Comparison

StreamPad vs Virtual Stream Deck

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

StreamPad

Features
Read full description

StreamPad — Transform your iPhone or iPad into a professional-grade control surface. Buttons, dials, sliders, gauges, sound pads, music widgets — 10+ widget types on a free-form grid. 890+ ready-to-use shortcuts for 40 pro apps across macOS and Windows. Streamer, editor, DJ, musician, developer — one tap, one twist, one slide is all it takes. ā–  Pro Audio Mixer — Built In No extra hardware needed. Control each app's volume independently, from silent to 200% overdrive. Mute or boost any source in real time. Switch output devices on the fly. Adjust L/R stereo balance per channel. 10-band graphic EQ (31 Hz–16 kHz) with real-time spectrum analyzer and 6 presets (Flat / Bass / Treble / Vocal / Rock / Electro). Save your entire audio setup — volumes, EQ, device routing — with Quick Config. A mixer that rivals standalone apps — built right in. ā–  40 App Presets — 890+ Shortcuts, Zero Setup Shortcut packs for 40 pro apps across macOS and Windows, in 7 categories — just pick an app, no manual setup. • Video — Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, OBS • Design — Photoshop, Lightroom, Blender • Music — Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Spotify, Apple Music • Browser — Safari, Chrome, Firefox • Comms — Discord, Zoom, Teams, Slack, Messages • Dev — VS Code, Xcode, Terminal • Productivity — Mail, Notes, Reminders, Photos, Finder, and more ā–  Adaptive Grid — Up to 150+ Items Per Page Auto-adapts to your screen's pixel density. Place any-size widgets — 1Ɨ1 buttons, 2Ɨ2 dials, 4Ɨ1 sliders — wherever you want. Up to 10 pages for 1,000+ total controls. Your layout, your rules. * Capacity varies by device and screen size. ā–  13 Action Types Keyboard shortcuts, text input, app launch, URL, system control (volume / brightness / media), OBS commands, music control, sound board, macros, Apple Shortcuts, Webhook (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE), and more. ā–  OBS Studio — 26 Commands Full WebSocket v4/v5 support. Scenes, streaming, recording, virtual cam, source visibility, filters, replay buffer, captions, chapter markers — all one tap. ā–  Macro Automation Record keystrokes, add delays and loops, replay complex workflows with one tap. Turn repetitive tasks into one-button operations. ā–  Sound Board Trigger audio clips instantly. Switch between local preview and Mac/Windows playback. Perfect for streams, calls, and presentations. ā–  Dials & Touch Strips Rotary dials for volume, brightness, scroll, zoom — precise, tactile control. Touch strips switch between slider and Touch Bar modes. Vertical and horizontal supported. ā–  System Monitor Live CPU, memory, GPU, storage, volume, brightness. 5 styles: circular, semicircle, linear, compact, vertical bar. ā–  Music Widget Apple Music, Spotify, Chrome (YouTube). Track, artist, album art, position — view and control in one place. ā–  18 Designer Themes Cyberpunk, Neon, Retro, Wood, Nixie Tube, Ice, DJ, and more. Rich themes with hand-crafted SVG assets for every widget. ā–  Profiles & Auto-Switch Group settings into profiles. Auto-switch based on Mac's active app. ā–  Folders & Custom Images Organize into folders. Set any photo as an icon. ā–  Shortcuts & Webhook Run macOS Shortcuts. HTTP requests for smart home and services. ā–  Free Companion App macOS/Windows Companion for shortcuts, audio mixing, OBS, and monitoring. Wi-Fi auto-discovery + USB for zero-latency control. ā–  English / Japanese —————————— [Free] • 3 themes • 2 pages / 10 items • 1 profile • 3 macros • 3 sounds • Ads [Remove Ads — IAP] • Ad-free [StreamPad Pro — IAP] • All 18 themes • Unlimited pages, items, profiles + auto-switch • Pro Audio Mixer — per-app volume, 200% overdrive, EQ & spectrum • 40 presets / 890+ shortcuts • Unlimited macros & sound board • Folders, custom images, Shortcuts, Webhook • Power Monitor (Anker BLE) • Quick Config • Ad-free

About

Virtual Stream Deck

Features
Read full description

Your iPhone or iPad becomes a wireless stream deck for your Mac: a full-screen grid of big, glowing buttons that switch OBS scenes, launch apps, fire keyboard shortcuts, run Apple Shortcuts, and more. Tap the phone — the Mac does it instantly, over your own Wi-Fi. PAY ONCE, OWN IT No subscription. No account. No cloud. Try it free with six buttons, and unlock everything with a single one-time purchase. BUILT FOR STREAMING • Native OBS Studio integration (OBS 28 or later) — no plugins to install • Switch scenes from your real scene list, start/stop streaming and recording, mute your mic • Live state on every button: the record button glows while you're recording, your current scene stays highlighted, your mic button shows its true mute state • Runs entirely on your local network — taps land in milliseconds CONTROL YOUR WHOLE MAC • Send any keyboard shortcut to any app • Launch apps, open files and websites • Run any Apple Shortcut — if Shortcuts can do it, your deck can too • System controls: volume, mute, play/pause, next/previous track • Multi-actions: chain steps with delays into one button • Shell scripts for power users FEELS LIKE HARDWARE • Pure black, edge-to-edge button grid with crisp haptics on every press • Pages you swipe between, folders that open sub-decks • Custom icons, colors, and labels for every button • Profiles that switch automatically when you change apps on the Mac • The screen stays awake while you're connected PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Pair once with a 6-digit code shown on your Mac — like pairing AirPods • Every connection is end-to-end encrypted, and nothing ever leaves your network • No account, no analytics, no data collection. Ever. GETTING STARTED On your Mac, download the free companion app, Virtual Stream Deck Hub, from our website. Open this app on your iPhone or iPad — your Mac appears automatically. Type the 6-digit code. That's it: you're paired for good. Design your layouts in the Mac editor — drag in actions, pick icons and colors — and watch every change appear on your device instantly. REQUIRES • iOS/iPadOS 18 or later • A Mac running macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later with the free Virtual Stream Deck Hub app • Both devices on the same network • OBS features require OBS Studio 28+ with its WebSocket server enabled

Screenshots

StreamPad4 screens
Virtual Stream Deck2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Virtual Stream Deck at none against StreamPad's shown. StreamPad's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. StreamPad sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Virtual Stream Deck sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StreamPad ships an update every 6 days, Virtual Stream Deck every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
StreamPad versus Virtual Stream Deck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStreamPadVirtual Stream Deck
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYUTA NAKAHAMAJoshua Vucelich

In-app purchases

2 purchases

StreamPad

One-time2
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • StreamPad Pro$9.99
1 purchases

Virtual Stream Deck

One-time1
  • Virtual Stream Deck Pro$19.99

Questions

Is StreamPad free?
StreamPad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Virtual Stream Deck free?
Virtual Stream Deck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StreamPad or Virtual Stream Deck have ads?
StreamPad shows ads; Virtual Stream Deck does not.
Which is updated more often, StreamPad or Virtual Stream Deck?
StreamPad ships an update every 6 days, and Virtual Stream Deck every 2 weeks. Most recently, StreamPad was updated on October 4, 2026 and Virtual Stream Deck on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons