Live Streaming has increasingly uplifted the interest and effectiveness of the different social networks. More and more platforms have adapted to this new trend when it comes to providing greater community to the user. Live video isn’t just used for entertainment purposes anymore. It has been utilized as a business growth tool by coaches, retailers, and other entrepreneurs for years now.
Video marketing is not going away anytime soon. It’s something that will stay with every online marketing niche for the foreseeable future. As such live streaming is done by gamers, marketers, social influencers, and bloggers as well. Companies can also use live broadcasts to enhance and maximize direct communication with customers and community partners. Live streaming an event allows you to reach and interact with more people across the world.
There are various software with which you can stream videos and in this article, I am going to review some of the best Streaming software but before that let us discuss some basics about streaming software. Before we start, here’s a brief list of the best Streaming Software for you.
Best Streaming Software
StreamLabs OBS Best IN Class
Layout Editor
Selective Recording
Replay Buffer
OneStream User's Choice
Embed Player
Playlist Streaming
Cloud Storage Integration
XSplit Most Affordable Sofwtare
Chroma Key Threshold
Noise Suppression
Projector Output
Restream Top Recommended
Real-Time Channel Toggling
No Restreaming Branding
Stream Recording
WireCast Enterprise Grade
Easy to Manage
Simulcast to Social Media
Screen Recording
LightStream Best For Individuals
Stream Managements
Engagements
Remote Control
vMix Best For Agencies
13 Transition Effects
Video Delay/ Instant Play
Touch Screen Web Interface
Discord Popular Software
Video Calls
Multistream
In-call screen share
SwitchBoard Best For BUsiness
Branded StreamShare page
Manage Destinations
SplitCam Easy To USe
Virtual webcam
Desktop Screenshare
Video recording
Table Of Contents
What Is Streaming Software?
The streaming software is a tool that enables the streaming of audio and video content over the internet. You can cast the screen of your laptop, pc, or mobile device with the help of this software. The streaming software is the key to getting your content live on Twitch, and in the highest quality possible. Each streaming software has generally the same list of basic features, including stream encoding, local recording, webcam support, and multiple sources for capturing what you want to stream.
What Features Should You Look For in Live Streaming Software?
Today’s live streaming software and tools have various different advanced features compared to before. Most of the software today in the market provides more or less the same types of functionality and features. However, before choosing any of the software, you must look in some of the basic few features like:
- Social Media Integration: This is perhaps the most important features that you should look upon. With the help of social media integration features, you can stream your video content on social media platforms like Twitch and Youtube.
- Live Chat: Live chat feature is a must-have for every streaming software because live chat feature helps in boosting the engagement of your live stream. These features help you to interact with your audience in real-time.
- Preview Editor: The preview editor of streaming software will help you to take a look at your video content before final streaming. You can make changes or add filters or text at the last minute before making them live.
- Multiview Features: The multiview features of the software help you to manage cams with a couple of clicks. You can switch between multiple cameras as needed with this feature.
- Recorder: This feature is the most underrated but essential feature. To be the best video streaming software, it must have the recording features which will record the live video and audio content for future use.
- Real-Time Analytics: Developer-friendly mobile SDK and API infrastructure lets you integrate your live stream into services, cloud video applications, and digital media workflows.
- Price: Last but not the least is the price. A streaming software must must charge a justified price for their product and must be reasonable in terms of feature it offer.
What Are The Best Streaming Software?
Here is a quick list of some of the best streaming software you can find on the Internet.
- Restream – Overall Best Streaming Software.
- Telestream Wirecast – Best Streaming App
- OneStream – Best streaming Software For Twitch
- XSplit Broadcaster – Best Free Streaming Software
- StreamLabs OBS – Best Twitch Streaming Software
- OBS Studio – Best Software For Streaming
- LightStream Studio – Best PC Streaming Software
- vMix – Best Streaming Software For Youtube
- Discord – Best Game Streaming Software
- FFSplit – Best Free Game streaming Software
- SwitchBoard – Best Software For Streaming On Twitch
- SplitCam – Best Streaming Software For Low End PC
Retsream is a streaming software with which you can Live Stream to 30 + Platform simultaneously. Thus you can expand your reach and boost your views with Restream software. Restream gives the users the ability to multi-stream ‘live’ to both YouTube and Facebook simultaneously without needing to use any OBS software installed on a local computer. The ability to see chats from all these different platforms in one location is something I love about Restream.
The Restream team is adding new features and updates regularly, they have added Restream Live (Stream Directly from the Webcam), Widgets for your sites and OBS, Facebook Live on Personal page on a free account, LinkedIn live. That’s huge.
Restream Features
- Custom Destinations: You can multi-stream to 30+ platforms with Restream Software. With the free plan, you can stream to some social platforms like a Facebook personal profile, but with the paid plan, you can stream to FB groups and public pages.
- Real-Time Channel Toggling: With this real-time channel management features, you can turn on and off any streaming channel in your dashboard without any interferences or interruptions to your ongoing stream.
- No Restreaming Branding: Although it is paid feature, you can remove the Restream Watermark on your stream. Not only this, you will be able to add your own watermark, logos, custom background, or even overlays.
- Stream Recording: Restream lets you record and downloads your live streams to repurpose them. Download your video or audio files and transform them into amazing podcasts and other social media content.
- Split-Track Recording: With this feature of Restream software, you can separate audio tracks for each participant, making podcast production must easier.
- Restream Event: Restream allows you to schedule pre-recorded videos to go live on as many platforms as you like. You don’t even have to be near your computer — Restream will automatically broadcast your videos on your selected channels. With Restream Events, you can also share a link to your upcoming live stream on social media to promote it to your followers and subscribers.
Restream Pricing
Restream offers 3 plans for individuals:
- Free– $0.00
- Standard – $16/month
- Professional – $41/month
Restream also offers plans for companies. You can check the pricing details on their official websites.
Telestream’s Wirecast is the only company that has succeeded in enabling users from the broadest range of sources – from mobile devices to desktop computers to real-time linear broadband feeds – to produce and deliver live video content easily and cost-effectively. From prosumers to professionals, and the entire market space in between, Telestream solves the challenge of capturing, encoding, and delivering live video. You can stream from anywhere you are in the world.
Wirecast is a cloud-based and on-premise live video streaming solution designed to help churches, schools, event production, media & digital marketing businesses broadcast events in real-time. Features include playlist creation, web conferencing, screen capture, and audio ingestion & mixing.
Telestream Features
- Enterprise-class Multiscreen Streaming: Wirecast provide superior, scalable, real-time adaptive bit rate encoding for SD, HD, and UHD HDR sources into AVC and HEVC. Telestream’s Wirecast Live Stream can ingest multiple baseband SDI or IP video sources (MPTS, SPTS, RTMP) and encode multiple variants or ABR packages and deploy them to multiple destinations or host the origin.
- Easy to Use, Easy to Manage: Simple, powerful web-based GUI provides complete control over all sources, encoding groups, templates and channel outputs. XML import and export for scalable system deployment. RESTful API for operational control, triggering and status monitoring.
- Simulcast to Social Media: Drive a larger audience to your program and boost engagement through leading social media platforms. Lightspeed Live Stream has direct API integration with Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and RTMP streaming, for a complete publishing solution.
- More Choices, Efficiency and Density: Telestream supports up to 10-bit 4K H.264 or H.265 encoding using CPU, GPU or ASIC encoding. Wirecast Live Stream has wide flexibility in how you choose to encode your streams, allowing you complete control over the quality and efficiency of the encoding process and enabling you to do more with less.
- Screen Recording: Wirecast has the best screen recording available – whether you are recording multiple screens at once, or using retina displays. with Wirecast, you can stream and record at the same time. Great for archiving or off-line editing, record MP4 or MOV files to any drive.
- Social Media Integration: Built in Twitter comment curation and display, integrated Facebook Polling, live viewer counts keep you engaged with your audience.
WireCast Pricing
Wirecast has 2 pricing plans:
- Wirecast Studio– $599
- WireCast PRO – $799
Onestream is a streaming software where you can live stream in real-time and also stream pre-recorded videos. This software is really easy to use. You just have to select a video file (stored in your computer and cloud storage) that you wish to stream. Then schedule a date of your choice along with the time. And lastly, select the streaming destination. OneStream will stream it at the set time. All the transcoding, processing, and live streaming will be handled automatically.
With powerful scheduling & multistreaming features, it is designed to cater to businesses involved in marketing & live streaming. Though anyone can use it.
OneStream Features
- Social Media Streaming: Multicast to 40+ streaming networks including Facebook Live, YouTube, Wowza Media Systems, Twitch, Instagram & more.
- Embed Player: Embed live streams on your own website or anywhere you wish and reach wider audience with ease.
- Playlist Streaming: Queue recorded videos in any order of your choice and schedule them to go live on multiple social media streaming platforms.
- Cloud Storage Integration: Import videos directly from Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, Zoom recordings, Box, or Frame.io and save your internet bandwidth.
- Captions/Subtitles: You can add captions or subtitles to pre-recorded live streams using SRT files.
- Team Management: Manage your own team members to collaborate and live stream more efficiently.
- Unified Chat: From a single screen, efficiently manage viewers’ incoming messages, comments & replies from multiple streaming platforms.
OneStream Pricing
Onestream provides 4 plans:
- Free– $0.00/month
- Basic– $8/month
- Standard– $32/month
- Professional– $ 74/month
Onestream also offers monthly plans. You can check the pricing details of the monthly plans on the official websites of OneStream.
XSplit Broadcaster is one of the best all-in-one streaming and recording applications for content creation, powers the biggest events in gaming, esports, and more. XSplit Broadcaster enables you to record your broadcast as it happens with powerful features such as multiple audio tracks. You can add queue points for easy editing during post-production. With multiple recording profiles, you can stream and record different scenes at the same time. Meaning you could record raw gameplay footage while you stream with your camera and overlays enabled. That’s cool, right?
XSplit Features
- Scene Presets: Add multiple animations and broadcast effects to your scenes.
- Chroma Key Threshold: Get crystal clear Chroma Key sensitivity for webcams, capture source and media files.
- Noise Suppression: Reduce unwanted background noise in-app.
- Projector Output: Project any scene, including your active scene to another monitor or display.
- Source Masking: Change the shape of any camera or media source in-app.
- Media Slideshow: Loop multiple images or videos to decorate your BRB screen or show your appreciation to sponsors and supporters.
- NVENC Encoding: Borrow your powerful GPU’s resources to fully enhance your streaming experience while taking it easy on your CPU.
XSplit Pricing
XSplit Broadcaster pricing starts at $2.50 per month. There is a free version. XSplit Broadcaster does not offer a free trial.
Streamlabs is third-party software for broadcasters and content creators on multiple Live Streaming platforms. They create essential customization tools catered towards new and experienced streamers allowing enhanced viewer engagement and ultimately, channel growth. You can broadcast your live stream to Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook.
Streamlabs OBS Features
- Highlighter: With Streamlabs, there is a free video editing tool for streamers that offers an easy way to edit and create highlight videos from live stream replays.
- Layout Editor: You can easily personalize your live streaming software by just Draging and dropping elements to create a unique UI.
- Selective Recording: Choose the sources that appear in your live stream or recorded video.
- Replay Buffer: Effortlessly save replays of your live stream or replay clips for your viewers.
- Game Overlay: Dynamic in-game overlay for single monitors. View recent events and chat on one screen.
Streamlabs OBS Pricing
Streamlabs OBS is an open-source streaming solution that is free. However, it provides a premium toolkit for professionals for $12 per month which is billed annually.
OBS stands for Open Broadcaster Software. OBS is a free and open-source software for video recording and live streaming. OBS Studio is equipped with a powerful API, enabling plugins and scripts to provide further customization and functionality specific to your needs. This streaming software is flexible and supports on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
The lightweight and easy-to-use program guarantees high-quality performance for commercial and non-commercial users. This cross-platform application provides a set of great features which include: an intuitive audio mixer, multiple video sources filters, a powerful configuration option, a streamlined settings panel, multiple themes, and real-time audio/video capturing and mixing.
OBS Studio Features
- Easy To Use: Its clean interface maintains unparalleled ease of use. The easy-to-read interface enables users to add capture cards, specific windows images & sources, and more. The simplicity with which you can add multiple sources is noteworthy. Besides, the interface provides multiple settings for configuring virtually all aspects of your live stream.
- Hotkeys: Set hotkeys for nearly every sort of action, such as switching between scenes, starting/stopping streams or recordings, muting audio sources, push to talk, and more.
- Studio Mode: Studio Mode lets you preview your scenes and sources before pushing them live. Adjust your scenes and sources or create new ones and ensure they’re perfect before your viewers ever see them.
- Multiview: Get a high level view of your production using the Multiview. Monitor 8 different scenes and easily cue or transition to any of them with merely a single or double click.
OBS Studio Pricing
OBS Studio is open-source and is absolutely free to use.
Lightstream Studio is one of the finest steaming studios with which you can create more professional and impactful live streams. You can go live in minutes with a complete creative suite right in your browser. With its cloud-powered broadcasting through a web browser, you can bring remote guests, mix live video feeds and capture console gameplay without a capture card.
LightStream Features
- Easy To Use: With Lightstream, you can go Lightstream In a minute. Your computer and an internet connection are all you need. No downloads. No fancy equipment. Sign up, select your destination, click “Go Live,” and you’re streaming. No technical wizardry is required – just you and your creative vision.
- Stream Managements: Lightstream Studio allows you unrestricted control to place everything exactly where you want to best represent your creative vision. Create unlimited projects, scenes, and layouts for your shows. Other simple web tools restrict you to their layouts.
- Engagements: LightStream’s 3rd-party integrations allow for on-stream alerts, motion graphics, and social media messaging to increase engagement and interaction.
- Remote Control: While streaming, use your mobile device to start and stop your stream or switch between scenes. This is great for streamers producing from remote locations and away from a computer. Simply log in to your account on a mobile device.
Lightstream Pricing
LightStream Studio offers two plans:
Gamers– $7/month(for 720p 30fps)
Creator– $20/month (for 720p 30fps)
vMix is a live streaming software video mixer and switcher to create professional live video productions. It helps to enhance customer relationships and improve brand engagement. vMix helps to produce and create live productions and streams using a variety of inputs like cameras, video files, DVDs, images, Powerpoint, and much more.
It is featured by easy-to-use high-performance, animated graphics, HD virtual sets with high-quality real-time chroma key to suit production needs, availability of audio and video capture, instant replay, built-in audio mixer, and many more.
vMix eatures
- Simultaneous Streaming and Recording: Live stream to your favorite streaming providers including Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitch, and Ustream. You can also record the live footage in full HD to AVI, MP4, MPEG-2, or WMV.
- 13 Transition Effects: Cut, Fade, Zoom, Wipe, Slide, Fly, CrossZoom, FlyRotate, Cube, CubeZoom, Vertical Wipe, Vertical Slide and Merge transitions available with 4 customizable transition buttons for easy access to your favorite effects.
- Pc And Mac Desktop Sources: Utilise screen capture from remote desktops running on your network. Great for PowerPoint and Skype. Audio Capture support also available.
- Video Delay/ Instant Play: Create a Video Delay input and assign it to any available Camera or Output. Save multiple Video Clips of notable events for playback at a later time. You can configurable slow motion playback from 5 to 400%. Full four camera slow motion instance replay is also available.
- Touch Screen Web Interface: Control vMix remotely using the vMix Web Controller on your Surface, iPad, iPhone, Android or other touch screen device using the built in web interface. Customizable shortcut buttons can also be created to activate common production scenarios.
- Built-In Audio Mixer: Audio Mixer allows you to easily keep track of all audio sources and includes the ability to Mute, Follow (Auto Mixing), and Delay any source. A VU Meter is also included with a peaking display to ensure the level of each input is broadcast-ready. Fine-tune every audio source with built-in EQ, Compressor, and Noise Gate effects.
vMix Pricing
vMix offers 5 plans:
- Basic HD – $60 USD (First 12 months)
- HD – $350 USD (First 12 months)
- 4k – $700 USD (First 12 months)
- Pro – $1200 USD (First 12 months)
- Max – $50 USD PER MONTH
Discord is a popular app where android users can stream or cast their screen while gaming. Discord was specifically designed to serve the gaming community. The app, which offers text messaging and voice and video calling, allows gamers to communicate and strategize with friends mid-game. But it’s lightweight and streamlined, so it won’t fill up their computers’ hard drives or bog down their processors.
Discord Features
- Go Live and Screen Share: Discord allows you to screen share any application window, or your entire screen in a server or voice call.
- Video Calls: Video calls are an easy way to stay connected – all from within your DMs (Direct Messages) or server voice channels that you would normally hang out together in.
- Multistream: With multistream, you’ll now have the option to watch multiple streams all at the same time.
- In-call screen share options : You’ll be able to directly modify your Stream Quality including changing your stream’s frame rate and resolution directly within the call.
Discord Pricing
Discord offers two plans:
- Free– $0.00
- Nitro– $ 99.99/year
FFsplit is a lightweight utility that lets you capture videos from multiple sources and composite them into a live video feed. The feed can then be live-streamed and/or recorded locally using FFmpeg, or used as a webcam source using a DirectShow filter.
It is important to note that FFsplit is no longer being developed or updated. However, it is still available for download in several versions on the FFsplit website.
FFSplit Features
- Free: This streaming software is completely Free. You never have to pay to use it. FFsplit is distributed as freeware (possibly open source in the future).
- Great Performance: FFsplit is highly optimized to give you the best performance so you can focus more on what’s important.
- Ease Of Use: FFsplit is designed to let you easily create more professional and unique content as fast as possible.
FFSplit Pricing
FFsplit is free to use.
Switchboard Live is a reliable simulcasting software that supports streaming to several destinations at once. In addition to powerful simulcasting support, Switchboard Live also has tools for video player embedding.
Switchboard Feature
- Streamlined Invites: Inviting guests to multi-stream to their destinations doesn’t have to be complicated. StreamShare™ enables users to send email invites to a secure page, where guests can securely share their social channels without providing you their passwords.
- Branded StreamShare page: You can use the Branded StreamShare page of Switchboard Live to encourage your network to carry your stream. It takes seconds for your StreamShare participants to give you access to their selected social channels securely.
- Manage Destinations: Multiplying reach has never been more simple than with StreamShare. Users can keep streams organized by creating designated groups and templates, eliminating difficulties in managing the multi-streaming experience.
SwitchBoard Live Pricing
Switchboard Live has three different pricing plans that all come with unlimited streaming destinations.
- Indie– $29/month; 1,500 streaming minutes/month
- Pro – $59/month; 4,000 streaming minutes/month
- Business – $99/month; 10,000 streaming minutes//month
SplitCam is a streaming software with which you can stream video to few stream channels at the same time, from your HD camera and other video sources, without video quality loss. Its primary use is for webcam splitting which comes in handy for use-cases where peer-to-peer streaming is necessary but also offers broadcasting features.
SplitCam Features
- Multistreaming: SplitCam allows you to broadcast one live stream to several streaming services at the same time with a very low impact on the CPU and GPU of your computer.
- Virtual webcam: Splitting to multiple sources and feel free to use your webcam in several applications without receiving the “webcam busy” error. You can mix your webcam with any video sources, like screen, video files, or images, and splitting into any programs you want at the same time.
- Desktop Screenshare: Share your desktop screen live or record it to deliver it to your stream channels or to the virtual video driver. SplitCam allows you to select your PC screen as a video source for your video calls, streams, and recordings. You can capture your entire screen, specific apps, custom areas, games windows, or minimized windows.
- Video recording: SplitCam allows you to record your live streams, video calls, conferences, With the click of a button, you can record your video in any resolution and with many video formats, you can save it on your PC or cloud. It’s the most practical way to record videos, tutorials, and live streams in general.
- Color Adjust Stream: You can change the colors of your video, include skin smoother or blur settings, you can also change contrast, brightness, sharpness. Using these functions, the quality of your video will improve, which will make your live streams more popular and interesting.
- Scenes switching: You can create several different scenes with different video and audio sources and switch between these scenes during your broadcast or split your video.
SplitCam Pricing
SplitCam MultiStream has not provided pricing information for this product or service. This is common practice for software sellers and service providers. Contact SplitCam MultiStream to obtain current pricing.
Conclusion
2020 proved that live streaming and video marketing are indeed the way of the future. The global pandemic has pushed enterprises worldwide to embrace the power of live streaming. It has proven to be a very profitable and convenient adjustment that is predicted to remain as a video marketing strategy in 2022 and even after the pandemic.
Live streaming technology allows companies and entrepreneurs to stay connected with followers and friends in real-time, providing exclusive content instead of obnoxious ads. Live video streams can take a brands’ inbound marketing to a new level. Thanks to the low cost, they’re affordable for small businesses and individuals.
As such, the above list represents some of the best Live Streaming Software in the market. The listing is based on my personal experience with this software and hours of testing.
Hope you have liked this article on “Best Streaming Software“. If you have any questions regarding this topic, you can leave them in the comment section below. I will be happy to respond.
👉 Facebook: Facebook.com/Rebellink
👉 Twitter: Twitter.com/Rebellink
👉 Pinterest: Pinterest.com/Rebellink
👉 LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/Rebellink
👉 VK: Vk.com/Rebellink
👉 Telegram: T.me/RebelLink
👉 Instagram: Instagram.com/Rebellink
👉 Discord: Discord.gg/RebelLink
