Micstream vs AudioRelay vs WO Mic
Updated July 11, 2026 · 4 min read
First, the disclosure: we build Micstream. AudioRelay and WO Mic have both been around longer than we have, and each is genuinely good at what it focuses on. Everything below comes from each app's own website — where we couldn't verify a detail, we left it out.
The numbers
| Feature | Micstream | AudioRelay | WO Mic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio format | 32-bit float | 16-bit integer | 16-bit integer |
| Channels | Stereo | Stereo | Mono |
| Connections | USB, Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, USB | USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Phone app | Android (iOS planned summer 2026) | Android | Android, iOS (Wi-Fi only) |
| Desktop | Windows 10/11 | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| PC audio to phone | × | × | |
| Pricing model | Free with rewarded ads; Pro subscription | Free version; Premium upgrade | Free |
Micstream
Micstream is built around one idea: the audio should arrive exactly as the phone captured it. The driver creates a real input device — no virtual cable, no per-app setup — and the pipeline is 32-bit floating point at 48 kHz end to end, stereo on supported devices. Flagship phones record up to 24-bit; a 32-bit float path has more resolution than any phone microphone can produce, so nothing gets rounded away in transit. Over USB, latency is often under 10 ms on high-end devices; over Wi-Fi, the app discovers your PC automatically.
The trade-offs are real: Windows-only on the desktop, Android-only on the phone until the iOS app ships (planned for summer 2026), and it doesn't send PC audio back to the phone — it's a microphone, not an audio router. The free tier is ad-supported — watching a rewarded ad grants streaming time — and a Pro subscription removes the ads and limits.
AudioRelay
AudioRelay's defining feature is that it works in both directions. It streams your phone's mic to the PC over Wi-Fi or USB, and it streams your PC's audio out to the phone in real time — so the phone doubles as wireless headphones or a spare speaker. Neither of the other two does that. It's also the only one of the three with macOS and Linux clients alongside Windows, and it has a free version with a Premium upgrade.
The difference is the audio path: AudioRelay uses 16-bit integer audio. For calls, that's perfectly fine. For recording, it means part of what a 24-bit phone mic captures is truncated before it reaches your PC.
WO Mic
WO Mic is the veteran here, and it's free — the developer's stated position is that you shouldn't have to buy a gadget for this. It supports more transports than anyone: USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi Direct on Android, plus an iOS app over Wi-Fi. If you specifically need Bluetooth, or an iPhone solution today, WO Mic is the one that has it.
The compromise is a 16-bit mono stream at 48 kHz. Mono is the bigger limitation of the two — your recordings collapse to a single channel — and the same 16-bit truncation applies. Fine for voice chat; audible on recordings.
Why bit depth matters
The format numbers translate directly into what you hear. A 16-bit pipeline discards up to 8 of the 24 bits a flagship phone records — a third of the signal's resolution — before the audio ever reaches your PC. Floating point also applies gain without the rounding errors that accumulate in integer math. If the same phone sounds different through different mic apps, this is usually why.
Which one should you use?
- AudioRelay — if you want PC audio on your phone as well as mic input, or your desktop runs macOS or Linux.
- WO Mic — if you want free and lightweight, need Bluetooth, or need an iPhone today, and 16-bit mono is fine for your use.
- Micstream — if audio quality is the point: recording, streaming, or calls where the full signal matters, on Windows 10 or 11.
If you land on Micstream, the setup walkthrough takes a few minutes, and there are short guides for Discord and OBS. The most useful test costs nothing: the free tier is enough to run it against whatever you use now, on your own hardware.