Buying guide
Which WLED controller should I buy?
Short answer: for a first build, take the dig2go ($24.99) — it runs WLED out of the box from USB-C. For a room with one or two strips, our pick is the Dig-Next-2 — the newest, most modern controller in the range — with the classic Dig-Uno as the open-board alternative. For four strips or serious power, the Dig-Quad; for large permanent installs, the modular Dig-Octa with wired Ethernet. Dumb (non-addressable) strips need an An-Penta analog dimmer instead. The rest of this page gets you to the right board in a few minutes.
The 30-second version
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dig2go First build, desk or shelf — plug into USB-C and go $24.99 -
Dig-Next-2 Most rooms — the newest controller: cased, relays, mic, 5–48V $29.99 -
Dig-Uno The proven classic — open-board builds in your own enclosure $29.50 -
Dig-Quad Several strips or high power — 4 channels, 30A $39.50 -
Dig-Octa Large or permanent installs — 8 channels, Ethernet, up to 100A from $65
Step 1 — Digital or analog? Check your strip.
Everything starts with the LED strip, not the controller. Look at the wires or the markings on the strip itself. If it has a data line (pads marked DI/DO, types like WS2812B, SK6812, WS2811, WS2815, WS2814 or TM1814), it is an addressable strip: every LED can show its own colour, and you want one of the digital controllers below — they ship with WLED installed.
If the strip only has power and colour wires (+12V/+24V plus R, G, B, and sometimes W or CCT), it is a "dumb" analog strip: the whole strip shows one colour at a time. Those need PWM dimming channels, not a data signal — skip ahead to the An-Penta analog dimmers. If you have both kinds of strip in one project, it is completely normal to run one of each controller, or to bridge a digital controller to analog strip with a dig2analog.
Step 2 — Pick your digital controller by project size
Starting out: dig2go $24.99
Zero-soldering, zero-config: a cased controller that powers itself and roughly 300 LEDs (about 5m of 60/m strip) from a USB-C supply or even a power bank. Microphone and IR remote are built in. Its limit is power — everything runs on 5V/3A — so treat it as the gateway board, not the endgame.
One room — our pick: Dig-Next-2 $29.99
The newest, most modern controller in the range, and the one we'd point most people at for a room install. It comes in a finished case with per-channel relays and fuses, has a microphone for sound-reactive effects, accepts anything from 5V to 48V, and can mount on a DIN rail — current features the older boards simply predate.
The classic alternative: Dig-Uno $29.50
The long-serving open-board option: two level-shifted outputs, 5–24V input, a 10A fuse and reverse-polarity protection. Pick it when you're mounting in your own enclosure or want the pluggable ESP32 module — otherwise the Dig-Next-2 above is the more modern choice.
More strips, more power: Dig-Quad $39.50
Four outputs plus a relay trigger, rated 30A continuous across five fuses, with high-current terminals designed for power injection on long runs. When one supply feeds several strips around a room — or a holiday display — this is the board that keeps the wiring sane.
Large & permanent: Dig-Octa system from $65 per pair
A modular two-part system: a Brainboard (ESP32, wired Ethernet, micro-SD) stacks onto your choice of Powerboard, from 30A up to 100A. You size the power part to the install, keep the controller part the same, and stack more units as the project grows. If the words "permanent", "whole house" or "show" appear in your plan, start here — wired Ethernet is the difference between a show that runs and one that drops off WiFi.
| Board | Best for | Channels | Voltage | Max current | Built-in mic | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dig2go | Beginners, desks & first builds | 1 | 5V (USB-C) | 3A | Yes | $24.99 |
| Dig-Next-2 | Most rooms — the newest all-rounder | 2 | 5–48V | 15A | Yes | $29.99 |
| Dig-Uno | The proven classic, open-board | 2 | 5–24V | 10A | No | $29.50 |
| Dig-Quad | 4 strips & higher power | 4 | 5–24V | 30A | No | $39.50 |
| Dig-Octa | Large/permanent installs + Ethernet | 8 | 5–48V* | 30–100A | No | $65 |
* Dig-Octa voltage depends on the chosen Powerboard — Power-5/7 are 5–24V, the Power-5HV is 24–48V.
Analog strips? Pick an An-Penta dimmer.
Analog (non-addressable) strip deserves better than a cheap PWM puck: the An-Penta family dims at roughly 20kHz, far above what cameras and eyes can pick up, so the light is genuinely flicker-free. The An-Penta-Mini ($29.99) covers a cabinet or a single accent run with five channels in a compact case. The flagship An-Penta-Plus ($39.99) adds serious per-channel power (up to 10A/ch), wired Ethernet and a bonus digital output. And when a project needs many independent zones — a tunable-white ceiling, a façade in sections — the 15-channel An-Penta-Deca ($39.99) replaces three smaller dimmers with one box.
| Board | Best for | Channels | Voltage | Max current | PWM | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| An-Penta-Mini | Compact / smaller runs | 5 | 12–48V | 5A/ch · 10A total | ~20kHz | $29.99 |
| An-Penta-Plus | Flagship, WiFi + Ethernet | 6 (5 analog + 1 digital) | 12–48V | 10A/ch · 30A total | ~20kHz | $39.99 |
| An-Penta-Deca | Many channels | 15 | 12–48V | 5A/ch · 30A total | ~20kHz | $39.99 |
Sizing the power supply
Apart from the USB-C-powered dig2go, every controller needs a DC supply that matches your strip's voltage — commonly 5V, 12V or 24V. Sizing is simple arithmetic: take the strip's watts-per-metre rating, multiply by the metres you are running, then add about 20% headroom. A 5m run of 14W/m strip is 70W, so you would pick a 90–100W supply. Higher-voltage strip (12/24V, or up to 48V on the boards that support it) loses less in the wiring and needs power injected less often — one reason the Dig-Next-2 and Dig-Octa's 48V support matters on long runs.
Two practical notes: dense 5V pixel strip almost always needs power injection (feeding power in at both ends or mid-run — the Dig-Quad's high-current terminals exist exactly for this), and several resellers offer controller + power-supply bundles, listed under "Bundles & kits" on the product pages.
WiFi or wired Ethernet?
WiFi is fine for most homes — effects run on the board itself, so the network only carries control commands. Choose wired Ethernet when the install is permanent, far from the access point, inside metal, or part of a synchronised show where drop-outs are visible. On the Dig-Uno and Dig-Quad this is just a module choice: AB (onboard antenna), AE (external antenna for range or metal enclosures) or ABE (wired Ethernet). The Dig-Octa Brainboard and the An-Penta-Plus have Ethernet built in.
Long cable runs and special cases
Addressable data only survives a few metres of plain cable. When the controller can't sit next to the strip, the Diff-Solo (one signal) and Diff-Adv (four signals) carry data up to 500m over ordinary UTP/Ethernet cable. For runs that are long but not that long, the Data-Booster re-amplifies the signal mid-run. Driving dumb strip from a digital controller — handy when one WLED instance should run both kinds — is what the dig2analog and dig2analog+ bridges are for. And if visible LED dots bother you, the Dig-COB strip gives addressable control with a continuous, dot-free line of light.
Still unsure?
Ask in the Discord community (13,000+ makers), dig into the full documentation on quinled.info, or watch the deep-dive videos on the Intermit.Tech YouTube channel. Every product page also answers the practical questions in its specs and FAQ.