Vidyst vs Meld Studio
Meld Studio and Vidyst both stream a landscape and a portrait canvas at once and multistream straight from your computer. Meld is free on Mac and Windows, with paid plans for its AI features. Vidyst is paid and Mac-only, and adds a browser guest room, which Meld's documentation doesn't describe.
Meld Studio details checked on against its own pages. See 10 sources
Apple silicon Mac (M1 or later), macOS 14.2 or later. 14-day free trial, no card.
Which to choose
Choose Vidyst if…
- Your show has remote guests: Vidyst guests join from a browser link.
- You want echo cancellation for those guests built in.
Choose Meld Studio if…
- You want a free app: Meld's free plan includes multistreaming, 4K recording and Multi Canvas.
- You're on Windows, or an Intel Mac running macOS 12 or later.
- You stream on TikTok and want its chat merged with Twitch, YouTube and Kick.
- You want multitrack audio recording.
Feature by feature
Each cell says how the feature is provided (built in, paid plan, plugin, separate service) and cites where it comes from.
| Feature | Vidyst | Meld Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Detail Mac app for Apple silicon (M1 or later), macOS 14.2 or later.1 | Detail macOS 12 or later, and 64-bit Windows 10 (version 2004) or Windows 11.2 |
| Price | Paid plan Basic $10 a month or $100 a year; Creator $35 a month or $350 a year. 14-day trial, no card.3 | Built in Free plan. Pro ($17 a month or $200 a year) and Max ($50 a month or $600 a year) add AI features.4 |
| Multistreaming | Built in From your Mac: 2 destinations on Basic, 7 on Creator. Each destination is its own upload.3 | Built in From your computer, on the free plan. No fixed limit: it depends on your upload and encoder.5,4 |
| Landscape and portrait at once | Built in Horizontal and vertical canvases on both plans. Each destination goes out horizontal or vertical, and counts toward the plan's destination limit.3 | Built in Multi Canvas: a main canvas plus a 1080×1920 portrait canvas, each with its own layers.6 |
| Remote guests | Built in Browser link, no account or install. 2 guests on Basic, 10 on Creator. You admit each guest.3 | Not built in Not described in Meld's documentation.7 |
| Live chat | Built in YouTube, Twitch and Kick chat in one feed, with on-screen chat.8 | Built in Twitch, YouTube, Kick and TikTok chat in one feed.9 |
| Recording | Built in MP4, MOV or MKV in H.264 or HEVC, at the canvas size (up to 4K60). With vertical on, each canvas records to its own file.8 | Built in 4K recording with multitrack audio, on the free plan.4 |
| Cloud relay | Not built in No cloud relay or cloud recording. Everything is encoded and recorded on your Mac.8 | Separate service Meld Multi, a separate cloud relay, free during its beta.10 |
A two-canvas show with a remote guest
This is where the two differ most: the canvases work alike, the guest doesn't.
Set up both canvases
In Vidyst, turn on the Vertical tab. Each layout keeps a separate 9:16 arrangement, much like Meld's portrait canvas.
Add destinations
In Destinations…, set each destination to Horizontal or Vertical. Basic allows 2 destinations, Creator 7.
Invite the guest
In the Guests panel, choose Copy link. The guest opens it in a browser; you admit them and they appear in your layouts on both canvases.
Check upload headroom
Both apps encode each output on your computer, so total upload is the sum of every output plus your guest call.
Pricing and cost
Prices in US dollars as each company lists them, compared on the same billing period.
| What you pay for | Vidyst | Meld Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly3,4 | Basic $10, Creator $35 a month | Free; Pro $17, Max $50 for AI features |
| Billed yearly3,4 | Basic $100, Creator $350 a year | Free; Pro $200, Max $600 a year |
| Remote guests3,7 | Included: 2 on Basic, 10 on Creator | Not built in; a separate tool if you need one |
Meld says its prices are regional, with local pricing in India and Brazil, and shows the final amount at checkout. Streaming several outputs from your computer, with either app, needs upload bandwidth equal to all of them added together.
Questions
Is simultaneous landscape and portrait streaming unique to Vidyst?
No. Meld Studio's Multi Canvas, StreamYard's MARS, Streamlabs Dual Output, Ecamm's Dual Mode and OBS with a plugin can all do it in some form. The differences are price, plan limits and what else is built in.
Is Meld Studio free?
Yes. Meld's free plan includes multistreaming, 4K recording and Multi Canvas. Its paid Pro and Max plans add AI features.
Can Meld Studio bring in remote guests?
Meld's documentation doesn't describe a guest room. Vidyst guests join from a browser link: 2 on Basic, 10 on Creator.
Does Vidyst run on Windows?
No. Vidyst needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14.2 or later. Meld runs on macOS 12 or later and Windows 10 or 11.
Try Vidyst on your next show
14 days free, no card. Apple silicon Mac (M1 or later), macOS 14.2 or later.
Sources
Vidyst’s side was checked in the Mac app and its plan catalog. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
- Vidyst: Download and system requirements. Checked .
- Meld Studio: Install (system requirements). Checked .
- Vidyst: Pricing. Checked .
- Meld Studio: Pricing. Checked .
- Meld Studio: Multistream. Checked .
- Meld Studio: Multi Canvas. Checked .
- Meld Studio: Documentation index. Checked .
- Vidyst: Vidyst Mac app (current release), checked in the app itself. Checked .
- Meld Studio: Built-in multi chat. Checked .
- Meld Studio: Meld Multi (beta). Checked .