Calman vs DisplayCAL

Calman is display calibration software for measuring, adjusting, and verifying display performance. Its Home editions are aimed at home theater use and support automated calibration on supported displays: users work with reference patterns and a colorimeter, and the software adjusts the TV based on the measurements. Calman Studio adds automated SDR and HDR calibration, ICC profiling, 1D and 3D LUT creation, and display validation wizards. Ultimate supports customizable workflows and reports, automated calibration, 3D LUT creation, and multi-display environments such as LED walls. Calman supports measurement devices and pattern generators, with workflows for displays from ASUS, BenQ, Dell, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony. Home editions for supported brands cost $249 as a one-time purchase. Studio costs $1,199, paid once, while Ultimate costs $2,995, paid once; both require Windows 10 or later and include one year of software updates and technical support. Continued Studio and Ultimate updates and support can be renewed through All Access: $549 a year for Studio or $849 a year for Ultimate. Display compatibility varies by model, and not every variation is supported.

DisplayCAL is a free display calibration and profiling solution built on ArgyllCMS, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. With a supported measurement instrument, it measures displays and creates calibrations and ICC profiles, including for multi-display setups. Users can verify profiles and display devices, measure screen uniformity, and create video 3D LUTs with optional CIECAM02 gamut mapping. Colorimeter corrections can be imported from vendor software or created from measurements when a spectrometer is available. A test chart editor makes patch charts and accepts pasted data from CGATS, tab-delimited CSV, and spreadsheet applications. Documented pattern generators include madVR and DaVinci Resolve 10.1 or later; Chromecast support is optional. DisplayCAL requires ArgyllCMS 1.0 or newer and a supported measurement instrument. The software is licensed under GNU GPL version 3 or later and comes without warranty. The download page provides SHA-256 checksums, while the site links to forums, a wiki, documentation, help, and an issue tracker.