Camo Alternatives for Mac: Continuity Camera, Iriun Webcam, OBS Studio, and DroidCam Compared

Camo by Reincubate is the best-known app for turning a phone into a Mac webcam. It works with iPhones, Android phones, USB webcams, and connected DSLRs, and its Camo Studio app adds portrait blur, background replacement, lighting controls, and scenes on top. The free version is capped at 720p, and the full feature set sits behind Camo Pro, which Reincubate lists at $9.99/month, $49.99/year, or $99.99 for a lifetime license.

That's a fair price for a polished tool, but a lot of Mac users can get a sharper picture for less. Apple's own Continuity Camera is free, Iriun Webcam is a cheap cross-platform option, OBS Studio turns any camera into a fully produced virtual webcam, and DroidCam brings high-resolution phone video into OBS.

This guide compares them on phone support, resolution, effects, and price.

Quick Verdict

Choose Continuity Camera if you have an iPhone and a Mac on macOS Ventura or later. It's free, built in, and good enough that most people never need anything else.

Choose Iriun Webcam if you use an Android phone, or want a simple, low-cost phone webcam that also works on Windows and Linux.

Choose OBS Studio if you want full control over what your camera shows: overlays, multiple sources, scenes, and filters, sent to Zoom or Teams as a virtual camera.

Choose DroidCam if you already live in OBS and want a phone camera source up to 4K inside it.

Stay with Camo if you want one polished app for every camera type, with portrait mode, background replacement, and fine image controls without building your own OBS setup.

Feature Comparison

Camo: The Benchmark

Before switching, know what Camo actually gives you. Camo Studio on the Mac takes video from an iPhone, iPad, or Android phone (wired or wireless), a USB or built-in webcam, or a connected DSLR, and presents it as one webcam to Zoom, Teams, Meet, OBS, and other video apps.

The free tier gives you HD video up to 720p with no watermark or ads, autofocus, and 30 fps. Camo Pro unlocks resolutions up to 4K, frame rates up to 60 fps, every lens on your phone, manual focus, portrait mode, background blur and replacement (including real green-screen support), Spotlight for backlit rooms, presets, a scene editor, video stabilization, and in-app recording. A Pro license covers up to 2 computers and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

The downside is cost. Camo is a subscription unless you pay for the lifetime license, and much of what it adds on an iPhone now overlaps with features macOS gives you for free.

Continuity Camera

Continuity Camera is Apple's built-in way to use an iPhone as a Mac webcam, and it's the reason many people no longer need a third-party app. It needs macOS Ventura 13 or later, an iPhone XR or later on iOS 16 or later, and both devices on the same Apple Account with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. Mount the iPhone near your Mac and it shows up as a camera in FaceTime, Zoom, Teams, and any other video app, wirelessly or over USB.

Because it's part of macOS, you get Apple's video effects from Control Center: Center Stage to keep you framed, Portrait mode, Studio Light, Reactions, Presenter Overlay, and Edge Light, plus Desk View, which shows a top-down view of your desk from the same camera. Some effects need newer iPhone models, so check Apple's requirements for your phone.

What it lacks is control. There's no manual focus, exposure lock, green screen, or scene editor, and it only works with an iPhone and a Mac, so Android users and Windows households are out.

Choose Continuity Camera if you have a recent iPhone and just want to look better on calls today, for free.

Iriun Webcam

Iriun Webcam is a lightweight app that turns an Android phone or iPhone into a wireless webcam for Mac, Windows, and Linux. You install the desktop app (macOS 12.3 or later), install the phone app, and your phone appears as a webcam in Zoom, Teams, Meet, OBS, and other apps. Resolution depends on your phone, with high-end models reaching 4K.

The free version covers the basics. On iPhone, the Pro upgrade is a one-time $6.99 in-app purchase that adds mirroring, remote camera control from the computer, video stabilization, exposure lock, and manual focus.

There are no portrait or background effects, and the Mac experience is wireless-first, so a weak Wi-Fi network can hurt it. It's a simple bridge rather than a studio.

Choose Iriun Webcam if you use an Android phone, want the same tool on Mac and PC, or just want a phone webcam without a subscription.

OBS Studio

OBS Studio is free, open-source software for recording and streaming, and its Virtual Camera turns anything you build in OBS into a webcam that Zoom, Teams, Discord, and other apps can use. The current version supports macOS 13 and later, with native builds for Apple silicon.

That's a different approach from Camo. Instead of one camera with effects, you build a scene: your webcam or iPhone (through Continuity Camera), your screen, a logo, a name label, a green-screen key, color correction, and more. You can send the whole program output, a single scene, or a single source to the virtual camera, and switch scenes live.

The tradeoff is setup time. OBS is powerful but not simple, and it doesn't make a phone into a camera on its own: pair it with Continuity Camera or DroidCam for that.

Choose OBS Studio if you want a produced look on calls, run webinars or streams, or want free chroma key and overlays without a Camo Pro subscription.

DroidCam

DroidCam is a long-running phone webcam app for Android and iPhone. On Windows and Linux it has a desktop client, but on the Mac it works through the DroidCam OBS plugin, which adds your phone as a source inside OBS Studio. From there you can pass it to other apps with OBS's Virtual Camera.

The free version gives unlimited standard-definition video. The in-app Pro upgrade unlocks HD without a watermark, up to 1080p as a webcam and up to 4K as an OBS camera, access to ultra-wide and telephoto lenses on supported iPhones, remote camera adjustments, and no ads.

The Mac limitation matters: without OBS, DroidCam won't show up as a regular webcam.

Choose DroidCam if you already use OBS and want an affordable, high-resolution phone camera source in it.

Which One Should You Use?

Use Continuity Camera if you have an iPhone and want better video on calls with no extra app and no cost.

Use Iriun Webcam if you use Android, or want a cheap phone webcam that works the same on Mac and Windows.

Use OBS Studio if you want scenes, overlays, green screen, and full control over what callers see.

Use DroidCam if your workflow already runs through OBS and you want a phone camera source up to 4K.

Stay with Camo if you mix camera types (phones, DSLRs, webcams) or want portrait mode, background replacement, and pro image controls in one polished app.

A good way to decide: try Continuity Camera first if you have an iPhone. If it covers your calls, you're done. If you miss manual controls or background replacement, test Camo's free tier or build a scene in OBS before paying for anything.

A Related Tip for Recording Your Screen

If you use a phone webcam to record tutorials or demos rather than join calls, FaceScreen puts a floating live camera view and a text overlay (your name, role, or website) above your other windows, so your face shows up in any screen recording. It also has a Ring Light that uses your display as a soft, adjustable light, which helps in the same dim rooms where people reach for Camo's lighting controls. It's a one-time purchase on the App Store.

Final Verdict

Continuity Camera is the best Camo alternative for most Mac users with an iPhone: it's free, built into macOS, and its Center Stage, Portrait, and Studio Light effects cover what most people wanted Camo for. Iriun Webcam is the best pick for Android users and anyone who wants a low-cost, cross-platform option, OBS Studio is the best free choice for produced video, and DroidCam is a good phone camera source for OBS users. Camo is still the most complete all-in-one tool, especially if you use Android phones or DSLRs and want its effects without building your own setup.

Catch these apps on sale: many paid Mac apps, including video and camera apps, run discounts at least once a year, most often around Black Friday. Subscribe to the Apps.Deals newsletter to hear when the deals arrive.

Note: Features and prices are current as of October 2026. Prices can vary by region and App Store, and plans change, so check each developer's official page before buying.

Disclosure: FaceScreen is made by Softal, the same company behind Apps.Deals. It's mentioned because it fits the screen recording workflow described above.