Visibox
vs Show Cue System
How Visibox and Show Cue System compare for live shows: who runs it, cue list vs free triggering, backing tracks, visualizers, timecode, and price.
Show Cue System is a Windows cue-list player in the mold of QLab. It plays an ordered list of audio, video, and lighting cues, follows timecode in its upper editions, and starts at $62, which puts it within reach of community theaters, schools, and small venues. Visibox is built for the person on stage: trigger any clip at any time from a MIDI controller or Stream Deck, with audio-reactive visualizers, effects, and your backing tracks on the same grid, on Windows or a Mac.
The split is the same one that separates Visibox from QLab. Show Cue System is a cue list. Visibox is an instrument. Here is where each one fits.
| Visibox | Show Cue System | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Live-visuals app built around free-form triggering | Cue-list show player for audio, video, and lighting on Windows |
| Best for | Bands, worship, DJs, events run by the performer | Community and school theater, small venues, scripted shows |
| Who runs it | The performer from the stage, or front of house from a phone or tablet | An operator firing GO in cue-list order; MIDI GO from Professional up |
| Playback model | Trigger any clip at any time from a song grid; optional Song Timelines (Beta) and Setlists | Ordered cue list with GO, auto-follow, and hotkeys |
| Platforms | macOS 13+ and Windows 10+ | Windows only |
| Video | Clips, images, cameras, and visualizers on one grid | Video and image cues from Standard up, video capture from Professional up; none in Lite |
| Audio-reactive | ISF shaders and MilkDrop presets, built in | None |
| Effects | Stackable video effects with a live editor | VST audio effects in Professional Plus and Platinum; none for video |
| Backing tracks | Multichannel backing tracks with stem merging and click outputs | Audio cues routed to 2, 4, 16, 32, or 512 outputs depending on edition |
| MIDI / footswitch / Stream Deck | Native MIDI with easy mapping, OSC, and an Elgato Stream Deck plugin | MIDI and MSC control from the Professional edition up; no Stream Deck plugin |
| Timecode | Not included | MTC in Professional Plus and Platinum; LTC in Platinum |
| Lighting (DMX) | A lighting console cues Visibox over sACN or Art-Net as a patched fixture; no DMX out | DMX cues over Art-Net or sACN from the Professional edition up |
| AI assistant / API | Native MCP server, HTTP + WebSocket API, CLI | Network and HTTP control in Professional Plus and Platinum |
| Price | Free Plan; Pro $18.99/mo (Subscribe-to-Own), $83.88/yr, or $299 once | Lite $62, Standard $107, Professional $161, Professional Plus $214, Platinum $268, one-time |
- Visibox
- Live-visuals app built around free-form triggering
- Show Cue System
- Cue-list show player for audio, video, and lighting on Windows
- Visibox
- Bands, worship, DJs, events run by the performer
- Show Cue System
- Community and school theater, small venues, scripted shows
- Visibox
- The performer from the stage, or front of house from a phone or tablet
- Show Cue System
- An operator firing GO in cue-list order; MIDI GO from Professional up
- Visibox
- Trigger any clip at any time from a song grid; optional Song Timelines (Beta) and Setlists
- Show Cue System
- Ordered cue list with GO, auto-follow, and hotkeys
- Visibox
- macOS 13+ and Windows 10+
- Show Cue System
- Windows only
- Visibox
- Clips, images, cameras, and visualizers on one grid
- Show Cue System
- Video and image cues from Standard up, video capture from Professional up; none in Lite
- Visibox
- ISF shaders and MilkDrop presets, built in
- Show Cue System
- None
- Visibox
- Stackable video effects with a live editor
- Show Cue System
- VST audio effects in Professional Plus and Platinum; none for video
- Visibox
- Multichannel backing tracks with stem merging and click outputs
- Show Cue System
- Audio cues routed to 2, 4, 16, 32, or 512 outputs depending on edition
- Visibox
- Native MIDI with easy mapping, OSC, and an Elgato Stream Deck plugin
- Show Cue System
- MIDI and MSC control from the Professional edition up; no Stream Deck plugin
- Visibox
- Not included
- Show Cue System
- MTC in Professional Plus and Platinum; LTC in Platinum
- Visibox
- A lighting console cues Visibox over sACN or Art-Net as a patched fixture; no DMX out
- Show Cue System
- DMX cues over Art-Net or sACN from the Professional edition up
- Visibox
- Native MCP server, HTTP + WebSocket API, CLI
- Show Cue System
- Network and HTTP control in Professional Plus and Platinum
- Visibox
- Free Plan; Pro $18.99/mo (Subscribe-to-Own), $83.88/yr, or $299 once
- Show Cue System
- Lite $62, Standard $107, Professional $161, Professional Plus $214, Platinum $268, one-time
Pricing and edition limits verified against showcuesystems.com in October 2026. Show Cue System is a one-time purchase per edition with twelve months of updates, then an optional renewal at 20% of the license price per year. Lite is audio only, with 80 cues and 2 outputs. Standard adds video and image cues, 120 cues, 4 outputs, and 4 screens. Professional removes the cue limit and adds MIDI and MSC control, DMX, video capture, and 16 outputs. Professional Plus adds MTC, network and HTTP control, VST audio effects, and 32 outputs. Platinum adds LTC and 512 outputs. Every Visibox plan activates two computers, and every new activation starts with a 14-day Pro trial, no credit card required. A Pro Subscription always runs the latest version, and Perpetual ($299 once) includes two years of updates.
Pick Visibox when
- You are the one on stage. Trigger clips hands-free from a footswitch, MIDI pad, or Stream Deck while you play, in whatever order the show calls for.
- Your sound engineer can run the visuals too. Visibox Remote turns a phone or tablet into a control surface for the show, so they can pick songs and fire clips from the mix position or anywhere on the venue Wi-Fi.
- Your show is not a fixed script. Tempos move, solos stretch, and you want the visuals to follow the room rather than a cue list.
- You run backing tracks and want video with them. Visibox plays your multichannel stems with a click on its own output, fires the visuals from the same song, and keeps each night's order in a Setlist.
- You want audio-reactive visualizers and stackable video effects on the same grid as your videos and cameras. Show Cue System has no visualizers and no video effects.
- Your band is split across Mac and Windows. Show Cue System is Windows only; one Visibox plan activates two computers of either kind.
- You want to edit your project by talking to an AI assistant through the built-in MCP server, or script it from the command line with the Visibox CLI.
Pick Show Cue System when
- You run scripted theater on Windows. An operator presses GO, cues auto-follow, and the same sequence plays every night. That is exactly what it is built for.
- Your show is locked to timecode, or you fire lighting cues from the same cue list. Show Cue System supports MTC and LTC in its upper editions and sends DMX from Professional up; Visibox sends no DMX and follows no timecode, though an sACN or Art-Net lighting console can cue Visibox.
- You route audio to a lot of outputs. The upper editions drive 32 or even 512 outputs.
- Your budget is $62 and you only need sound. Show Cue System Lite is audio only, and the Standard edition adds video for $107.
The real difference
Show Cue System is built for repeatability. Program the cue list, press GO, and the same show plays every night, with audio, video, and lighting fired from one seat and locked to timecode if you need it. For a scripted production on Windows, that is the right model, and Visibox does not try to replace it.
Visibox is built for shows that breathe. The band takes a verse slower, a solo stretches, the room asks for something else, and you fire the clip that fits, from the pad under your hand or the footswitch under your boot. When one song should run the same way every night, a Song Timeline (Beta) fires its cues on the song’s own clock. Visualizers react to the music, effects stack on any clip, and the backing track plays from the same song with stems merged and click on its own output. One performer runs it all, on Windows or on a Mac, and can be performing with it on day one.
Common questions
Is Visibox a Show Cue System alternative?
For a band or performer on Windows who wants free-form triggering, visualizers, effects, and backing tracks in one app, yes. For scripted theater run from a cue list with timecode and lighting, Show Cue System is purpose-built and the stronger fit.
Is Visibox a QLab alternative for Windows?
Visibox runs on Windows 10+ and macOS 13+, so yes for free-form live triggering. If what you want on Windows is a QLab-style cue list, Show Cue System is the closer match, and our Visibox vs QLab page covers that split in more detail.
Does Visibox have a cue list?
Not a GO-style one. Visibox is a grid of songs and clips, and you trigger any clip at any time. That is the point for a live band. Song Timelines (Beta) can script timed cues per song and Setlists save more than one running order. If your show needs an ordered list with GO and auto-follow, Show Cue System is the right tool.
Can Visibox follow timecode or send DMX?
No. Visibox triggers on your cue, from MIDI, Stream Deck, keyboard, OSC, an sACN or Art-Net lighting console, or its API. It sends no DMX. Show Cue System follows MTC and LTC in its upper editions and sends DMX from the Professional edition up.
Is Visibox cheaper than Show Cue System?
Not always. Show Cue System starts at $62 for the audio-only Lite edition and $107 for video, as one-time purchases with a year of updates. Visibox has a Free Plan, and Pro is $18.99 a month (Subscribe-to-Own), $83.88 a year, or $299 once for Perpetual with two years of updates. Even the Free Plan plays audio-reactive visualizers and applies video Effects presets; Pro adds the editors, and a native Stream Deck plugin. Show Cue System offers none of those in any edition.
Try it on your own show
The right clip on the right beat, fired by the person playing it, is what the audience sees. Visibox puts that under your feet on a Windows laptop or a Mac. The fastest way to feel it is to run your own clips through it.
with no credit card. No commitment, no auto-charge.