Stream Deck alternative

The Stream Deck alternative you already own.

A Stream Deck is a box of buttons that saves you from hunting for windows mid-broadcast. If those buttons only ever need to drive your stream, the phone in your pocket does the same job for nothing: SplitCam Remote switches scenes, starts and stops the stream and the recording, and tells you what is live — over your own Wi-Fi.

⬇ Free Download See the table ↓

Free companion appScene switchingPairs by QR or Wi-FiiOS — Android in the works

Short answer: when the phone is enough, and when it is not

Buying nothing is the point. SplitCam Remote is free and works over your own network. There is no hardware, no dongle and no subscription attached to it.
It drives SplitCam, and only SplitCam. A real Stream Deck presses buttons in any program — OBS, a browser, your lights, a macro. The phone app does not. This is the difference that decides it for most people.
Right now it is an iOS app. The Android version is in the works and not out yet. If you are on Android today, this is not yet an option for you.
Already own a Stream Deck? Keep it. SplitCam added Stream Deck support in the Windows build 10.8.25, so the hardware you paid for drives SplitCam as well.

What the phone actually does during a broadcast

Everything below is what SplitCam Remote is documented to do — not a wishlist of what a control surface could theoretically be.

Switch scenes from your hand

The reason most people want a control surface at all. Change camera, change layout, cut to slides — without walking back to the computer or hunting for the window behind your full-screen game.

Start and stop the stream and the recording

Go live, end the broadcast, start or stop recording, take a snapshot, pause or mute — the actions you need at the exact moment when reaching for the keyboard is most visible to your audience.

See what is actually happening

The app reports your stream name and status back to your hand, so you can tell whether you are live from across the room instead of guessing.

Pairs in seconds, stays on your network

Scan the QR code on the Remote Control tab in SplitCam Settings, or let the app find your PC by itself over Wi-Fi. Nothing to configure.

Why this is worth doing without the hardware

The case for the phone is not that it is cheaper. It is that for this job it is not worse.

The buttons are already in your pocket

A control surface earns its place by being reachable without breaking eye contact with the camera. A phone propped next to your keyboard is exactly as reachable as a box of keys, and you did not buy it.

Labels change with your scenes

Physical keys need their legends set up. A screen shows your current scene list as it is, so renaming a scene does not leave a stale label on a button.

Nothing more to fail on stage

One less USB device, one less cable, one less thing to unplug when you move rooms or take the setup to a venue.

The rest of SplitCam is free too

Scenes, multistreaming to 84+ platforms, virtual camera, effects and the audio mixer are in the same free download — no tier gates the control app.

When you should buy the Stream Deck instead

Be honest with yourself about what you want to press. If your buttons need to do anything outside SplitCam — trigger an OBS scene, fire a sound effect from another app, run a macro, dim your lights, mute Discord, paste a link in chat — then a Stream Deck is the correct tool and the phone app is not a substitute for it, because SplitCam Remote controls SplitCam and nothing else. The same applies if you want tactile keys you can hit without looking, an always-on surface that never sleeps or takes a call mid-stream, or per-key screens that stay lit. And if you are on Android, the companion app is not released yet, so today the hardware is the only one of the two that works for you. None of that is a small list — a Stream Deck is a good product, and plenty of people should own one.

SplitCam Remote vs a Stream Deck

Elgato sells several models at different prices and the line changes, so this compares what each approach does rather than quoting prices we cannot stand behind.

Feature	SplitCam	Stream Deck
Cost	Free with SplitCam	Hardware purchase
Controls SplitCam	Yes — scenes, live, recording	Yes, on Windows since 10.8.25
Controls other programs	No — SplitCam only	Yes, that is its main strength
Physical keys you can hit blind	On-screen only	Tactile buttons
Works on Android today	In the works, not released	Works with any PC
Works on iPhone today	Yes, on the App Store	Elgato ships its own mobile app — check current terms
Extra hardware to carry	None	A device and a cable
Scene list stays in sync	Shown from SplitCam	Key legends are set up by you

Stream Deck alternative FAQ

Is SplitCam Remote really free?

Yes. It is a companion app for SplitCam, and SplitCam itself is free with no watermark and no paid tier. There is nothing to unlock in either of them.

Can it replace a Stream Deck completely?

Only if everything you press belongs to SplitCam. It switches scenes, starts and stops streaming and recording, takes snapshots and mutes — but it cannot press buttons in other applications. If your workflow spans several programs, buy the hardware.

Is there an Android version?

Not yet. SplitCam Remote is live on the App Store for iOS, and the Android version is in the works.

I already have a Stream Deck. Does SplitCam work with it?

Yes. Stream Deck support was added in the Windows build 10.8.25.

How does the phone find my computer?

Either scan the QR code on the Remote Control tab in SplitCam Settings, or let the app discover your PC over Wi-Fi automatically. Both work; the QR code is the quicker one the first time.

Does the connection go through your servers?

Pairing happens over your own Wi-Fi network between the phone and the computer running SplitCam.