Aurora RGB vs Nexus
Aurora RGB
project-aurora.com
Nexus
hellonexus.comSide by side
| Figure | Aurora RGB | Nexus |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · RGB Lighting Software | 7.8 (#8) | 7.9 (#6) |
| Purpose | Aurora unifies RGB lighting devices across brands and adds or improves RGB lighting support for games. | Nexus combines PC hardware monitoring, fan and pump control, and RGB lighting in one app. |
| Security | The pages reviewed did not state security certifications or compliance claims. | Nexus says remote sessions are end-to-end encrypted and its relay forwards encrypted data it cannot read. |
| Support | The project directs users with issues or feature discussions to its Discord server and GitHub issues. | Users can get setup and troubleshooting help through the docs and FAQ, or contact the team and community on Discord. |
Plans
In their own words
Aurora RGB
Aurora RGB is a free Windows application for coordinating RGB lighting devices across brands and adding or improving lighting support for games. Supported device types include keyboards, mice, mousepads, fans, and WiFi lights. Brand integrations listed by the project include Logitech Lightsync, Razer Chroma, and Corsair iCUE. Native game integrations include CS2, Dota 2, and League of Legends. Lighting can react to game state such as health, ammo, cooldowns, and other events. Users can build layered effects and gradients, create interactive keyboard effects, and script custom effects or devices. Profiles can be imported and exported, and an automatic updater is included. Installation offers a GitHub installer or a manual archive route. The project describes low background resource use for gaming. Builds marked Prerelease may contain breaking changes; manually installing one keeps prerelease updates until switching to a full release build. Support is directed to Discord and GitHub issues. All listed features are free and open-source.
Nexus
Nexus combines PC hardware monitoring, fan and pump control, and RGB lighting in one free app. It shows live CPU, GPU, memory, network, disk, fan, and temperature readings, with per-game FPS history on Windows. Its GPU-rendered lighting engine offers screen sync, audio sync, and Game Sync. Users can set fan and pump curves from any system temperature sensor or leave selected devices on BIOS or firmware settings. Nexus uses its own device drivers and a bundled OpenRGB build; hardware support depends on the exact model. A phone browser can act as a remote panel, using an encrypted relay outside the home network and switching to a direct connection when possible. The app works locally and offline without an account, while optional anonymous telemetry can be controlled in settings. Nexus runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, Apple Silicon Macs, and x86-64 Linux. It has no builds for Windows on ARM, Intel Macs, or ARM Linux. Companion iOS and Android apps are not yet in the app stores.