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The Elgato Stream Deck is the ultimate choice for gamers and live streamers. It provides wonderful utilities that help you to control online content easily while streaming and interact with your audience in a better way.
However, the only problem with it is that it is expensive and may not fit in everyone’s budget. Especially if you are a beginner and have a tight budget, it may seem out of reach. The good thing is that Elgato Stream Deck is not the only streaming deck in the market. You can buy many affordable and useful alternatives.
On the very basic level, the Elgato Stream Deck is an intuitive keypad. It’s a customized keypad that has selected keys for accessing different functions while streaming. That can be done by any mechanical keypad with hot-swappable keys. You can buy a mechanical keyboard and customize it completely to suit your needs.
In this article, we will look at some of the best stream deck alternatives for gamers and live streamers. We have chosen some of the best offerings in the market. Let’s review each option in detail.
Elgato Stream Deck Mini: Best Elgato Stream Deck Alternative
- The mini version of Elgato Stream Deck
- Compact size
- Affordable price
- Works with all streaming applications
Elgato Stream Deck is the ultimate choice of gamers. But those who are just starting their YouTube presence, may not have the budget to afford Elgato Stream Deck. The good news is that you get a good mini version of Elgato Stream Deck that is budget-friendly and offers the same convenience and performance with fewer buttons.
Elgato Stream Deck Mini is the smaller version of Elgato Stream Deck. The key functions are cut down to only six buttons. Not only it saves the extra bucks, but many gamers appreciate the fact that it is smaller and takes up very small space on your already crowded desk.
The Mini Stream Deck comes with a small triangular shape that can be placed right above your normal keyboard. It looks cool and takes very less space.
The mini key pad keeps your all necessary features within easy access. It’s small in shape but packs the same punches as Elgato Stream Deck. You get the same studio-like control to optimize your content and interact with your audience.
As we said, the Stream Deck Mini includes six customizable buttons. The buttons offers tactile operation and allow you to change screens, send feedback, send tweets, or live chat messages all by tapping a finger. It enables you to interact live with your audience and enrich your content with more variety. All options are well marked and ready to use. The lesser buttons even makes the key pad more selective and hassle-free.
The Elgato Stream Deck Mini is compatible with almost any application you use. It comes with pre-configured settings to work well with YouTube, Twitch, XLSplit, Streamlabs, and OS Studio, to name a few. The key pad is compatible with both Mac and Windows OS.
Overall, it’s an ultimate choice of gamers after Elgato Stream Deck. It provides the same easy controls and customization in smaller form and less price.
ShuttlePro V.2: Customized Keypad for Editing
- Simple setup
- Useful for video, audio, picture editing
- Pre-configured with all streaming applications
- Can change between different layers easily
If you are looking for quick and easy control over video, audio, or picture editing, then ShuttlePro V.2 is what you need. It’s basically a modifiable numpad that with minimal setup. It provides useful tools for cutting short your editing time and creating better content in less time.
The purpose behind ShuttlePro V.2 is to minimize the clutter around you while editing online content so you can better focus on the job. It simply improves your workflow, enhancing your productivity.
The ShuttlePro comes in the pre-configured form. It is compatible with some of the leading video and audio editing programs. The small footprint saves speed and minimizes confusion.
It features a special spring-loaded shuttle wheel jog that makes going backwards and forwards on your software timeline convenient. It can be used to control the speed of playback and handling different frame layers at a time.
The programmable keys allow you to create shortcuts of the most used macros in your preferred setting. They are always under your hand and easy to access.
The key pad is compatible with both Mac and Windows and is compatible with almost all editing software as well. It switches between configurations automatically. Overall, it’s a great option if you need a customized controls for editing videos, audios, or pictures.
Max Keyboard Falcon-20: Stream Deck Alternative for Gamers
- Low Price
- 20 programmable keys
- High-quality buttons
- RGB lightening effect
If the Elgato Stream Deck is out of your budget, you can opt for the Max Keyboard Falcon-20. It may not have the LCD buttons like the Elgato Stream Deck, but it comes at a very low price and allows you to customize the keyboard as per your choice fully. It’s simple, small, and very effective for clearing extra clutter. You got everything you need in one place and can better concentrate on the game.
The Falcon-20 comes with simple software that allows you to program the keys. It offers only 20 keys that keeps your keyboard small and smart. The software enables you to save the settings of different key functions. You can make your macro or media keys that help you to focus better on your streaming and game.
Not only is it a fully customized and compact keyboard, but it also comes with impressive RGB lighting features that enhance your gaming experience. It gives visual appeal as well. You can connect the system with your PC with a USB cable.
Overall, it’s a decent looking mechanical keyboard that gives better access to your macro keys. It is visually appealing and durable while offering a great value for money.
Razer Tartarus Pro: Gaming Keypad Alternative
- Great for game streamers
- 32 programmable keys
- Analog gaming input
- 8-way thumbpad
The Tartarus Pro is a great alternative to the Elgato Stream Deck. The Razer accessories are gaining popularity due to their innovative designs and competitive price range. This one includes with 32 programmable keys. While the size of the key pad is bigger than our last option, it is still compact compared to regular keyboards. These keys allow you to be more creative and productive in content creation.
The key pad is equipped with analog gaming switches; it will measure the exact amount of force with which you press the button and translate it into the analog input of the game. This makes the keys pressure sensitive. This analog input integrates perfectly with games like Fortnite, Rocket League, FFXIV, World of Warcraft, and more.
The keypad has a thumbpad for giving more natural control while playing. The 8-way directional thumbpad gives more natural control. It has an ergonomic design and gives better control and comfort to gamers.
Overall, it’s a customized keypad that boasts an impressive RGB lightening effect. Its ergonomic design helps games to make moves effortlessly. The choice of keys and the analog input makes it one of the best Stream Deck alternatives.
X-keys Programmable Keypads: 24 Keys for Multitasking
- Customized keypad
- 24-keys pad
- Software for saving personalized settings
Here is another cost-effective alternative to Elgato Stream Deck. It’s a customized keypad that you can program with your required macro or media keys. The keypad is available with different sets of keys. This one is a 24-keypad that is compact and functional.
The best part is that you can label the keys yourself. It comes with a pre-printed sheet of icons. You can select the icon for keys and make it look your way. It will enhance the efficiency of our keyboard as well. The keypad comes with software that allows you to customize the keys conveniently. You can create shortcuts to make the keypad more productive.
Overall, it’s a programmable keypad that allows you to add or remove keys or large keys to create an intuitive layout.
Mobile Software for Live Streamers
Besides the keypads mentioned above, if you are a mobile user, you can get many Stream Deck alternatives in the form of mobile apps. Most of these apps are for iPhone users. These are the cool Stream Deck alternatives providing almost all functions, and the monthly or yearly subscription of some of them is very minimum. Let’s look at a few of them.
• Stream Deck Mobile App
This one is the most budget-friendly alternative for iPhone users. It provides almost the same options, allows you to customize the buttons, and very simple to set up. The good thing is that if you are using the mobile app and later buy the Elgato Stream Deck, all the personalized settings will automatically be transferred to the app making your transition easy and hassle-free. The yearly subscriptions are almost under $25 that makes it a very cheap alternative to actual stream decks. The only difference is that it works on the iPhone and is wireless.
• Deck Board
The app only works with OBS studio and Stream lab. It works only for Android people and offers pretty decent options. It’s simple and easy to use. There are two versions of it. You can get the free versions with limited features, or get a paid one as well.
• Touch Portal
This one is another mobile app that you can use as a stream deck. It works the same. It comes with customized settings and makes live streaming more fun. This one comes in both Android and iPhone versions. Again it has a free app and a paid version as well with enhanced features. Like Deck Board, It comes with Twitter and Twitch integration so you can chat online or send instant tweets while streaming.
• Up Deck
Up Deck is one of the most commonly used alternatives to Stream Deck. It is a popular streaming program that has almost the same features as the Elgato Stream Deck. The app works not only for iOS users, but Android users can make use of it as well.
Like a stream deck, you get the blank set of buttons that you can customize and make navigation easy while streaming. This one has a free version, so you get a lot of value without spending a penny. It’s a decent alternative to Elgato Stream Deck. It may not provide all the features, but you are paying a high price for all that convenience as well. Overall, it serves the purpose well.
• DIY Mechanical Keypad
At the very basic level, stream decks provide selected buttons to reach out to certain options while streaming quickly. It allows access to different options under your hand for changing windows, replying to instant chat messages, or changing screens seamlessly. But you can build your customized keypad yourself by the mechanical keyboards.
Different DIY kits are available that allow you to make your customized keypad for streaming, gaming, or editing. You can choose the selected keys that you need while working. The hot-swappable mechanical keyboards make that very easy. You can choose the base of smaller keyboards like 60% keyboards or Numpad and make yourself a programmable keypad with selected keys.
Final Words
The Elgato Stream Deck provides a very intuitive keypad. The streamer can make use of a customized keypad with all the needed options easily available. However, that’s not the only customized keypad. You can buy a less expensive keypad and customize it to suit your needs.
All options in our list of the best stream deck alternatives are carefully chosen for your choice. We choose Elgato Stream Deck Mini as our best option due to its rich features, less price, and compact size while still giving nearly the same experience as the full sized Elgato Stream Deck.
Any Elgato Stream Deck alternatives we’ve mentioned in this article can also work great for content creation, particularly in producing a podcast where you can use the extra buttons to insert sound effects or transitions on the fly. If you want to learn more about podcast equipment, we have a full guide on the best podcast equipment up on our blog.
Bernard currently works full-time as a growth hacker and content researcher for HUSTLR. When he was studying in the US 2 years ago, he flipped Yeezys on eBay as a side hustle to fund his degree and living expenses. He’s currently working on his Amazon FBA business & dropshipping on the side.
