vs Duet
Lightspan vs Duet Display
Duet moved to subscription pricing in 2022 — €44.99–€89.99 per year, forever. Lightspan is €9.99 once. Same iPad-as-display use case, no recurring fee.
Side by side
The honest comparison.
Cyan = clear winner on that row. Plain text = roughly tied.
| Feature | Lightspan | Duet Display |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €9.99 one-time | €44.99–€89.99 / year |
| Pricing model | Pay once, owned forever | Subscription (Starter / Air / Pro) |
| Connection | Wi-Fi + USB-C cable | Wired (Starter) / Wireless (Air, Pro) |
| Apple ID required? | No | No |
| Latency | 40–60 ms (cable / clean Wi-Fi) | Comparable on cable; variable wireless |
| Touch support | Yes — display only | Yes |
| Apple Pencil | Display only | Yes — pressure on Pro tier |
| Audio forwarding | Yes — AAC, PTS-locked | Yes |
| Multiple iPads | One per Mac | Multi-monitor on Pro tier |
| Mac-as-display | No | No |
| Direct download | Mac app (.dmg) | Mac client install |
| Mac App Store | No (uses CGVirtualDisplay SPI) | Direct download |
| iPadOS minimum | iPadOS 16+ | iOS 12+ |
| macOS minimum | macOS 14.2 Sonoma+ | macOS 10.13+ |
| Status | Active, indie support | Active since 2014 |
Where Lightspan wins
What Lightspan does better.
- One-time price (€9.99) vs subscription (€44.99–€89.99 / year).
- Pay once, owned forever — no surprise renewal charges.
- Same low-latency tech (hardware H.264 encoding with low-latency rate control).
Where Duet Display wins
Where it’s the better pick.
- More mature feature set: Apple Pencil pressure, multi-monitor configs, longer track record (since 2014).
- Cross-platform — Duet also runs against Windows hosts.
Pick one
Which one's right for you?
If you're a professional artist using Apple Pencil daily and price isn't the issue, Duet's Pro tier is genuinely better than what Lightspan offers today. If you want a polished, no-subscription, set-and-forget second display, choose Lightspan.
See also:
Lightspan still right for you?
€9.99 once on the App Store.