QLab for Windows: the closest alternatives in 2026

Stage3 Team · 15 July 2026

QLab does not run on Windows. Figure 53 builds it for macOS only and has never announced a port, so if your playback machine is a PC, the real question is which tool does the same job there. For live video playback, the closest option is Stage3, a native Windows app with a $139 perpetual license and a 7-day trial. This page explains why no QLab port exists, what the other names in this space cost, where Stage3 matches QLab, and where it clearly does not.

Why there is no QLab for Windows

QLab sits directly on Apple's audio and video frameworks. Porting it would mean rewriting most of the engine, and Figure 53 has shown no intention of doing that in two decades of development. In practice, every "QLab for Windows download" link you will find is either an installer for something unrelated or malware. There is no legitimate copy.

The virtual machine route is no better. macOS in a VM on PC hardware breaks Apple's license terms, and more importantly gets no proper GPU acceleration, so video stutters and secondary displays misbehave. Nobody should run a live show on that.

Decide which part of QLab you actually use

QLab covers a lot of ground: audio cue stacks with routing, video surfaces, MIDI and OSC show control, network cues, and license tiers that reach roughly $999 for the full audio plus video bundle. Most people searching for a Windows alternative use a fraction of that. If your shows come down to firing video files at one or more screens, with clean fades, trimmed in and out points and audio levels you can trust, then a dedicated playback tool covers the job and a full show control suite is overkill. That distinction decides what you should pay.

The realistic options in 2026

Notice the pattern: this category grew up on the Mac. QLab, PlaybackPro, Mitti and ProVideoPlayer are all macOS software with no Windows builds. Resolume Arena does run on Windows, and 799 euros buys a capable tool, but it belongs to a different category: clip grids, compositions and effects for VJ sets and media server rigs. Driving a scripted corporate session or a theatre cue list with it means working against the grain. Stage3 is the entry built specifically for playback on Windows.

What Stage3 covers

Stage3 is a live playback app for Windows. You build a playlist, pick which monitors become fullscreen outputs, and fire cues from the keyboard. The parts that matter on a real gig:

• Frame-synced multi-screen output. Every selected display shows the same frame at the same instant, each at its own native resolution.
• Pro fades. Fade in, fade out and fade to black on a key, applied to the preview and every output together.
• Audio you can set precisely. Per-cue gain in dB, a VU meter, and selection of the exact audio output device, so sound goes to the desk feed and not the laptop speakers.
• Trim and markers. In and out points per clip, so files play exactly the section you need.
• A built-in transcoder. Files that will not play natively convert in one click, with nothing else to install.
• Boring reliability. Crash recovery, sleep prevention while on air, a signed updater, and zero telemetry.

Where Stage3 stops today

Straight answer so you can decide fast. Stage3 covers video playback, not show control. There is no MIDI or OSC input yet, no NDI output, no LTC timecode chase, no projector warping or edge blending, and no multi-track sound design.

The word that matters there is yet. OSC control and a Bitfocus Companion module sit at the top of the roadmap, and that roadmap is built from what buyers ask for. Updates are included for life, so a license bought today keeps receiving that work.

If a console has to fire your cues on the show you are prepping this month, a Mac rig is the safe answer. If your show is video on several screens, frame synced, from a Windows laptop, Stage3 does that today.

When QLab is still the right call

If your show depends on show control, on OSC cueing between the sound desk, the lighting console and the video machine, or on layered sound design with routing, buy or rent a Mac mini and run QLab. A used Mac mini costs less than fighting the wrong tool on show day. If you need multi-projector blending, look at ProVideoPlayer or a media server and budget accordingly. Stage3 earns its place when the job is straight video playback on the Windows hardware you already own.

Common questions

Is there an official QLab for Windows?

No. QLab is developed by Figure 53 for macOS only, and no Windows version has ever been announced. Any site offering a QLab for Windows download is not offering QLab.

Can I run QLab on a PC through a virtual machine?

You can boot macOS in a VM, but video output gets no proper GPU acceleration, extra displays are unreliable, and Apple's license does not allow macOS on non-Apple hardware. It is not something to run a live show on.

What does Stage3 not do compared to QLab?

Stage3 covers video playback rather than show control: no MIDI or OSC yet, no NDI, no LTC timecode chase, no projector warping or edge blending. OSC and a Bitfocus Companion module are top of the roadmap, which is driven by user requests, and updates are included for life. For frame-synced multi-screen output, pro fades, per-cue gain in dB, trims and markers on Windows, Stage3 covers it today.

Can I test Stage3 before paying?

Yes. The trial gives you every feature for 7 days, with no account. The license afterwards is $139, perpetual, with no subscription.

Read next

• A PlaybackPro alternative that runs on Windows: the same comparison from the corporate playback angle.
• Playing a video on several screens at once, in sync: how Stage3 keeps every output locked to the same frame.
• The Stage3 user guide: outputs, playlists, trims, fades and keyboard shortcuts, every feature explained in one place.