CueServer is a proven, rock-solid show controller with a mature scripting engine. Whether you are specifying against a CueServer 3, replacing a CueServer 2, or retiring a legacy CS-800 or CS-900, here is how DMX Core 100 compares — fairly, feature by feature.
A side-by-side look at the features installers and integrators evaluate most.
| Feature | DMX Core 100 | CueServer 3 Core |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $599 software (800 universes) $399 software (8 universes) · $999 appliance |
$1,599 (hardware) |
| Max Universes | 800 | 32 |
| Software-Only Option | ✓ | — |
| Cross-Platform (Win / Mac / Linux) | ✓ | — |
| Dedicated Touchscreen Hardware | ✓ | — |
| Web UI | ✓ | ✓ |
| ArtNet | ✓ | ✓ |
| sACN (E1.31) | ✓ | ✓ |
| KiNet | ✓ | ✓ |
| OSC | ✓ | ✓ |
| MQTT | ✓ | — |
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| MIDI | ✓ | — |
| Q-SYS / Symetrix | ✓ | — |
| Stream Deck | ✓ | — |
| Cloud Remote Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Timeline Editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built-in Effects | ✓ | ✓ |
| Record & Playback | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio Sync | ✓ all models | ✓ CS-3150 only |
| Multi-User / Roles | 24 permissions | — |
| Event Scripting | JavaScript + triggers | CueScript (mature) |
Competitor specs are based on publicly available product documentation and may change. Always confirm current details with the manufacturer. DMX Core prices set out or referred to on this page are recommended prices only, and there is no obligation to comply with the recommendation.
The answer changes what matters. Find yours below.
The current generation, and the one this comparison is built around. The decision usually comes down to universe count and price: the CS-3 handles up to 32 universes of DMX with channels licensable across 128 eDMX universes, while DMX Core 100 does up to 800 at 40 Hz for $599 in software. If you are near the CS-3's ceiling, or you want to evaluate on a laptop before committing to hardware, that is the gap worth testing.
Still in service in a great many installs, and still supported. If it is doing the job, there is no urgency. The usual triggers for a change are needing more universes than it can address, wanting a browser and touchscreen interface that non-technical staff can use, or wanting to record what a visiting designer programmed rather than re-programming it. If your CueScript is doing heavy lifting, read the section below before you move.
If you are replacing a unit this old, you are doing a refresh rather than a like-for-like swap, and it is worth reopening the requirements. Programming is likely long gone with the integrator who wrote it. Recording the DMX output of whatever is driving the rig today — at the protocol level, before you change anything — is often the cheapest way to preserve the existing looks, and it is free and unrestricted in the demo.
We would rather be honest than oversell. CueServer is a strong product, and it may be the right call if:
CueServer's scripting language is mature and deeply documented. DMX Core 100 answers with built-in JavaScript scripting, but if your install is built around complex existing CueScript logic, that investment carries weight.
CueServer is a dedicated hardware processor with a long field-proven track record. For some integrators, that simplicity is exactly the point.
CueServer has deep, long-established integrations with Crestron, AMX, Vantage, Control4, and Savant. If your install is built around one of those ecosystems, that maturity counts.
Scale from a single room to a campus without changing platforms — $599 in software for up to 800 universes, or $399 if eight is enough. Either way, a fraction of a hardware controller's price.
CueServer expands through add-on universe licences sold on top of the base unit, so the quote grows with the channel count. DMX Core 100 has two tiers and nothing metered in between — useful when you are pricing a job before the fixture schedule is final.
Run identical software on Windows, macOS, or Linux, or deploy it on dedicated touchscreen hardware. Prototype on a laptop, ship on an appliance.
MQTT, Q-SYS, Symetrix, and Stream Deck, plus MIDI built in rather than an add-on module — integrations that extend beyond CueServer's native set.
Capture shows from an external console, store them as cues, and play them back on schedules or triggers — with synchronized audio built in.
DMX Core 100 is available as desktop software for Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as on dedicated touchscreen hardware. CueServer is hardware-only, so DMX Core 100 lets you start in software and add an appliance later.
The comparison table is built against the current CueServer 3. If you are replacing a CueServer 2 the same points apply, with universe count and a browser-based interface for non-technical staff being the usual reasons people move. If you are retiring a legacy CS-800 or CS-900, treat it as a refresh rather than a swap — recording the DMX your rig receives today, before you change anything, is usually the cheapest way to preserve the existing looks.
DMX Core 100 supports up to 800 universes. The CueServer 3 Core handles up to 32 universes of DMX, with up to 16,384 channels licensable across 128 sACN, Art-Net, or KiNET universes, so DMX Core 100 is a better fit for the largest installations.
DMX Core 100 software is $599 for up to 800 universes, or $399 for up to 8. CueServer 3 Core hardware typically starts around $1,599.
No. DMX Core 100 has two software tiers — $399 for up to 8 universes and $599 for up to 800 — and nothing between them is metered. CueServer works differently: the base unit ships with a set number of universes and Interactive Technologies sells add-on universe licences for CueServer 2 and CueServer 3 to expand it, which its dealers list as separate SKUs. Neither model is wrong, but they behave differently when a project grows. Costing a CueServer means costing the unit plus however many universe licences the final channel count needs; costing DMX Core 100 means picking one of two tiers up front. If your channel count is settled and small, the difference is academic. If the rig is likely to grow, or you are quoting before the fixture schedule is final, the flat tier removes a variable from the estimate.
This is the most common reason people look. A CueServer is built for integrators who will configure it once and hand it over; churches usually need the opposite — a volunteer team that changes things weekly without an integrator on call. DMX Core 100 is worth a look here because it has a browser and touchscreen interface that non-technical volunteers can use, 24 permission-based roles so a volunteer can recall a scene but not re-patch the rig, and the ability to record the looks a visiting designer programmed on their own console so the team can simply recall them afterwards.
Usually, yes. DMX Core 100 speaks Art-Net, sACN (E1.31), KiNet v1/v2 and DMX-512, which covers what a CueServer is typically distributing, so the fixtures, nodes and cabling normally stay as they are. What does not transfer is the CueServer's programming — there is no show-file import between the two platforms. The practical migration path is to record the existing looks off the CueServer as live DMX, then rebuild the triggers and schedules in DMX Core.
A CueServer is a one-off hardware purchase, and for a single-site install that is a perfectly sensible model. The difference shows up on multi-site rollouts and on refreshes: DMX Core 100 starts at $399 as software, so a chain deploying to twenty venues can standardize on hardware it already owns or specify the $999 appliance per site, and programming done on a laptop in the office moves to site without re-licensing.
No, and it is worth being clear about that before you switch. The CueServer has a mature contact-closure and hardwired-input story that suits industrial and architectural installs, and Interactive Technologies has a long track record supporting it. If your project leans heavily on physical I/O, evaluate both. If it leans on scheduling, recorded playback, remote access and multi-user operation, DMX Core 100 is the stronger fit.
Download the free demo and run DMX Core 100 on your own machine — no hardware required to evaluate it.