Relay vs multistre.am
multistre.am does the grid part well: presets for the common counts, a clean shareable URL, and an editor for swapping channels in and out. It is free and there is no account in the way. Here is what Relay adds, and when it is not worth it.
What multistre.am gets right
The layout presets are genuinely useful — you pick a shape rather than fighting a grid into place — and the URL is readable enough to paste anywhere. The editor makes swapping a channel out a two-second job. For a one-off tournament stream, that is a complete product.
Visit multistre.amSide by side
Relay: Sign in with Twitch and your live follows are listed, or search by name
multistre.am: Enter channel names in the editor or the URL path
Relay: Save named layout sets and reload one — 1 free, unlimited on Pro
multistre.am: Keep the URL
Relay: Volume, mute and solo per stream, and an option for audio to follow the stream you focus
multistre.am: Choose which stream's audio plays; no per-stream volume
Relay: A per-tile readout of fps, bitrate, buffer and latency, and a reload for that one tile
multistre.am: Reload the page
Relay: One chat panel; switch channel without disturbing the grid
multistre.am: Chat toggles alongside the grid
Relay: Twitch, with Kick and YouTube on the roadmap
multistre.am: Twitch
Relay: Optional — guest viewing works; sign in to save anything
multistre.am: None documented
Relay: Free for 6 streams; Relay Pro is $9.99/month for 16
multistre.am: Free
Everything in the multistre.am column was read from their own site in September 2026. "Not documented" means we could not find it published, not that it does not exist — if something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Use multistre.am when
- You want a specific grid shape for one event and nothing else
- You would rather not sign in anywhere
- You are sending a link to people who should not have to make an account
Use Relay when
- The same lineup comes back every week and you want it one click away
- You need to balance audio across streams rather than pick one winner
- You want your followed channels listed instead of typed
- A frozen tile should tell you it is frozen
Try it with your own follows
6 streams, saved channels, the volume mixer, chat and per-stream health are free — no card, no trial clock.