Comparison

StreamPad vs Virtual Stream Deck

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

Head to head
About

StreamPad

Features
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StreamPad โ€” Transform your iPhone or iPad into a professional-grade control surface. Buttons, dials, sliders, gauges, sound pads, music widgets โ€” 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 โ€” one tap, one twist, one slide is all it takes. โ–  Pro Audio Mixer โ€” 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 Hzโ€“16 kHz) with real-time spectrum analyzer and 6 presets (Flat / Bass / Treble / Vocal / Rock / Electro). Save your entire audio setup โ€” volumes, EQ, device routing โ€” with Quick Config. A mixer that rivals standalone apps โ€” built right in. โ–  40 App Presets โ€” 890+ Shortcuts, Zero Setup Shortcut packs for 40 pro apps across macOS and Windows, in 7 categories โ€” just pick an app, no manual setup. โ€ข Video โ€” Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, OBS โ€ข Design โ€” Photoshop, Lightroom, Blender โ€ข Music โ€” Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Spotify, Apple Music โ€ข Browser โ€” Safari, Chrome, Firefox โ€ข Comms โ€” Discord, Zoom, Teams, Slack, Messages โ€ข Dev โ€” VS Code, Xcode, Terminal โ€ข Productivity โ€” Mail, Notes, Reminders, Photos, Finder, and more โ–  Adaptive Grid โ€” Up to 150+ Items Per Page Auto-adapts to your screen's pixel density. Place any-size widgets โ€” 1ร—1 buttons, 2ร—2 dials, 4ร—1 sliders โ€” wherever you want. Up to 10 pages for 1,000+ total controls. Your layout, your rules. * Capacity varies by device and screen size. โ–  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. โ–  OBS Studio โ€” 26 Commands Full WebSocket v4/v5 support. Scenes, streaming, recording, virtual cam, source visibility, filters, replay buffer, captions, chapter markers โ€” all one tap. โ–  Macro Automation Record keystrokes, add delays and loops, replay complex workflows with one tap. Turn repetitive tasks into one-button operations. โ–  Sound Board Trigger audio clips instantly. Switch between local preview and Mac/Windows playback. Perfect for streams, calls, and presentations. โ–  Dials & Touch Strips Rotary dials for volume, brightness, scroll, zoom โ€” precise, tactile control. Touch strips switch between slider and Touch Bar modes. Vertical and horizontal supported. โ–  System Monitor Live CPU, memory, GPU, storage, volume, brightness. 5 styles: circular, semicircle, linear, compact, vertical bar. โ–  Music Widget Apple Music, Spotify, Chrome (YouTube). Track, artist, album art, position โ€” view and control in one place. โ–  18 Designer Themes Cyberpunk, Neon, Retro, Wood, Nixie Tube, Ice, DJ, and more. Rich themes with hand-crafted SVG assets for every widget. โ–  Profiles & Auto-Switch Group settings into profiles. Auto-switch based on Mac's active app. โ–  Folders & Custom Images Organize into folders. Set any photo as an icon. โ–  Shortcuts & Webhook Run macOS Shortcuts. HTTP requests for smart home and services. โ–  Free Companion App macOS/Windows Companion for shortcuts, audio mixing, OBS, and monitoring. Wi-Fi auto-discovery + USB for zero-latency control. โ–  English / Japanese โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€” [Free] โ€ข 3 themes โ€ข 2 pages / 10 items โ€ข 1 profile โ€ข 3 macros โ€ข 3 sounds โ€ข Ads [Remove Ads โ€” IAP] โ€ข Ad-free [StreamPad Pro โ€” IAP] โ€ข All 18 themes โ€ข Unlimited pages, items, profiles + auto-switch โ€ข Pro Audio Mixer โ€” per-app volume, 200% overdrive, EQ & spectrum โ€ข 40 presets / 890+ shortcuts โ€ข Unlimited macros & sound board โ€ข Folders, custom images, Shortcuts, Webhook โ€ข Power Monitor (Anker BLE) โ€ข Quick Config โ€ข 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 โ€” 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 โ€ข Native OBS Studio integration (OBS 28 or later) โ€” no plugins to install โ€ข Switch scenes from your real scene list, start/stop streaming and recording, mute your mic โ€ข 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 โ€ข Runs entirely on your local network โ€” taps land in milliseconds CONTROL YOUR WHOLE MAC โ€ข Send any keyboard shortcut to any app โ€ข Launch apps, open files and websites โ€ข Run any Apple Shortcut โ€” if Shortcuts can do it, your deck can too โ€ข System controls: volume, mute, play/pause, next/previous track โ€ข Multi-actions: chain steps with delays into one button โ€ข Shell scripts for power users FEELS LIKE HARDWARE โ€ข Pure black, edge-to-edge button grid with crisp haptics on every press โ€ข Pages you swipe between, folders that open sub-decks โ€ข Custom icons, colors, and labels for every button โ€ข Profiles that switch automatically when you change apps on the Mac โ€ข The screen stays awake while you're connected PRIVATE BY DESIGN โ€ข Pair once with a 6-digit code shown on your Mac โ€” like pairing AirPods โ€ข Every connection is end-to-end encrypted, and nothing ever leaves your network โ€ข 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 โ€” your Mac appears automatically. Type the 6-digit code. That's it: you're paired for good. Design your layouts in the Mac editor โ€” drag in actions, pick icons and colors โ€” and watch every change appear on your device instantly. REQUIRES โ€ข iOS/iPadOS 18 or later โ€ข A Mac running macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later with the free Virtual Stream Deck Hub app โ€ข Both devices on the same network โ€ข 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 ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท 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 September 17, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
StreamPad versus Virtual Stream Deck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStreamPadVirtual Stream Deck
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 days โ€” betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” 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 September 17, 2026 and Virtual Stream Deck on September 9, 2026.

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