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The Best OBS Blade Alternative for iPhone & iPad: CTD Live Mobile
OBS Blade is the free, open-source OBS remote a lot of people start with — and it earned that spot. But if you run a multi-camera show and want your iPhone or iPad to feel like an actual switcher, CTD Live Mobile is the studio-first OBS Blade alternative built for exactly that. This is an honest, feature-by-feature head-to-head so you can pick the right one.
OBS Blade vs CTD Live Mobile: the short version
Both apps connect to OBS Studio over obs-websocket, both are free, and both let you switch scenes from your phone without a capture card or an OBS plugin. The difference is philosophy. OBS Blade is a capable, cross-platform remote built around a scene list, stream stats, and Twitch chat — handy if you're a solo streamer who mostly needs to flip scenes and watch your viewers. CTD Live Mobile is built like a control room: a live multiview grid, true Studio Mode with a dedicated TAKE button, hold-to-quick-cut, and game-controller switching. If your show has more than one camera and the moment matters, that production-first design is the reason to switch.
Where CTD Live Mobile pulls ahead
The headline difference is multiview. Instead of a flat list of scene names, Live Mobile shows a grid of live thumbnails for every OBS scene, pulled over the socket and pushed through Metal with hardware JPEG decode (VideoToolbox, zero-copy into textures) so the grid stays smooth on a busy multi-cam show. On top of that sits a real Studio Mode: tap an angle to load it into preview, line up your shot, then hit the dedicated TAKE button to send preview to program with your transition — not just one-tap scene cuts. Need a fast grab? Hold-to-quick-cut presses a focused angle straight to air and pops back when you release, perfect for catching a reaction or a wide. And it's the rare OBS remote with full game-controller support: pair an Xbox, PlayStation, or MFi controller over Bluetooth, steer an on-screen focus ring, and preview, TAKE, or quick-cut with a button.
Where OBS Blade still wins — and we'll say it plainly
White-hat means honest, so here's where OBS Blade is the better call. It's open-source and free. It runs on Android, which Live Mobile does not — if your control device is an Android phone or tablet, OBS Blade is your app, full stop. It surfaces Twitch chat and live stream stats inside the remote, which is genuinely nice for solo streamers who want viewers and bitrate at a glance. And as a mature open-source project, it has a long track record and a community behind it. If 'free, Android, and Twitch chat in one place' describes your need, OBS Blade is a great pick and we won't pretend otherwise.
Same plumbing, no plugins, no capture card
Switching from OBS Blade doesn't change your OBS setup at all. CTD Live Mobile speaks obs-websocket 5.x — the server built into OBS Studio 28 and newer — so there's no OBS-side plugin to install and no capture card in the chain. You just enable the WebSocket server under Tools → WebSocket Server Settings on your Mac, PC, or Linux machine, and your phone talks to your own OBS server on your local network. Like Blade, Live Mobile is a client only: OBS does the work, the app commands it. The connection is the part you already know — only the control surface gets a serious upgrade.
Pairing in seconds with a QR code
OBS Blade asks you to type in host, port, and password. Live Mobile can too — over obsws://, ws://, or wss:// — but the fast path is QR. In OBS, open Tools → WebSocket Server Settings → Show Connect Info and scan the QR code with your phone; host, port, and password fill in automatically. The only reason the app touches your camera is to read that code. It's a small thing that saves a fiddly step every time you sit down to run a show at a new venue.
Full broadcast control, with tally you can see across the room
From your phone you can start and stop streaming, start and stop recording, and watch live stream and record timecode with clear on-air status. The stream and record buttons pulse while live, so one glance at your iPhone tells you the show is genuinely rolling — a pulsing stream/record tally that's ideal when the OBS machine is tucked away or you're working the floor at a live event. You can also build scene playlists that run a sequence hands-free and set trigger rules that fire actions automatically, so unattended pre-roll loops and segments run themselves while you work the room.
Native iOS, and private by design
OBS Blade is a Flutter app spanning iOS and Android; that cross-platform reach is its strength, but it also means it doesn't lean into platform-native feel. CTD Live Mobile is built natively for iOS and iPadOS 26 and later: iPhone runs landscape for a held-sideways, game-pad control-surface feel, while iPad adds portrait and landscape to fit more on screen. On privacy, the App Privacy label is Data Not Collected — no account, no sign-up, no ads, no analytics, no trackers. It talks only to the OBS server you configure, settings stay on device, and OBS passwords live in the iOS Keychain. There's no cloud service in between, ever.
Which one should you pick?
Choose OBS Blade if you're on Android, you want an open-source app, or you mainly want Twitch chat and stream stats next to a simple scene switcher. Choose CTD Live Mobile if you run a multi-camera show on iPhone or iPad and want it to feel like a real switcher — live multiview, a true Studio Mode TAKE flow, hold-to-quick-cut, controller switching, and a pulsing tally — all free, with no account and no plugin. For a lot of live-event operators, houses of worship, classrooms, esports casters, and multicam podcasters, that production-first design is the upgrade that pays for itself the first time a cut actually matters. Try CTD Live Mobile and keep OBS Blade installed too — they cost nothing, and you'll know within one show which one fits.
CTD Live Mobile vs OBS Blade
| Feature | CTD Live Mobile | OBS Blade |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — no IAP, no subscription | Free and open-source |
| Platforms | iPhone & iPad (native iOS/iPadOS) | iPhone, iPad & Android (Flutter) |
| Connects over obs-websocket (no plugin, no capture card) | Yes | Yes |
| Live multiview grid (hardware-decoded thumbnails) | Yes — Metal + VideoToolbox | No — flat scene list |
| True Studio Mode with dedicated TAKE button | Yes — tap-to-preview, then TAKE | No — one-tap scene cuts |
| Hold-to-quick-cut an angle to air | Yes | No |
| Start/stop stream & record with timecode | Yes | Yes |
| Pulsing on-air stream/record tally | Yes | Limited |
| Game-controller switching (Xbox/PS/MFi) | Yes — focus ring + custom bindings | No |
| Scene playlists & trigger automation | Yes | No |
| QR-code pairing | Yes — scan Show Connect Info | Manual entry |
| Twitch chat & stream stats in-app | No | Yes |
| Privacy | Data Not Collected, no account, Keychain-stored | Open-source, local connection |
FAQ
Is there a good OBS Blade alternative for iPhone and iPad?
Yes. CTD Live Mobile is a studio-first OBS Blade alternative built natively for iOS and iPadOS. Like Blade it's free and connects to OBS over obs-websocket with no plugin or capture card, but it adds a live multiview grid, a true Studio Mode with a dedicated TAKE button, hold-to-quick-cut, game-controller switching, and a pulsing on-air tally — features aimed at multi-camera production rather than just flipping scenes.
What's the difference between OBS Blade and CTD Live Mobile?
Both are free OBS remotes that speak obs-websocket. OBS Blade is a cross-platform (iOS/Android) Flutter app organized around a scene list, stream stats, and Twitch chat — great for solo streamers. CTD Live Mobile is a native iOS/iPadOS control surface built like a switcher: live multiview thumbnails, tap-to-preview plus a dedicated TAKE button, hold-to-quick-cut, controller bindings, and QR pairing. Pick Blade for Android and Twitch chat; pick Live Mobile for production-grade multi-cam control on Apple devices.
Does CTD Live Mobile run on Android like OBS Blade?
No — and this is where OBS Blade wins. CTD Live Mobile is iPhone and iPad only, built natively for iOS and iPadOS 26 and later. If your control device is an Android phone or tablet, OBS Blade is the better choice. If you're on Apple hardware and want a switcher-style experience, Live Mobile is the studio-first alternative.
Will switching from OBS Blade change my OBS setup?
No. CTD Live Mobile uses the same obs-websocket 5.x server built into OBS Studio 28 and newer, so there's no OBS-side plugin to install and no capture card required. You enable the WebSocket server under Tools → WebSocket Server Settings just as you would for any remote, then pair by scanning the QR code under Show Connect Info or by entering host, port, and password manually.
Is CTD Live Mobile really free, and does it collect my data?
It's completely free — no in-app purchases, no subscription, and no account. The App Privacy label is Data Not Collected: no ads, no analytics, no trackers. It communicates only with the OBS server you configure on your local network, your settings stay on your device, and your OBS passwords are stored in the iOS Keychain. There's no cloud service in between.
What does OBS Blade do better than CTD Live Mobile?
Being honest: OBS Blade is open-source, runs on Android as well as iOS, and surfaces Twitch chat and live stream stats right inside the remote, which is genuinely convenient for solo streamers. If those things matter most to you, OBS Blade is an excellent free pick. CTD Live Mobile's edge is production: live multiview, a real Studio Mode TAKE flow, hold-to-quick-cut, controller switching, and a pulsing tally for multi-camera shows.
Get CTD Live Mobile
No subscriptions, no accounts, no cloud — talks only to your own OBS over your network.