A fair look at how HYPERFLUX stacks up against Resolume, MadMapper, VDMX and hardware lighting desks — including where the others win. We'd rather you buy the right tool than the wrong one.
Most tools do one job well. HYPERFLUX is built for the DJ/VJ who wants the screen and the room reacting to the actual music — without a media-server learning curve or a subscription.
Reacts to drums, bass, vocals & melody separately — not one level meter. Most VJ tools react to overall volume or need you to map audio by hand.
A full lighting console (Art-Net · sACN · USB-DMX) lives in the same app, driven by the same stems. Elsewhere that's a second program — or a hardware desk.
$39 / $79 once, lifetime updates, no subscription, no account, runs offline. The big media servers are subscriptions or four-figure licences.
A snapshot for the typical DJ/VJ use case — playing live, reacting to the music, maybe running lights. Other tools have depth HYPERFLUX doesn't; see the honest notes below the table.
| HYPERFLUX$39 / $79 once | Resolumesubscription / £+ | MadMapperpaid licence | Hardware desk£££ device | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio & reactivity | ||||
| Stem-reactive (drums/bass/vocals/melody) | ✓ built-in | manual audio FFT | — | — |
| Beat / tempo detection | ✓ | ✓ | limited | tap / clock |
| Reacts to your live mix automatically | ✓ plug in & play | with setup | — | manual |
| Visuals | ||||
| Built-in reactive scene library | ✓ 33+ | clips you supply | — | — |
| Play your own video / clips | ✓ video layer | ✓ (its core) | via Syphon | — |
| Projection mapping | — | ✓ | ✓ (its core) | — |
| Lighting | ||||
| Built-in DMX lighting console | ✓ free in every copy | — | — | ✓ (its core) |
| Art-Net / sACN / USB-DMX output | ✓ Pro | add-on / DMX out | DMX add-on | ✓ |
| Lights driven by the same audio as visuals | ✓ | separate | separate | manual |
| Output & control | ||||
| Clean projector / second-display output | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| NDI / Syphon feed into OBS, etc. | ✓ Pro | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| MIDI control | ✓ learn | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cost & fit | ||||
| Pricing | $39 / $79 once | subscription / tiered | paid licence | £100s–£1000s |
| Learning curve | low plug in, pick a scene | medium–high | medium | varies |
| Runs offline · no account | ✓ | login / activation | activation | ✓ |
✓ = built-in · amber = partial / add-on / needs setup · — = not its job. Competitor capabilities change; this reflects the typical DJ/VJ use case at time of writing — corrections welcome via Help.
We mean it. HYPERFLUX is focused — here's where another tool is genuinely the better buy.
Mapping visuals onto buildings, stages or odd surfaces? MadMapper or Resolume Arena are built for it. HYPERFLUX does clean flat output, not mapping.
If your set is your own pre-rendered clips, layers and a full media-server workflow, Resolume is the deeper tool. HYPERFLUX leads with reactive generative scenes + a video layer.
Programming a large show with timecode and deep fixture control? A dedicated desk / grandMA-class console wins. HYPERFLUX lighting is for the DJ/VJ who wants the room to move with the music.
Already love your VJ software? HYPERFLUX plays nicely alongside it.
Send HYPERFLUX's reactive visuals into Resolume, OBS or a media server over NDI / Syphon — use it as a live, audio-reactive source layer.
Run your visuals wherever you like and use HYPERFLUX purely as the stem-reactive DMX brain for your rig.
MIDI-map your existing controller to drive HYPERFLUX too — no new hardware.
Free trial — the whole app, every feature, watermarked until you unlock with a one-time key. See the full feature list →