How to Use a Multi Twitch Viewer for Twitch

A multi Twitch viewer lets you watch several streams at the same time in a single browser window. Unlike just opening multiple tabs, it arranges the streams in a grid and gives you simple controls for audio. This is useful when you want to follow multiple streamers during an event or just can't decide who to watch.

Twitch has its own version of this called Squad Stream, but a third-party multi Twitch viewer gives you, the viewer, full control over which channels you watch and how they are laid out.

How Is This Different from Twitch's Squad Stream?

It’s helpful to understand the two approaches. One is controlled by the streamers, and the other is controlled by you.

Twitch Squad Stream: This is a feature streamers can use. Up to four Twitch Partners can link their streams together. When they do, you see a special layout on their channel with all four perspectives. The key thing is that the streamers decide to start a Squad Stream and who is in it. You can't create your own.

Multi Twitch Viewer: This is a tool, like ViewGrid, that you use in your browser. You decide which streams to add, how many, and where they go on the screen. You can add any streamer, not just Partners, and even mix in streams from other platforms like YouTube or Kick. You build the layout yourself.

The main difference is control. Squad Stream is a pre-packaged experience offered by streamers. A multi Twitch viewer is a blank canvas for you to build your own viewing experience.

Why Use a Multi-Viewer?

People use multi-viewers when the official options don't fit what they need.

Watch Any Streamer: You aren't limited to Twitch Partners who have decided to squad up. You can watch your favorite small streamer alongside a major tournament broadcast.
Mix Platforms: You can put a Twitch stream next to a YouTube video or a Kick broadcast, all in the same grid. This is great for following an event that's being covered on multiple sites.
Create Your Own Layouts: You choose the grid. Want one big stream and three small ones? Or a simple two-by-two grid? You can arrange it however you like, with up to 20 streams on a desktop screen.
Follow Live Events: During big gaming tournaments or community events, a multi-viewer lets you watch the main broadcast plus the individual point-of-view streams of your favorite players. You can find pre-made grids for many popular events on our Events calendar.

How to Set Up Your Own Multi Twitch View

Creating a grid of Twitch streams is straightforward. You don't need an account to get started.

1. Go to the Viewer: Open the ViewGrid multi-stream viewer in your browser. You'll see an empty slot to add your first stream.

1. Add Your First Stream: Paste the URL of the Twitch channel you want to watch into the box (e.g., twitch.tv/streamername) and press Enter. The stream will load in the grid.

1. Add More Streams: Click the plus (+) icon to add another empty slot. Paste in another Twitch channel URL. Repeat this for as many streams as you want to watch.

1. Choose a Layout: Use the layout buttons in the toolbar to arrange your streams. You can pick from grids designed for 2, 3, 4, or even up to 20 streams.

1. Control the Audio: All streams start muted. Click the speaker icon on the stream you want to hear. Clicking another stream's speaker icon will automatically switch the audio to that one. You can only listen to one stream at a time.

1. Use the Chat: Click the chat bubble icon on any Twitch, YouTube, or Kick stream to open its live chat in a panel on the right side of your screen.

That's it. The URL in your browser's address bar updates automatically as you add streams. If you want to share your exact layout with a friend, just copy and send them the link. If you want to save a layout for later, you can create a free account.

Practical Things to Keep in Mind

While watching multiple streams is simple, there are a few practical points to consider.

Internet and Computer Performance
Every stream you add uses more of your internet bandwidth and computer's processing power. ViewGrid uses the official player embeds from Twitch, which are efficient, but running ten 1080p streams at once still requires a strong connection and a reasonably modern computer. If your streams start to buffer, try closing a few or lowering the quality on some of them.

Watching on a TV
ViewGrid is a browser-based tool and doesn't have a dedicated "cast" button. To watch on a TV, most people either connect a laptop to their TV with an HDMI cable, use their computer's built-in screen mirroring feature, or open viewgrid.tv in their smart TV's web browser.

Mobile vs. Desktop
You can use a multi Twitch viewer on your phone's browser, but the experience is different. A smaller screen means fewer streams fit comfortably. On mobile devices, ViewGrid supports layouts of up to 6 streams, while on a desktop you can watch up to 20. For more detail on this topic, you can read our article, "Your Guide to a Twitch Squad Stream Viewer".