The Stream Deck + is Elgato's dial-equipped control surface done right: 8 LCD keys, 4 pushable encoder dials, and a touch strip backed by the best plugin ecosystem in the category — 200+ plugins, Multi Actions, and the Wave Link mixer unlock. The dials feel great (though not all four feel identical), the touch strip still can't be programmed independently, and $200 is a luxury price for something hotkeys can approximate. At street prices closer to $160 it's an easy recommend for streamers and creators. Check the live Amazon price.
— THE VERDICT · JUDGEANY EDITORSWhat the Stream Deck + is
The Stream Deck + is Elgato's dial-equipped take on its streaming controller: 8 customizable LCD keys, 4 multifunction dials, and an LCD touch strip in a single desktop unit. Elgato launched it in November 2022 at $199.99, and it sits between the button-only MK.2 and the newer, much larger Stream Deck + XL. It is a blank control surface that becomes whatever you program it to be: a scene switcher, a smart-home dashboard, a post-production console. Everything below comes from published reviews and owner reports — JudgeAny runs no lab and tested nothing here ourselves.
Dials, touch strip, and hardware
The headline change is the four 360° encoder dials with push-to-click, which Tom's Hardware called "premium multifunction dials." They handle the incremental work buttons can't: audio levels, camera zoom, brightness, timeline scrubbing. Each dial can stack multiple actions, and pushing a dial cycles through the stack. The LCD touch strip — 108 x 14 mm — shows readouts like volume bars and lets you swipe between pages, though Tom's Hardware noted you can't really program the strip separately from the page system. The keys themselves are Elgato's familiar full-color LCD buttons, bright and legible in the Modern Gamer team's testing. The metal dial caps feel great; the buttons themselves, Dexerto noted, feel mushy by comparison. The unit is 140 x 138 x 110 mm and weighs 465 g, sitting at a fixed angle on a non-adjustable stand — AppleInsider listed the fixed viewing angle as a con. Inside the shell there is space for an optional dock (USB hub, network, or XLR) that Elgato sells separately.
Software: plugins, Wave Link, and dial stacks
Hardware is only half the product; the Stream Deck app is the rest. There are 200+ plugins on the Elgato Marketplace covering OBS, Twitch, YouTube, Spotify, Philips Hue, and more, plus Multi Actions (one key firing a sequence), Smart Profiles (layouts that switch automatically when an app takes focus), and up to 10 pages per profile. Buying the Plus unlocks Elgato's Wave Link mixing software, which is why several reviewers use the Plus as a hardware mixer alternative. Windows Central ran the Plus for the better part of a year and set it up as a smart-home dashboard controlling lights and scenes — that flexibility is the whole pitch. Owners on Amazon consistently praise the software ecosystem; the product holds #1 in Digital Audio Workstation Controllers in Amazon's Best Sellers Rank. The friction is real too: PCGamesN flagged "confusing software omissions" and limited dial and touch-bar support, and Tom's Hardware found no native Photoshop support at launch. Setup rewards patience — but the ecosystem is what keeps people buying.
Where the reviews disagree
Three points of friction are worth naming before the recommendation. First, the software ceiling: PCGamesN calls the Plus a "brilliant product for content creators" while also dinging "confusing software omissions" and limited dial and touch-strip support; Tom's Hardware found the touch strip can't be programmed independently and that Photoshop had no native support. Against that: the plugin library has grown to 200+ since launch, and Amazon's own listing now positions the Plus for post-production in Premiere Pro, Photoshop, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro — the gap is closing, even if dial and strip support still lags behind what the hardware could do. Second, the dials themselves: Tom's Hardware and AppleInsider praise them, but Dexerto found the four dials don't all feel the same — the far-left and far-right dials have noticeably different tactile feel. Third, price and necessity: AppleInsider (4.5/5) argues almost every Mac user would find uses for one, while Windows Central asked the blunt question — do you really need a $200 control surface? The street price answers part of it: AppleInsider reported in April 2026 that the Plus typically sells for around $180 on Amazon, with dips to $159.99 against the $200 MSRP. At $200 it is a luxury; closer to $160 it is an easy recommend for creators who will actually configure it.
Who should buy it
Buy the Stream Deck + if you want Elgato's dial-equipped control surface: 8 LCD keys, 4 pushable encoder dials, and a touch strip that doubles as an audio mixer, production console, or smart-home dashboard — backed by the best plugin ecosystem in the category. It's the right pick for straightforward streamers and creators; PC Gamer picked it over the Loupedeck Live S for better build and ease of use, and Windows Central's year-long run proved its software depth. Don't buy it if you only need the keys — the button-only MK.2 costs less. Skip it if you need the dials for a DAW — PC Gamer found the Loupedeck Live S's fuller DAW and MIDI support a better fit for music creators. Check the live Amazon price.