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Best streaming software in 2022

March 10th, 2022 Marta Chernova

Looking to understand the differences between various streaming software options? Trying to figure out which software will work best for you? Want to know what the most popular streaming software options are in 2022? We've got you covered. Read on.

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What to consider when choosing streaming software

With so many options available, making a decision can experience intimidating. Before we dive besides deep into the software options, hither are the key considerations to go along in listen when picking streaming software.

Feature ready

First, determine which features you absolutely demand and which you tin can practise without. And then, check to see whether your software of pick answers these requirements. Key questions include:

• What are your minimum and maximum resolution and frame rate requirements?
• Volition you be streaming to multiple destinations at once (i.e., multistreaming)?
• Are you planning to add on-screen guests to your live stream?
• How "professional person" do you desire your product to look and feel? Will simply including your brand colors and a logo in the corner suffice, or practise you need animated graphics and fancy transitions?

Budget

If you are willing to invest in streaming software, be certain to consider the post-obit questions to avoid overspending:

• What is your monthly or annual upkeep for alive streaming?
• Are you planning to go live oftentimes, or just demand something for a one-off stream? (If it's the latter, a monthly billed plan rather than an annually billed one is likely the better way to go.)

Go through each premium tier offering and pick the 1 with the features you'll actually employ. Don't feel pressured to purchase the top tier; yous tin always upgrade after if necessary.

Client support

How comfortable are you troubleshooting issues on your own versus relying on tech back up? If having access to support is essential to you, consider the company'southward reputation when it comes to helping customers. Keep in mind that open-source software like OBS doesn't offer centralized support at all.

Your tech production expertise

How knowledgeable are you lot (or whoever will be the operator) about streaming? For example, beginners should try more intuitive streaming tools similar Lightstream or Restream, while broadcasters with more than experience should be because more than advanced tools similar Wirecast or vMix.

What is the best streaming software in 2022?

We looked at the diverse options available, examining the popularity, software stability, price points, and feature sets of each streaming software. Based on that enquiry, here is the best streaming software in 2022:

• OBS
• Streamlabs
• XSplit Broadcaster
• Lightstream
• Restream
• Streamyard
• Wirecast
• vMix

Looking for streaming software alternatives?

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Encounter for yourself

OBS Studio

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) Studio is an open-source streaming application congenital and maintained by a community of enthusiasts. Despite its too-goodhoped-for-true price tag (non-existent), this costless-to-utilize software is packed with powerful features for streaming and recording video, making it ane of the most popular streaming apps in the earth and an industry standard. It's available equally a desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Creating and switching betwixt different layouts in OBS is straightforward. You can capture sources from awarding windows, webcams, and capture cards, and enhance your image by adding custom graphics and chroma keying. OBS supports streaming to many popular live streaming platforms (e.thousand., YouTube, Facebook, Twitch) or a custom RTMP(S) destination.

The open up-source nature of OBS means there'south no centralized customer support. Withal, at that place are plenty of tutorials, videos, and support forums out there. Additionally, many plugins are bachelor to enhance the basic functionality of OBS, including by adding live comment aggregation and NDI support.

Pricing: OBS is free to use.

Bottom line: OBS is a cost-conscious streaming solution for bones RTMP streaming with plenty of room for customization.

Pros

• Gratis to use
• Os agnostic (works on Windows, macOS, and Linux)
• Highly customizable via plugins
• Community supported

Cons

• No centralized support
• Learning curve can exist steep, peculiarly for beginners
• Professional person features require plugins
• No multistreaming or multi-bitrate encoding

How to live stream: A beginner'southward survival guide

Read more

Streamlabs

Streamlabs is a streaming software that borrowed heavily from OBS. It offers a host of social streaming features, making it extremely popular with professional person live streamers and amongst the gaming community.

The app is gratuitous to start, just it'southward the premium features that make Streamlabs worthwhile. The free version includes bones layouts, live switching, donation and merchandise store setup, single-destination streaming and recording with up to one gigabyte of file storage. The premium tier (chosen Prime) offers multistreaming, custom RTMP streaming destinations, access to the mobile app, extra file storage, and full access to stream customization elements like themes and overlays.

Platform and device-agnostic, the software offering includes a desktop version, a mobile version, and a web-based live streaming studio called MelonApp. Each version is equally intuitive and easy to use, with a straightforward layout setup and quick integration with popular streaming platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.

What sets Streamlabs apart from other streaming software is how information technology helps and motivates users to abound their audiences. The app offers tips and tutorials on how to grow your channel, encouraging users to stream more than past gamifying the process. For example, performing more actions within the app grantspoints, which users can so exchange for goods.

Price: Gratis to download, merely users have to upgrade to the Prime number version to access the full features. Currently, the price is $149 for a yearly subscription or $19 per month.

Bottom line: Streamlabs is a slap-up solution for gamers and social streamers who don't desire to spend too much time learning live product just still create a cute and impactful stream. Streamlabs offers plenty of tools to assist heave audition reach and date, sell trade, and manage acquirement, making it the top choice for career streamers.

Pros

• Free to start
• User-friendly UI is like shooting fish in a barrel for beginners
• Plenty of features for gamers and streamers
• Low CPU usage on the Desktop version
• Mobile and browser-based versions available
• Compatible with whatever Bone

Cons

• Limited professional streaming capabilities (e.g., PTZ camera control, IP cameras and spider web stream input, virtual sets, advanced audio mixing)
• Many features are still in beta fashion
• No advanced outputs like NDI, SRT, or SDI
• No easy way to add remote guests

XSplit Broadcaster

XSplit Broadcaster is professional person streaming and recording software that'due south widely used for game and social streaming. It's designed to piece of work exclusively on Windows operating systems.

Features include custom RTMP streaming, multistreaming, chroma keying, media file playback, custom transitions, and easy layout creation. The app's layout wizard makes it possible to create professional person-looking scenes in seconds. Some other notable characteristic, called "Connect: Webcam," lets you lot use your mobile phone every bit a wireless webcam input in your stream.

The software offers a lot of customization add-ons through its store, where you can also download extra features like a digital "white lath" that lets users draw on screen, a professional person audio mixer UI, an instant replay feature, and many more than. Yous tin can likewise add your ain macros and custom scripts to automate key actions.

Pricing: XSplit Broadcaster offers a free as well as a paid Premium plan, which starts at $xv per calendar month for a subscription or $200 for a lifetime license. The free plan is serviceable for basic streaming with up to four scenes. The Premium program offers additional features like unlimited scenes, watermark removal, streaming and recording in 4K60, direct video input from Skype for adding guests, multistreaming, and premium 24/seven support.

Bottom line: XSplit Broadcaster is an easy-to-use, highly customizable streaming software for Windows users. This is a good streaming software option for those looking for 24/7 technical support and features like multistreaming.

Pros

• Like shooting fish in a barrel to use
• Highly customizable
• Stable software
• Users report great tech support

Cons

• Windows only
• Watermarks on the gratuitous version for streams over 720p30
• Some users written report high CPU usage

Lightstream

Lightstream Studio is a cloud-based streaming solution. This means you lot don't demand a powerful computer to stream – just a browser and an Internet connectedness. There's no software to download, either.

Once you lot get the browser-based Lightstream Studio running, yous can create unlimited projects, scenes, and layouts, adding text, images, webcams, and video clips as sources. Go live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, or to a custom RTMP destination. Additionally, third-party integrations are available for calculation motion graphics, in-stream alerts, and annotate assemblage.

Lightstream Studio supports guest hosting: you can invite up to seven participants to your live stream, adapt them whatsoever way you want on screen, motility them betwixt the live stream and a green room, and let them to share their screen.

You can as well control your stream remotely via the Lightstream mobile app, enabling you to offset and stop streaming or switch between scenes.

Pricing: Lightstream offers "Gamer" and "Creator" plans. Every bit the names propose, the Gamer plan is well suited for streaming Xbox, PlayStation, and mobile games, while the Creator plan offers more production command with layouts, mixing, and switching. The price tag will depend on your required streaming resolution, starting at $7 per month for 720p30 streaming with the Gamer plan and up to $xl per month for 1080p30 streaming with the Creator plan. Complimentary seven-twenty-four hour period trials with access to all features are available.

Bottom line: Lightstream is an excellent on-the-become option for streaming games, talk shows and podcasts, virtual events, and musical performances.

Pros

• No software download necessary
• Like shooting fish in a barrel to use and quick to gear up
• Light on the CPU
• Bone agnostic

Cons

• 1080p30 maximum streaming resolution (no 4K streaming)
• No advanced output features like NDI, SRT, or SDI
• Many professional production features are missing (due east.thou., PTZ camera command, IP cameras and web stream input, playlists, chroma keying, advanced audio mixing, ISO recording)

Restream

Restream is a browser-based streaming tool, which means there's no software to download or install.

The app's principal feature offer is multistreaming. Restream allows you to simultaneously circulate live to over 30 social platforms, including YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn, and Facebook. "Business" tiers permit you lot to bring in an RTMP source (from streaming software or hardware) for farther distribution.

Streaming features include layout presets, logo and make customization options, video clip playback, custom backgrounds, pre-recorded video scheduling and streaming, comprehensive analytics, and stream health monitoring. The chat overlay tool offers easy cantankerous-platform comment aggregation, letting you read and reply to messages from multiple streaming platforms on one screen.

You lot can invite up to 10 remote participants to join your stream, and allow them to share their screens.

Pricing: Pricing ranges from $0 for the basic programme (featuring the Restream watermark) to $16 per month for the Standard plan, $41 per month for Professional, $83 for Premium, and $249 for the Business plan. See the Restream pricing table to compare features and decide which 1 is right for y'all.

Bottom line: Restream is a good option for those only getting started with streaming. The intuitive user interface will guide you through setting upwardly your first stream and getting it to the right platform(s), and yous tin can get a lot done fifty-fifty with the free version. For more professional productions, Restream can be an effective tool for multistreaming to many platforms simultaneously.

Pros

• Friendly user interface, like shooting fish in a barrel for anyone to become started with streaming
• Add together upwards to ten remote guests
• Low-cal on the CPU
• OS agnostic

Cons

• Express to 1080p30 streaming (no 4K streaming)
• No avant-garde output features similar NDI, SRT, or SDI
• Limited professional features (eastward.g., no PTZ camera control, virtual sets, blush keying, advanced audio mixing, color correction, custom motility graphics, instant replays)

StreamYard

StreamYard is another browser based-tool designed for social broadcasting. It offers an like shooting fish in a barrel way to stream and record video correct through your spider web browser. Logging in, connecting your social media accounts for streaming, and setting upward your first stream is a fast and straightforward process.

Yous can easily invite up to x on-screen guests through the browser-based app and have them share their screens. Multistream to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, or a custom RTMP (upwardly to three simultaneous destinations on the Basic plan and eight destinations on the Professional person program).

To create a more polished expect for your stream, StreamYard allows you to add custom branding and logos, banners, backgrounds, and overlays. You can reply to social comments across all platforms in one chat window and display comments in your stream.

Pricing: Y'all can always commencement by trying out the free version, which comes with some streaming limits and a StreamYard watermark on your videos. The two paid plans are Basic at $25 per month ($20 if billed annually) and Professional person at $49 per calendar month ($39 if billed annually).

Lesser line: Consider StreamYard for easy interview streaming and recording, panel discussions, and quick bear witness-and-tell demos with a talking head and screen share. Keep in mind that this may not be the all-time tool for professional, polished productions.

Pros

• Straightforward setup, like shooting fish in a barrel to beginning streaming
• Easy fashion to add guests
• Bone doubter
• 24/7 support

Cons

• Limited to 1080p30 maximum streaming resolution
• Very few professional streaming features (due east.g., no way to add custom transitions, virtual sets, blush keying, PTZ camera control, advanced output like NDI or SRT, instant replay, custom motion graphics)
• Limited layout customization options (express to templates)

Wirecast

Telestream's Wirecast is a powerful live production tool packed with advanced features to create polished, professional person live broadcasts.

Wirecast is uniform with both macOS and Windows and comes in 2 versions: Studio and Pro.

Both versions include unlimited inputs, 4K encoding resolution, advanced audio mixing, individual input monitoring, unlimited RTMP output destinations (i.due east., multistreaming), and multiple simultaneous recordings. Additionally, users tin can do good from social assemblage tools and access to the blithe lower-thirds title library and an integrated stock media library.

The Pro version is geared toward advanced remote production, featuring remote PTZ camera command, sports product tools (due east.k., instant replay, live scoreboards), virtual sets and backgrounds, SDI, HDMI, and NDI output, and ISO recordings of individual sources. Additionally, you can connect up to vii remote guests via Wirecast Rendezvous conferencing with the Pro version.

Pricing: Right now, you can get Wirecast Studio for $599 and Wirecast Pro for $799. Yous can also take reward of the unlimited gratuitous trial. Nevertheless, be prepared to see (and hear) a Wirecast watermark over your videos.

Lesser line: Wirecast is the top choice for live streaming at the most professional level.

Pros

• A professional live production tool, packed with avant-garde features
• Great support
• New features/updates constantly coming out

Cons

• A considerable upfront investment
• Resources intensive (consider using a powerful dedicated motorcar)
• UI will probable be intimidating to beginner streamers

vMix

vMix is a characteristic-rich live streaming and production software designed for professional person utilise. vMix supports a wide range of inputs such as cameras, web browsers, video files (with an extensive list of supported formats), SRT and NDI inputs, and more. Other production features include Hard disk virtual sets, premade and custom animated titling and overlays, built-in pro sound mixer, PTZ camera control, alive video effects, multistreaming, and multi-bitrate encoding. In addition to streaming and recording, y'all tin also output your production or ISO sources equally SDI, NDI, or SRT.

vMix offers a remote contribution tool called vMix Call that can be particularly useful for hybrid and virtual issue production. Use it to bring upwards to 8 live participants into your production via a browser link. Another useful characteristic is "Instant Replay," which lets you lot create on-the-wing replays and highlight reels that are perfect for sports broadcasts. Both of these are included with the more advanced license editions.

While vMix is Windows-merely software, there's a workaround for installing vMix on macOS.

Pricing: 1 of the benefits of vMix is its flexible pricing model. Based on your product requirements, choose from four tiers of lifetime licensing ranging from $sixty to $1,200, paying only for what you need. Alternatively, you tin can opt for the $50 per month subscription license for the Max version instead of paying the 1-time fee. There is a complimentary 60-day trial available, offer full functionality and no watermarks.

Lesser line: vMix can exist a solid live production solution for any production level, from a church building product to a professional person live broadcast. A great option for hybrid and virtual productions that involve remote contributors.

Pros

• Exhaustive live product features
• Flexible pricing model
• Remote contribution support via vMix Call
• Good customer back up
• Professional Hard disk drive product on a modest computer

Cons

• Windows merely (with a workaround for Mac)
• Full functionality licenses are a considerable investment
• UI may feel intimidating for those starting out

How to become the most out of your streaming software

Without proper technical preparation, even the all-time streaming software will only get y'all so far. Here are a few other technical considerations to keep in mind.

Network bandwidth

Always recall to test your network's upload bandwidth. No matter how slap-up your streaming software is, your stream will be destined to fail if your Cyberspace connection isn't upward to par. A good dominion of pollex is that your optimal bandwidth for streaming should be at least 1.5 times greater than the streaming bitrate.

Connecting video sources

To connect your photographic camera or any other video source to your streaming reckoner, you lot will likely demand a capture card. For piece of cake and reliable SDI and HDMI video capture, cheque out our line of AV.io capture cards.

Streaming software organisation requirements

Consider each streaming software's minimum system requirements. Each streaming app should have a list of these available on their website. Additionally, remember about whether your streaming automobile will exist sharing CPU resources with other processes (e.thou., backchannel chat messenger, browser, email). These other apps will exist drawing processing power abroad from encoding, which is a resource-intensive procedure on its own. To lower the take a chance of stream failure, consider setting up a machine defended solely to live streaming.

For added reliability, consider using dedicated streaming hardware for your productions. Hardware encoders similar Pearl Nano, Pearl Mini, and Pearl-two are purpose-congenital for live video streaming and recording. They are rigorously tested to ensure they deliver reliable streaming 24 hours a day, seven days a calendar week.

This commodity was originally published on February 8th, 2019. Information technology'due south been updated to reflect the current country of best streaming software.

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Source: https://www.epiphan.com/blog/best-streaming-software/

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