DisplayCAL vs X-Rite i1Profiler

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.

X-Rite i1Profiler creates monitor and printer profiles for creative color control on Windows and macOS. Display profiling can use a basic wizard-driven mode or an advanced user-defined mode. Monitor controls include adjustable or unlimited gamma, white point, and luminance settings, gray-balance optimization, reference profiles for workgroup matching, chromatic adaptation for visual matching, multi-display matching, and display-quality assurance workflows. Printer profiling provides high-patch-count charts, linearization, flash and ambient-light measurements, and Optical Brightener Compensation for papers with optical brighteners. Advanced profile editing includes black-separation controls and white-point editing. The software supports ICC profile export, LUT calibration, and multi-monitor calibration. PANTONE Color Manager libraries or palettes can support printer-profile spot-color optimization. Requirements include 4 GB RAM, 2 GB disk space, a powered USB port, and high-speed internet for installation, downloads, and updates. A measurement instrument or dongle is required, with a license stored on an i1Pro 2 device or HASP4 dongle. Pricing is on request.