access all iPadOS, iOS, and macOS versions under a single subscription plan. Try it FREE for 2 weeks, with all features unlocked, and no obligation. See offer details below. Highlights: - 1 to 4 DMX Universes (512-2048 Channels, depending on Subscription level) - 1 Art-Net DMX Input Universe for creating Snapshot scene recordings from another lighting console - RDM Support over Art-Net - Works with any Art-Net or sACN E1.31 compliant DMX interface - Transmits Art-Net, sACN E1.31, and/or and KiNET over built-in Wi-Fi hardware - Supports DMX over Bluetooth with LumenRadio BLE CRMX devices, MoonLite and TimoTwo - Supports wired ethernet with 3rd-party adapters - Advanced document viewer allows you to save projects in iCloud, 3rd-party services like Creative Cloud and Dropbox, plus external disks and flash drives - LTP faders with fully-configurable scene parameters - DMX FX Engine with a Movement generator, Oscillator, Color Looping, Random Color/Intensity and more - Palette/preset based movement system allows you to control and edit movements of multiple moving lights together in unison - Sequences allow you to play back scenes with customized fade and hold times - Sound Active mode allows for music controlled light shows using the built-in microphone, or external sound sources - Innovative tap-to-bump gesture allows you to quickly bump the levels of a scene while holding it's button, releasing those levels when let go - Supports simultaneous control of DMX and HomeKit lights in the same project - Touch ID powered Lockdown mode allows you to lock specific parts of the Luminair user interface - Includes Luminair Remote for Apple Watch (on iPhone devices) - Supports various external control methods as MIDI, MIDI over Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi, Geofences, OSC Input - Additional support for 4 Universes, Scheduling, DMX Input Triggers, iBeacons, MSC, MTC, and HomeKit Button Triggers available with Luminair Pro Subscription - 64-bit app with a scalable UI that uses the latest Apple technologies like iCloud, Core Animation, Core MIDI and more Please visit us at https://luminair.app for full details. IMPORTANT: Luminair requires external DMX or HomeKit hardware to control lights, but can also be used in an "offline" mode for building projects and as a learning tool. Access Luminair Standard or Luminair Pro with monthly or annual subscriptions. You will be automatically billed through Apple every 30 days for monthly subscriptions or every 365 days for yearly subscriptions until you cancel your subscription. The first billing will occur after the one-time free trial period of 2 weeks. Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your subscription can be managed and the auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the App Store Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Any unused portion of the free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription during the free trial period. Privacy Policy: https://luminair.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://luminair.app/terms
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.
- Wireless Art-Net/sACN DMX control
- Philips Hue Entertainment integration
- Customizable user interface
- Scene and sequence creation
- Beat synchronization to music
- MIDI controller support
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
Luminair and Photon 2 both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 81% of Photon 2's written reviews are positive against 36% of Luminair's. Photon 2 also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). Luminair's advantage is ratings volume (1.2K vs 72) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Luminair sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Photon 2 sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Luminair against 4.5 for Photon 2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Luminair has 1.2K ratings behind it against 72, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 36% of Luminair's written reviews are positive against 81% of Photon 2's.
Luminair ships an update fortnightly, Photon 2 every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Luminair | Photon 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.2K ratings) — better | 4.5 (72 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.2% of reviews | 80.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 72 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.7 GB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Synthe FX, LLC | Photon Studio |
Customer experience
Luminair
Photon 2
Bugs and requests
Luminair
Reported bugs
3 issues- Scenes not loading properly
- Ethernet connectivity problems
- Unexpected settings changes during use
Requested features
4 requests- Allow one-time purchase option
- Improve fixture profile management
- Add more advanced effects and animation
- Enhance multi-device/project workflow
Photon 2
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Luminair
- Luminair Standard Monthly14 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Luminair Pro Monthly14 Days trial$19.991 Month
- Luminair Standard Yearly14 Days trial$99.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Luminair Pro Yearly14 Days trial$199.991 Year
Photon 2
- Photon+ Founder$29.991 Year
- Photon+$59.991 Year
- Starter Plan$44.99
- Pro Plan$64.99
- Pro Plan$79.99
Questions
Is Luminair free?
Is Photon 2 free?
Which has better reviews, Luminair or Photon 2?
Do Luminair or Photon 2 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Luminair or Photon 2?
Other comparisons















