COMPARE · OBS ALTERNATIVE
pMix Studio vs OBS
OBS is free, runs on a computer, and can be built into almost anything given enough plugins and patience. pMix Studio is a paid iPad app that is ready to run a multi-camera stream the moment it opens. The question is whose time you are spending.
Most people comparing these two already respect OBS. It is free, it is everywhere, and there is a YouTube tutorial for anything you want it to do. The trade is that you are the one assembling and maintaining the setup. pMix Studio is for the people who would rather not be.
OBS is the better choice when...
You stream from a computer anyway, you need screen capture, browser sources or game capture, you rely on plugins, or you enjoy building the setup. Free and infinitely flexible is hard to argue with.
pMix Studio is the better choice when...
The stream is a multi-camera event, service or game, the cameras are iPhones or a PTZ, the operator changes from week to week, and you want to set up in minutes on an iPad rather than maintain a computer.
At a glance
| pMix Studio | OBS Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99/month or $99/year | Free and open source |
| Try it first | Free TestFlight beta now | Download it |
| Runs on | iPad with an M-series chip | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Setup before first stream | Open the app, add cameras, paste a stream key | Install, build scenes and sources, add plugins, configure encoder |
| iPhones as wireless cameras | Built in, found automatically, controlled from the iPad | Third-party camera app plus NDI or virtual-camera plugin |
| Other cameras | NDI, HDMI via USB-C capture card, SRT feeds | Capture cards, webcams, NDI via plugin, SRT |
| Screen and browser capture | No | Yes, one of its strengths |
| See the next shot before you switch | Yes, preview beside program | Studio Mode, off by default |
| PTZ camera control | Built in, NDI PTZ with presets | Via plugins |
| Audio | Per-source mixer with groups, monitoring and USB audio interfaces | Full mixer with filters and plugins |
| Voice and automation | Voice control, game controller, OSC, REST API, MCP | WebSocket API, hotkeys, Stream Deck, community tools |
| Plugins and scripting | REST and MCP for automation, no plugin system | Thousands of plugins, Lua and Python scripting |
| Stream to several platforms at once | One destination natively, several via Restream. Native multistream coming | Via plugin or a relay service |
| Recording | Program recording on the iPad | Program recording, plus multi-track audio |
| Best for | Multi-camera events run by a small team from an iPad | Streamers, technical operators, screen-heavy shows |
Where OBS is still ahead
- It is free. No subscription, ever.
- Screen, game and browser capture. If the show includes a slide deck, a game, a browser page or a Zoom window, OBS captures it natively. pMix Studio only takes cameras, network feeds and files.
- Plugins. Whatever you can imagine, someone has written a plugin for it. pMix Studio automates through its API rather than a plugin ecosystem.
- Audio filters. Noise suppression, compressors and VST plugins inside the mixer.
- Maturity. Fifteen years of releases and a community that has seen every problem.
Where pMix Studio is ahead
- Minutes, not evenings. Open the app, iPhones appear, paste a stream key, go. There is no scene collection to build or plugin to update before a show.
- iPhones are first-class cameras. Found automatically, hardware encoded, with zoom, focus, exposure and white balance controlled from the iPad. Subject tracking on a DockKit gimbal.
- A next-shot preview by default. The shot you are lining up sits beside the live one. In OBS this is Studio Mode and most people never turn it on.
- PTZ built in. Presets for the pulpit, the band and the wide shot, without a plugin.
- A device that always works. An iPad does not have driver updates, GPU issues or a Windows update the night before the stream.
- Hand it to anyone. A volunteer who has used an iPad can run it. Handing someone an OBS profile is a training session.
What changes if you switch
- Slides and screens come over the network. ProPresenter, Keynote via an NDI tool, or a laptop with an HDMI capture card replace OBS’s screen capture.
- Titles are built in the app. Lower thirds, logos and countdowns are pMix Studio overlays rather than image files and browser sources.
- Automation moves to the API. Anything you drove through OBS WebSocket can be driven through pMix Studio’s REST API, OSC or the MCP server.
- The computer stays home. The iPad, the phones and a Wi-Fi access point are the whole kit.
pMix Studio vs OBS FAQ
Is pMix Studio a replacement for OBS?
For a multi-camera stream run from an iPad with iPhones, NDI or HDMI cameras, yes. For screen capture, game streaming, browser sources, plugins and heavily customised desktop setups, OBS is still the right tool.
OBS is free. Why pay for pMix Studio?
You are paying for the parts OBS leaves to you: iPhone cameras that just appear, a next-shot preview, camera control, an audio mixer and platform sign-in, all on a device that boots in seconds. If you enjoy building the OBS setup, keep it.
Can I use iPhones as cameras in OBS?
Yes, with a third-party camera app and usually an NDI or virtual-camera plugin on the computer. In pMix Studio the free pMix Camera app is found automatically and controlled from the iPad.
Can pMix Studio do screen capture or browser sources?
No. pMix Studio takes cameras, NDI, HDMI via capture card, SRT feeds and media files. Capturing a computer screen is an OBS strength.
How much does pMix Studio cost?
$9.99 a month or $99 a year on the US App Store, billed as an auto-renewable subscription. Local prices may differ on other storefronts.
Spend the evening on the show, not the setup
The beta is free on TestFlight. Run one stream from the iPad and see whether you miss the laptop.