Software Alternatives & Reviews

XInput VS OpenAL

Compare XInput VS OpenAL and see what are their differences

XInput logo XInput

XInput is an API that allows applications to receive input from the Xbox Controller for Windows.

OpenAL logo OpenAL

OpenAL is a cross-platform 3D audio API appropriate for use with gaming applications and many other...
  • XInput Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-27
  • OpenAL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-10-21

XInput videos

Redgear Pro Wireless Gamepad | Review after 1 yr | Best Controller | Xinput vs Direct Input

More videos:

  • Review - Razer Raiju Review - Best PS4 and PC Xinput Controller?
  • Review - Steelseries Stratus XL for Windows and Android Bluetooth Game Controller Review - Supports Xinput

OpenAL videos

What is Openal used for?

More videos:

  • Review - (2/3) OpenAL implementation audio quality comparison: X-Fi card

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to XInput and OpenAL)
Game Development
56 56%
44% 44
Game Engine
51 51%
49% 49
Development Tools
0 0%
100% 100
3D Game Engine
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, XInput seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 3 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

XInput mentions (3)

  • what is your unpopular opinion regarding simracing?
    DirectInput dates back to the Win9x days, and the current implementation dates back to the WinXP days. It's officially deprecated by Microsoft, which basically means "stop using it for new development." Its replacements are XInput (the Xbox controller API) and a similar API called Windows.Gaming.Input, intended for UWP applications. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Looking for steering wheels that uses XInput on PC?
    For those unfamiliar with the XInput standard https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/xinput/xinput-and-directinput. Source: over 1 year ago
  • odd wheel base hardware
    I have experience making Teensy joysticks, so the hardware/firmware side is covered. I'm happy to hear DirectInput is still being used contrary to MS advice https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/xinput/xinput-and-directinput Https://github.com/redragonx/can2rNET provides the interface to wheelchair control system. Source: over 2 years ago

OpenAL mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of OpenAL yet. Tracking of OpenAL recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing XInput and OpenAL, you can also consider the following products

Amazon GameLift - Amazon Gamelift is a dedicated server platform for online video gaming. Notable customers include High Horse Entertainment, Wargaming Mobile, Gearbox Software, Aon Interactive and Proletariat, Inc... read more.

FMOD - FMOD Studio is an audio middleware solution and engine for games.

BitBucket - Bitbucket is a free code hosting site for Mercurial and Git. Manage your development with a hosted wiki, issue tracker and source code.

Wwise - Game audio engine, designed to give artists more control and save programmers' time.

LibGDX - Libgdx is a Java game development framework that provides a unified API that works across all...

SoLoud - Easy to use, free, portable c/c++ audio engine for games.