WLED VS OpenRGB

Compare WLED vs OpenRGB and see what are their differences.

WLED

Control WS2812B and many more types of digital RGB LEDs with an ESP8266 or ESP32 over WiFi! (by Aircoookie)

OpenRGB

By gitlab-CalcProgrammer1
Our great sponsors
  • WorkOS - The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS
  • InfluxDB - Power Real-Time Data Analytics at Scale
  • SaaSHub - Software Alternatives and Reviews
WLED OpenRGB
599 618
13,674 -
- -
9.5 -
3 days ago -
C++
MIT License -
The number of mentions indicates the total number of mentions that we've tracked plus the number of user suggested alternatives.
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.

WLED

Posts with mentions or reviews of WLED. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2023-12-11.

OpenRGB

Posts with mentions or reviews of OpenRGB. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2023-07-06.
  • Until RedHat Stops Violating the GPL, Fedora Should Stop Being Recommended on Here
    7 projects | /r/linux_gaming | 6 Jul 2023
    kernel patched with cherry-picked zen patches (also used in TKG kernel on Arch https://github.com/Frogging-Family/linux-tkg/blob/master/linux-tkg-patches/6.1/0003-glitched-base.patch) kernel patched with OpenRGB (https://gitlab.com/CalcProgrammer1/OpenRGB/-/wikis/OpenRGB-Kernel-Patch) kernel patched to enable amdgpu for pre-polaris cards by default instead of radeon kernel patched with steam deck support kernel patched with microsoft surface support (https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/tree/master/patches/6.1) kernel patched with asus-linux patches for better asus laptop compatibility. (https://gitlab.com/asus-linux) kernel patched with simpledrm fix/workaround for nvidia (see: https://gitlab.com/cki-project/kernel-ark/-/merge_requests/1788 ) kernel patched with ACS override IOMMU patch for better vfio iommu group control (https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/tree/add-acs-overrides.patch?h=linux-vfio) kernel patched with Lenovo Legion Linux support (https://github.com/johnfanv2/LenovoLegionLinux) kernel patched with customizable USB polling rate support (https://github.com/KarsMulder/Linux-Pollrate-Patch + https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/Linux-Pollrate-Patch) kernel configured with ashmem, binder, and android support for Waydroid QSG_RENDER_LOOP=”basic” set for nvidia cards — fixes nouveau Wayland freezes. The nvidia proprietary driver sets this anyway after installation. This fixes the issue of KDE Wayland often times freezing on first login before nvidia proprietary drivers are installed. latest mesa release version provided for AMD/Intel desktop/GL drivers, mesa-git vulkan drivers provided for latest vulkan fixes/updates, built and updated regularly (every few weeks to a month on average) glibc patched with clone3 disabled (fixes CEF compatibility in applications using outdated CEF such as Discord, Steam beta) glibc patched with broken commits reverted to allow EasyAntiCheat to work for Rogue Company dnf max parallel downloads increased to 6 gst-editing-services disabled — causes WINE to hang when creating new prefixes lspci symlink from /usr/sbin/lspci to /usr/bin/lspci for Dying Light: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/forum/topic/2766/post_id=17381 ‘nobara-controller-config’ package provided for easy installation of xone and xpadneo drivers and firmware. gnome variable refresh rate patches added for mutter: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/merge_requests/1154 gnome mutter check-alive-timeout increased from 5 seconds to 30 seconds. This is the amount of time gnome waits before trying to determine if an application is not responding. At 5 seconds it almost immediately triggers for league of legends (and some other applications) if those applications are still in the loading phase. We feel 30 seconds is a much more reasonable wait time. gnome mutter patched with x11 fractional scaling: https://salsa.debian.org/gnome-team/mutter/-/raw/ubuntu/master/debian/patches/ubuntu/x11-Add-support-for-fractional-scaling-using-Randr.patch gnome mutter wayland and x11 fractional scaling enabled by default: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/HiDPI#Fractional_scaling gnome shell patched with https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell/-/merge_requests/2358 to allow gnome-extension-manager to auto-update without needing gnome-extension-app installed. (They both function the same but gnome-extension-manager allows management of extensions without a browser). gamescope version regularly updated goverlay version regularly updated mangohud version regularly updated vkbasalt version regularly updated vm.max_map_count = 16777216 set by default for Star Citizen xwayland patched with fix for locked fps on some systems: https://build.opensuse.org/package/view_file/home:hwsnemo:xwayland/xwayland/xwayland-vsync.diff?expand=1 supergfxctl and gnome extension + kde plasmoid enabled for laptops. Vendor agnostic and works with any combination of intel/amd/nvidia gpus.
  • [Gamers Nexus] We're Fixing this Anti-Consumer Nightmare | OpenPleb Sensors & RGB, ft. Wendell from Level1 Techs
    3 projects | /r/hardware | 9 Jun 2023
    I have a 30 series ASUS card, and Armory Crate didn't even detect my Strix 3080. Took me awhile to remove all of their bs software from my system (big thanks to Autoruns and BCUinstaller). Now I use OpenRGB to control everything.
  • OpenRGB and Steelseries Apex 9
    2 projects | /r/OpenRGB | 3 Jun 2023
    OpenRGB doesn't see my Steelseries Apex 9 keyboard - is there any way to fix this? I saw adding Apex 9 recognition was requested here and a GitLab branch that adds the Apex 9 recognition was even linked but I don't know how to add this user-submitted update to OpenRGB. Any tips?
  • Is there still no version of GHub on Linux? Apparently they've been promising this for over 3 years.
    5 projects | /r/LogitechG | 3 May 2023
    Before upgrading myself to a Keychron Q3 i used OpenRGB to control RGB on Logitech trash hardware : https://i.imgur.com/mkzcQDU.png
  • Please help me transition from Win 11
    3 projects | /r/linux_gaming | 28 Mar 2023
    "Corsairs Commander Pro" is listed as a supported device by OpenRGB
  • *update* Build ready! Thank god there is a thing called SignalRGB
    2 projects | /r/watercooling | 25 Mar 2023
    From their WIKI -
  • Component Idea: OpenRGB Sync
    3 projects | /r/foobar2000 | 17 Mar 2023
    3 projects | /r/foobar2000 | 17 Mar 2023
  • Long Shot...
    2 projects | /r/Govee | 10 Mar 2023
    #1: OpenRGB 0.6 Released! | 35 comments #2: OpenRGB 0.7 Released! | 87 comments #3: OpenRGB 0.8 Released! | 56 comments
  • [Component Request] OpenRGB support
    3 projects | /r/foobar2000 | 22 Feb 2023

What are some alternatives?

When comparing WLED and OpenRGB you can also consider the following projects:

Tasmota - Alternative firmware for ESP8266 and ESP32 based devices with easy configuration using webUI, OTA updates, automation using timers or rules, expandability and entirely local control over MQTT, HTTP, Serial or KNX. Full documentation at

FastLED - The FastLED library for colored LED animation on Arduino. Please direct questions/requests for help to the FastLED Reddit community: http://fastled.io/r We'd like to use github "issues" just for tracking library bugs / enhancements.

NightDriverStrip - NightDriver client for ESP32

Aurora - Unified lighting effects across multiple brands and various games.

LedFx - LedFx is a network based LED effect controller with support for advanced real-time audio effects! LedFx can control multiple devices and works great with cheap ESP8266 nodes allowing for cost effectvice syncronized effects across your entire house!

liquidctl - Cross-platform CLI and Python drivers for AIO liquid coolers and other devices

hyperion.ng - The successor to Hyperion aka Hyperion Next Generation

icue-ambilight - Ambilight for Corsair devices: Synchronise the colors of your iCue compatible devices with the content displayed on your screen.

OpenRGBEffectsPlugin

QMK-OpenRGB - Open-source keyboard firmware for Atmel AVR and Arm USB families

CorsairLightingProtocol - Control LEDs connected to an Arduino with iCUE, create an unofficial Corsair iCUE compatible Arduino LED controller.

arduino-esp32 - Arduino core for the ESP32