The short answer
Pick LightBurn if you run one machine and want the largest device list and community behind you — it is mature, reliable and widely supported. Pick Vextrify if you want to run several lasers at once, place designs on the material with a calibrated camera, work natively on a Mac, and prepare photos, logos and AI artwork in the same app. Many shops use both: prep and multi-laser jobs in Vextrify, and LightBurn for a specific machine when they prefer it.
LightBurn — one mature, widely supported machine controller
Vextrify — multi-laser, camera-aligned, all-in-one prep
They are not mutually exclusive
Where LightBurn is the stronger choice
Credit where it is due: LightBurn supports an enormous range of diode, CO2 and Ruida machines, has years of maturity, and a huge community with settings libraries for almost any laser. If your priority is the broadest possible device compatibility for a single machine, or you already rely on LightBurn's exact workflow and macros, it remains an excellent, dependable controller. We do not claim to match its raw device breadth today.
Widest device and controller support
Mature, battle-tested single-machine workflow
Large community and shared settings libraries
Where Vextrify pulls ahead
Vextrify is a connected suite rather than a single controller. It runs several lasers live from one license; a calibrated camera and the millimetre-accurate Artboard place each design exactly on the material; a material-based engine suggests speed and power; and background removal, contour-to-SVG, vectorizing, photo and AI prep all feed straight into the job. It runs in the browser and natively on macOS and Windows — and still exports clean files for LightBurn when you want them.
Run several lasers at once from one license
Camera + Artboard placement on the real material
Built-in background, contour, SVG, photo and AI prep
Browser plus native macOS and Windows apps
Side by side
At a glance: device breadth goes to LightBurn; multiple lasers at once, camera-on-material alignment, integrated image/AI/vector prep, a browser option and native Mac support go to Vextrify. Photo engraving preparation is a first-class workflow in Vextrify rather than an add-on. Both produce clean output, and Vextrify can hand files to LightBurn, EZCAD or Ruida when that suits the job.
Device breadth → LightBurn
Multiple lasers at once → Vextrify
Camera + Artboard placement → Vextrify
Built-in photo / AI / vector prep → Vextrify
Which should you choose?
If device breadth for a single machine is everything, stay with LightBurn. If you want to scale to several lasers, align on the material with a camera, work on a Mac, and keep image prep and machine work in one place, Vextrify is the better long-term home — and it is free to try in the browser before you commit.
Single machine, max device support → LightBurn
Multi-laser, Mac, all-in-one prep → Vextrify