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14 Best Live Streaming Software (Ultimate Guide)

Some of the top live streaming software that you can use for streaming your videos and create a community around it.

Top 5 Live Streaming Software

  Restream
  Uscreen
  OneStream
  Vimeo Streaming
  StreamYard

Are you looking for the best live streaming software? Well, we have listed the top options that you can use to stream your videos.

Most of the software in this list gives you the option to stream your videos through multiple platforms simultaneously to increase your overall viewership.

Some of the software offers a completely free plan with limited features which is good enough if you don’t have the budget for a paid streaming software.

Let’s get started.

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Top Live Streaming Software

Twitch Logo

Twitch

93%
NitDit Score
Free Version
Yes
Min Price
$4.99/month
Twitch is a popular live streaming software among gamers. You can use this platform to stream your gaming sessions, live events, and any other function or daily life events. Owned by Amazon, Twitch attracts millions of viewers and video producers every month. If you can create engaging live streams, you can make a decent amount of money through this platform. According to Twitch, more than 60% of viewers engage with the video streamers and more than 70% are ready to pay.
Restream Icon

Restream

93%
NitDit Score
Free Version
Yes
Min Price
$16/month
Restream is a live video streaming software that enables you to stream your videos through more than 30 different platforms. They offer a completely free basic plan which is good enough to get started. Even the free plan can be used to stream to more than 30 platforms. However, it will have the Restream branding. If you go for a paid plan, the price starts at $16 per month. The paid plans offer a wide range of features to make sure that your stream is of high quality, you have complete customization and branding option, and a lot more.
  • Offers complteley free plan
  • Stream to over 30 platforms
  • Comprehensive dashboard and tools
  • Add your own branding
  • Initial learning curve
Vimeo Logo

Vimeo Livestream

92.5%
NitDit Score
Free Version
No
Min Price
$7/month
Vimeo Livestream is one of the top solutions to live stream any event, online classes, or even webinars. You can live stream your event to multiple social sites and other apps so that you can gather a wider audience for your videos. If you are offering online classes to hosting an event for a specific group or members, you can host a private stream for the group that will be password protected. It gives you a high-quality full HD live streaming option.
  • HD quality streaming
  • 30 Day free trial
  • Stream simultaneously on multiple platforms
  • Comprehensive backend dashboard
  • Tightly secured solution
  • Real-time analytics
  • Live stream recording option
  • Only paid solution
  • Might feel lag at times
  • Initial learning curve
BeLive-logo

Be.Live

92.25%
NitDit Score
Free Version
Yes
Min Price
$24.99/month
Be.Live is a top-quality live streaming solution that you can use to stream live videos on Facebook and YouTube. You can start with their free plan and broadcast up to 3 shows in a month. If you go for the premium plan, you can enjoy unlimited streaming, custom branding of your videos, share images and videos during the live stream. You can schedule your live stream in the premium plans, offline recording, screen sharing option for the admin as well as for the guests and a lot more.
  • Offers free plan
  • Stream to more than 20 platforms
  • No need to download software
  • Cloud based technology
  • Easy mobile streaming
  • No live streaming to Instagram
  • Some features are only available with the paid version
  • Can be challenging to use for those who are not tech-savvy
StreamYard Logo

StreamYard

92.25%
NitDit Score
Free Version
Yes
Min Price
$20/month
StreamYard is a popular live streaming software that you can use to live stream your videos to multiple platforms. StreamYard offers a completely free plan with limited features. It offers a number of features and options to engage your users around your videos. You can show user comments on the screen to encourage other users to comment on your videos and initiate a discussion around your stream. You can use StreamYard for online video interviews, it allows you to display up to 10 members on the screen.
  • StreamYard is very user-friendly and easy to use, even for those who are not tech-savvy.
  • The quality of the streaming is quite good.
  • Live stream to multiple platforms at a time.
  • There are many customization options available, which allows users to brand it properly.
  • StreamYard offers a free plan, as well as paid plans for those who need more features.
  • Some users have reported issues with the audio quality of their streams.
  • There have been occasional reports of technical difficulties and glitches.
Uscreen-Logo

Uscreen

92.25%
NitDit Score
Free Version
No
Min Price
$49/month
If you are looking for a platform to live stream your videos, Uscreen is a great platform to start. In fact, Uscreen is a lot more than just a live streaming platform. You can create your own OTT platform, and create your custom video app on the Uscreen platform. You will have the option to create your own subscription packages and sell them to your audience like any big OTT platform. You can go for a monthly subscription, rent your videos to make money.
  • Complete live streaming solution
  • Video monetization option
  • Create your own OTT platform
  • Pre-designed website templates
  • Detailed analytics and data
  • No free plan
  • No video ad option
  • Customer service can be improved
OneStream Logo

OneStream

92%

NitDit Score

Free Version

Yes

Min Price

$10/month
Live stream your pre-recorded or real-time videos using the OneStream platform. This software gives you the option to spread your brand through over 40 different channels that you can use for live streaming your videos.

Lightstream

92%

NitDit Score

Free Version

Yes

Min Price

$99/month
A cloud-based live streaming platform, Lightstream will make it quick and simple for the users to go live in a minute. Everything you need to live stream your videos will be right on the browser. Create a professional-quality live stream with Lightstream.
Wirecast Logo

Wirecast

91.5%

NitDit Score

Free Version

No

Min Price

$599
Wirecast offers you advanced tools to create high-quality live streams like a pro. It is comprehensive software that you can use to stream your videos. Start with their free trial.
XSplit Broadcaster Logo

XSplit Broadcaster

92.5%

NitDit Score

Free Version

Yes

Min Price

$8/month
A complete video software, you can use XSplit Broadcaster for live streaming your videos. It comes with virtual webcam backgrounds, the option to use your phone as a webcam, and a lot more.

Streamlabs OBS

92.25%

NitDit Score

Free Version

Yes

Min Price

$12/month
A complete live streaming software, Streamlabs OBS will make the process of streaming your videos simple. With this software, you can go live on multiple platforms simultaneously.
vMix Logo

vMix

91%

NitDit Score

Free Version

No

Min Price

$60
Advanced video production and live streaming software, you can use vMix to stream your videos to multiple platforms at a time. Go live on Facebook, Twitch, youtube at a time using vMix
SplitCam Logo

SplitCam

90.5%

NitDit Score

Free Version

Yes

Min Price

NA
SplitCam is a completely free solution for live streaming. You can use this software to video chat with your friends as well as stream your videos to various platforms at a time.

VidBlasterX

91%

NitDit Score

Free Version

No

Min Price

$9/year
VidBlasterX is an all-in-one software that you can use for video production, stream and broadcast your videos. This software supports live streaming and recording in up to 4K/UHD.

I hope you found quality live streaming software in this article. Here are more details about the top live streaming software.

01. Restream

Restream Review

Restream is a real-time streaming platform that can stream to virtually any platform. You can use Restream as a streaming destination for your live streams, or you can point existing live streaming services like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook to it. 

You will never miss out on potential viewers if your stream goes down with virtual hosting using Restream’s innovative fallback technology.

This service also provides built-in chatbots and integrations with some of the most popular community platforms, including Steam, Discord, BattleNet, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and IRC-style chat network GhettoTwitch.

Top Features:

  • Unlimited channels if you upgrade from the basic plan
  • Support for 33 services such as YouTube & Twitch
  • Built-in chatbots and community integrations
  • Monitor your live streams in real-time with an interactive viewer counter
  • Multiple video streaming options, including camera feed, screencasting, pre-recorded videos, and native browser player (Flash & HTML5)

Price — Freemium, paid plans from $16 per month

02. Uscreen

Uscreen Review

Uscreen is a complete video monetization platform that allows you to sell videos, live streams, and courses online. It is an all-in-one platform that provides everything you need to start and grow your own video business.

You can use Uscreen to create and manage your own branded video player, deliver videos on any device, stream live or prerecorded content, and sell videos and courses online.

Uscreen also offers robust integrations with some of the most popular eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, WordPress, and Magento. You can also use Uscreen’s built-in affiliate program to grow your customer base and sell more products. 

Top Features:

  • Create and manage your own branded video player
  • Deliver videos on any device
  • Stream live or prerecorded content
  • Sell videos, courses, and other digital products online
  • Integrate with eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and WordPress

Price — Offers free trial, paid plans from $79 per month.

Uscreen Pricing

03. OneStream

OneStream

OneStream is online software that provides everything you need to create your streaming channel. It supports more than 40 social media platforms and can be customized to suit your needs.

You can use it for free or choose their professional plan to get started. You can also stream pre-recorded videos to engage your audience consistently with the live streaming feature. 

Using OneStream is quick and easy as you only need to upload your video, select a suitable streaming time and platform. Then, you are all set to entertain your viewers seamlessly with OneStrem. 

Top Features:

  • Supports streaming on more than 40 platforms & scheduling up to 60 days in advance
  • You don’t need to install software to use services
  • Efficiently manage large team size from a single account with its team management feature 
  • It offers multiple video upload options, including camera, screen sharing, and files
  • Advanced features like custom RTMP streaming with the support of server URL and stream key

Price — Freemium, paid plans from $10 per month. Here are the pricing details.

OneStream Pricing

04. Vimeo Streaming

Vimeo Streaming

Vimeo Streaming is a tool that enables you to live stream from your Vimeo videos. It can be used as a professional broadcasting platform for business/education. Also, it’s the best way to share events from your life with family and friends.

Vimeo encourages creativity and personal expression, so using Vimeo’s live streaming feature allows you to produce engaging content directly on your website.

You can turn any video into a live broadcast with a single click. You can even use third-party apps like Telestream Wirecast or Ecamm Live to create advanced broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics.

Top Features:

  • Broadcast directly onto any Vimeo page
  • Streams look better than those recorded videos as it streams video in real-time at the exact resolution as the original video.
  • Integrated chat to interact with viewers in real-time
  • Supports streaming up to 720p HD
  • Easy setup, ideal for beginners who are starting with streaming

Price — Paid subscription, plans from $7 per month.

Vimeo Live-streaming Plans

05. Twitch

Twitch

Twitch is a live streaming platform for gamers to share their gameplay with other gamers online. Twitch has over 100 million unique monthly viewers, and it is the 4th most popular website in the United States. 

You can use Twitch to broadcast your gameplay to the world, watch live gaming streams, and chat with other gamers.

Twitch also offers powerful broadcasting tools that allow you to create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics. You can also use Twitch’s built-in affiliate program to grow your audience and sell more products. 

Top Features:

  • Broadcast your gameplay to the world
  • Watch live gaming streams
  • Chat with other gamers
  • Create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics
  • Integrated affiliate program to grow your audience and sell more products

Price — Freemium, paid plans from $4.99 per month.

06. Lightstream

Lightstream

Lightstream is a live streaming software that allows you to broadcast your live video content to the world. It is designed for professional broadcasters who want to create high-quality live streams without hassles.

Lightstream offers powerful broadcasting tools that allow you to create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics.

You can also use Lightstream’s built-in social media integrations to share your live streams on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms. As a result, it’s an ideal platform for businesses, educators, and entertainers who want to power live streaming videos. 

Top Features:

  • Create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics
  • Integrated social media integrations
  • Broadcast directly to Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms
  • Easy to set up and stream videos, ideal for beginners
  • Highly personalized to engage viewers in a better way

Price — Freemium, paid plans from $99 per month.

07. Wirecast

Wirecast

Wirecast is the best live streaming software that allows you to create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics.

It’s an ideal choice for beginners looking for easy-to-use broadcasting tools. Wirecast is packed with powerful features like USB Device Capture, LayerPaint 3D Titling, MultiView Mixer, ActionCam Presets, and HypeM5 plug-in integration.

It’s perfect for creating buzz around your event, reaching targeted audiences, getting valuable feedback, and generating sales. Wirecast is ideal for businesses, educators, and entertainers who want to create high-quality live streams.

Top Features:

  • Create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics
  • Integrate with third-party apps like HypeM5 plug-in
  • USB Device Capture enables you to broadcast your videos from webcams, smartphones, or other USB capable devices
  • LayerPaint 3D Titling lets you add animated 2D/3D graphics over your live stream
  • MultiView Mixer allows you to add up to four regions of Multi-view video and create unique compositions

Price — Paid plans from $599

Wirecast

08. XSplit Broadcaster

XSplit Broadcaster

XSplit Broadcaster is a live streaming software that allows you to create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics.

It’s an ideal choice for beginners looking for easy-to-use broadcasting tools. The XSplit Broadcaster is packed with powerful features.

It’s perfect for professionals and beginners to reach their targeted audiences, get valuable feedback, and generate sales. In addition, XSplit Broadcaster is ideal for businesses, educators, and entertainers who want to create high-quality live streams.

Top Features:

  • Create professional broadcasts with camera angles and custom graphics
  • Integrated USB Device Capture, LayerPaint 3D Titling, MultiView Mixer, ActionCam Presets, and HypeM5 plug-in integration
  • Create engaging live streams that help you connect with your audience
  • Real-time stats monitoring to boost engagement and retain viewers for a longer time
  • Keep an eye on the latest events of your niche

Price — Freemium, paid plans from $8 per month

XSplit Broadcaster Pricing

09. Streamlabs OBS

Streamlabs OBS

Streamlabs OBS is a powerful live streaming software that allows you to create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics.

It’s an ideal choice for beginners looking for easy-to-use broadcasting tools. Streamlabs OBS is packed with powerful features like Scene Previews, Video filters, Audio Mixing, and more.

It’s perfect for creating engaging live streams that help you connect with your audience. It comes with an easy-to-use interface that makes streaming a breeze.

Streamlabs OBS is ideal for businesses, educators, and entertainers who want to create high-quality live streams.

Top Features:

  • Easy automation feature to ease streaming
  • In-depth and powerful analytics for better audience understanding
  • Support of more than 46 streaming platforms
  • Stream to multiple platforms simultaneously
  • Quick to establish setup for faster streaming experience

Price — Freemium, paid plans from $12 per month

10. vMix

vMix

vMix is a powerful live streaming software that allows you to create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics.

It’s an ideal choice for businesses, educators, and entertainers who want to power their live streaming videos. vMix is packed with powerful features like Live Streaming, 4K Video, Titling, and more.

It’s perfect for creating high-quality live streams that help you connect with your audience. vMix comes with an easy-to-use interface that makes streaming a breeze. vMix is ideal for businesses, educators, and entertainers who want to create high-quality live streams.

Top Features:

  • Create professional broadcasts with multiple camera angles and custom graphics
  • Live Streaming, 4K Video, Titling, and more
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • It offers more than ten attractive transition effects, including Cut, Fade, Zoom
  • vMix comes with full 3D acceleration

Price — Lifetime license from $60

vMix Pricing

11. SplitCam

SplitCam is a free all-in-one live streaming software. You can do multistreaming on various platforms such as Twitch, Facebook, Youtube, and any custom RTMP at once. There are various editing options. You can add logos, titles, and graphics to your Stream or video. 

Additionally, you can share your screen, show video clips during your live, invite guests into your Stream, create a fake background with a green screen, and much more. 

Top Features: 

  • Audience analytics
  • Multiple cameras feed
  • Session recording
  • Multi-screen
  • Video monetization tools
  • Performance monitoring
  • Event scheduling
  • Multistreaming

Price — Free to use

SplitCam

12. VidBlasterX

VidBlasterX supports various devices, which allows you to stream at a professional level.

You can create unique effect videos such as slow-motion videos and replay-based content easily using the available tools.

The interface is user-friendly, which allows users of all age groups to live stream with ease. 

Top Features: 

  • Session recording
  • Video capture
  • Video stabilization
  • Multistreaming
  • Event scheduling
  • Performance monitoring
  • HD resolution
  • Collaboration

Price — Starts at $9/year

VidBlasterX

More About Live Streaming Software

With the help and development of modern technological advances in the 21st century, I.T. professionals across the globe are transforming the way things work. With the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for new ways to work has simply boomed. 

One of the few technologies that have excelled in the past few months is live streaming. Replacing traditional marketing and data broadcasting methods, live streaming has emerged as the new normal and an alternative to many different practices. 

Did you know that the estimated video market reach for enterprises has been estimated to touch $25 billion by 2025? On doing a little math, you will notice that this number counts for more than a 20% growth rate.

The fact remains that the term live streaming software remains a very wrongly and inappropriately used term around the world. And the confusion is quite common. We have so many related things to the term “live streaming software”, such as a webinar, podcasts, video seminars, online presentations, and so on. 

Here is a complete and well-researched guide for live streaming software.

What is Live Streaming?

Not only the office-going and the professionals are making use of live streaming solutions but also the gamers and entertainers are using these software to broadcast their content across the globe. 

Live streaming or live video streaming is a method used for transforming video data over the internet. Describing it in a much more technical way, it’s all about delivering a video file over the internet in a bit a timely manner. 

Mostly, live video streaming is done from a remote and isolated location. The best part about live streaming is that the end-user would not have to download the entire video for playing it on their personal devices. They don’t have to face technical roadblocks in playing videos online, such as codex errors, file type errors, and so on.

Popularly known as live broadcasting, live video streaming allows a lot of end-users and viewers to play videos over the internet in real-time. No need to record a video or waste your internet data in downloading and storing a ton of different video files. 

In modern times, most TV broadcasters, video game streamers, and social media influencers are making full use of some of the best live video streaming software. Professional educators, such as distance teachers and institutes can make use of live video streaming software for educational purposes. 

Many people tend to confuse themselves with terms like video streaming and regular streaming. The key difference is easily understandable with the popular example of an actor reciting a monologue. 

When an actor has to recite a monologue that he or she has memorized, it would be called an example of regular streaming. But when the same actor is improvising a speech in real-time, it would be called a true example of live streaming

In the former example, the core content, or a video in our case, is stored and then transmitted over a network whereas, in the latter example, the content is being transmitted in real-time, without anything being stored, captured, memorized, or recorded anywhere at any time.

Live Streaming Software: An Overview

Generally, when anybody refers to a “live streaming software” they are referring to an encoding software program. What’s important is that one should first understand what an encoder is. For what we call live streaming, it is important to have a real-time video encoder.  

An encoder is a software program that converts video data input into a digital, streamable format.

It allows the live video to be streamed available and playable on multiple different kinds of devices. The market and the online industry are packed with tons of encoders developed across the globe.

The best part is that modern and 21st-century encoders are integrated with a lot of amazing functions that allow streamers and live encoders to perform a lot of different things easily.

Gone are the days when encoders could only just convert and send videos to a live stream. This is from where the term “live streaming software” has emerged. 

The internet is packed with a ton of blogs and articles that talk about different kinds of hardware and software encoders. What most people don’t know is that live streaming software encoders range in a lot of different categories. 

This categorization is based on the level and kind of complexities. From the free ones to some of the most robust and the simplest to use, live streaming software is available in a lot of different categories. 

There are also a lot of amazing and top-grade live streaming software that is used in top-level and enterprise-grade live broadcasts. Some of them include vMix, OBS, and Wirecast, which are mostly used in live sports and TV broadcasts.  

Also, some of the best live streaming and broadcasting software not only empower you to stream your videos live all around the world but also allow you to:

  • Add a number of different visuals and graphics in real-time
  • Make use of multiple cameras to give different perspectives to the viewers 
  • Integrate a number of different audio sources into the live stream 

Another amazing feature is that most livestreaming platforms are available in different price ranges for different sizes of business organizations. 

How Live Streaming work?

There are a lot of different steps and processes involved in streaming and creating a live webinar but here are the major steps and terms that you have to keep in mind while thinking about the core of live streaming

Capturing the Video

One of the main things you will need in a live-streaming webinar is raw video content, also called the video content captured in a video recording camera.

In very technical terms, visual information is the representation of digital visual data in 1s and 0s at the very core level. 

Segmentation

Video data includes a lot of different digital information and data. In the very basic term, this would take the user a lot of time and effort in downloading different kinds of video files.

As compared to other file types, such as PDF or image, a video file is much heavier and takes a lot of processing power as well. 

Sending complete video content over the internet at once would be very impractical. Segmenting video content after dividing it into smaller segments would help it stream it in a very quick and easy manner. 

Encoding Video and Compressing It

Video compression is a very common term nowadays, especially after the remote working and popularity of the work from home culture. A segmented video, to be streamed, is now compressed and encoded for transmission. 

A common method used around the world for video compression is the simple removal of the unwanted and redundant data present as the visual data itself. 

For example, if you have a grey background continuously active in your video, the compression would eliminate the need for rendering all the subsequent frames against the same background.  

You can also take the popular example of adding a piece of brand new furniture into the space of your living room. A homeowner is not obliged to add a new piece of chair or coffee table every time a new table or night lamp is added into the room. 

What’s more economical and practical is to maintain the rough overall layout of your room and only make a few rearrangements and adjustments to the internal furniture. In a very similar way, you may not need to render each and every frame of your video for streaming

Another common term you might have read online is “encoding”. It refers to the complete process of converting the data of a video or any kind of file into a completely new and unique format. 

For the particular use in live video streaming, your data has to be encoded into an interpretable digital format that is easily recognizable and playable on a variety of mobile devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and so forth. Some of the most popular and commonly used encoding standards include HEVC, VP9, and AV1. 

There are a few other additional terms and steps involved in live video streaming, such as Video Data Caching, Latency Maintenance, RTT Reduction, Video and Data Bandwidth, and so on. 

Final Word

We hope our highly researched and curated guide to the world and the possibilities of Live Streaming Software platforms answers all your queries regarding the software

Make sure you let us know if you have any other kind of query related to Live Streaming Software.

And if you are familiar with any of the available live streaming software in the market, let us know! 

FAQs About Live Streaming Software

Q1. What is a Live Streaming Software? A Live Streaming Software can be used to broadcast any event or function. Live streaming videos are very popular these days, get started with any of the software.
Q2. Are Live Streaming Software Free to Use? It depends. Most of the software comes in a freemium model that means they have free as well as paid plans.
Q3. Is YouTube Live Streaming Software? If you have a good number of followers on YouTube to stream your videos. You can use your webcam, your mobile phone, or a live streaming software to stream videos live on YouTube.
Q4. How Can I Live Stream Online for Free? You can use free platforms like YouTube Live, Facebook Live, or Instagram to live-stream your events for free.
Q5. How Can I make Money Through Live Streaming Videos? There are a number of ad platforms that allow you to monetize your live streaming videos. You can also go for a subscription-based option to monetize your videos by creating a community around your videos.

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