Best Live Streaming Platforms for Creators in 2026

The live streaming market is full of opportunities. In fact, creator economy statistics show that Twitch users alone watch over 58 million hours of content daily. But to succeed, creators need a streaming partner that delivers a reliable, monetizable experience.

We’ve pulled together our picks of the best live streaming platforms for creators of all sizes. We’ll highlight platforms suited for beginners and established creators alike, helping you find the best fit for your streaming goals.

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Best live streaming platforms overview

We’ve curated the best live streaming sites for creators of every size so you can compare options quickly and choose a platform that fits your goals.

Platform	Best for
Uscreen	Video memberships
Wowza Streaming Engine	Developers building custom streaming solutions
Castr	Professional broadcasters, businesses, and organizations that need reliable multistreaming capabilities with advanced features
Riverside	Live streaming tool that can easily stream to other platforms
Restream	Multistreaming
Dacast	Live event streaming and pay-per-view access
Vimeo	Media companies and brands
JW Player	Media broadcasting with advertising
Brightcove	Corporate enterprises
Twitch	Beginners/free to use
YouTube Live	Creators, educators, and businesses aiming for broad visibility

Uscreen 

Best for: Video memberships

G2 rating: 4.7/5 stars

Uscreen is a video hosting and monetization platform that provides an intuitive solution for premium streaming services on any device, without breaking the bank. 

It provides uninterrupted, stable streaming to 9.2 million users for live and on-demand content along with flexible monetization options.

Creators with a dedicated following can use Uscreen to launch membership programs, while video-focused businesses benefit from advanced monetization tools and an excellent user experience.

One example is celebrity trainer Marnie Alton, who launched her fitness membership M/BODY with Uscreen in 2020. Having previously operated exclusively as a brick-and-mortar studio, Marnie looked for a way to maintain community and connection with her members online through live streaming.

With Uscreen, M/BODY now generates $40K per month in revenue, showing how live streaming and membership features can help creators grow their business while keeping their audience engaged.

From the feedback we get, people still prefer to watch the live class versus the polished produced video. People feel closer to us because they’re seeing real things happening in real time.

Marnie Alton | M/BODY 

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Founder of M/BODY

With Uscreen, you can build your own streaming service with fully branded mobile and TV apps, meeting your audience where they are and providing an engaging and high-quality user experience. 

Uscreen Pros 

• Stream directly to web and apps, including TV apps, so your subscribers can tune in on their preferred device.
• Control who can access your live streams by making them exclusive for paid subscribers, free for your entire audience, or offering a one-time access fee.
• Engage subscribers in real time with Uscreen’s live chat, so you can respond on your stream to strengthen your community.
• Create a video on demand (VOD) catalog from your live stream content, letting viewers catch up after the live event and build recurring monthly revenue.

Uscreen Cons 

• Relies on creators’ existing audience, providing limited built-in discovery for newcomers.
• No advertising options because monetization is entirely through direct audience revenue via subscription video on demand (SVOD) and transactional video on demand (TVOD).

Uscreen Migratability

Uscreen excels at migrating new users to the platform, with a dedicated migrations team that manages the entire migration process for you. You can expect your journey to look like this:

1. Hop on a call with our migration experts to review what’s needed to migrate your content and users.
2. Develop a tailored migration plan with our team where we’ll outline the migration timeline with you, the capabilities of the platform you’re migrating from, and a detailed action plan.
3. We’ll begin bulk migrating your content and users. Let us worry about the technical stuff so you can focus on your customer experience.
4. We guide you through a successful platform launch, ensuring your audience is informed and excited.

Check out our success stories from customers like Fittest Core, In The Lab, and Abundance+, who share why they chose to switch to Uscreen and how it was the best decision they made for their businesses.

It’s also easy to migrate from Uscreen if you decide it’s not for you. All of your information and content is accessible should you choose to move it off the platform. 

Reviews

What I like best about Uscreen is that they’re customer-focused, always updating and improving their product and service. Their customer support is great — they’re proactive, listen to clients, and the platform itself is easy to use with excellent features on both the front and back end. 
Honestly, there isn’t much I don’t like about Uscreen. The platform is solving key problems by providing the tools I need to convert my community into paying subscribers. The marketing tools are outstanding, and they genuinely listen to their clients’ needs.

Verified G2 User

Pricing

• Growth plan: $199 per month 
• App essentials plan: $499 per month 
• Build your own plan: Custom pricing

Seamless Streaming for Every Event – Learn More

Wowza Streaming Engine 

Best for: Developers building custom streaming solutions

G2 rating: 4.5/5 stars

Wowza Streaming Engine is a customizable streaming platform that gives users complete control over their infrastructure. This platform is great for creators looking to custom build their own live streaming service.

It offers live and on-demand video content, and is optimized for low latency and high-quality playback across multiple devices. 

Designed for scalability, Wowza delivers a high-performing, professional streaming experience. Its advanced features provide full control and customization, making it especially well-suited for businesses with complex streaming needs that want to grow.

Wowza Pros

• Customize and control your service to meet your exact technical requirements.
• Deliver high-quality, low-latency streams at scale using modern streaming protocols (SRT and low-latency HLS and DASH).
• Leverage developer tools like APIs, SDKs, and custom modules to bring your streaming vision to life.
• Reach a global audience across multiple streaming protocols, (HLS, RTMP, RTSP, and MPEG-DASH).
• Enhance security and user experience using adaptive bitrate streaming, digital rights management (DRM) protection, and live-to-VOD to ensure smooth, secure playback.

Wowza Cons 

• Steep learning curve for beginners who are new to live streaming or lack technical expertise
• High upfront effort to set up and manage your streaming service, especially if you need a developer to handle implementation
• Higher cost than many other streaming solutions, which can be challenging for individual creators or smaller businesses
• Variable pricing may be confusing compared to a fixed monthly fee

Wowza Migratability 

Migrating from Wowza Streaming Engine requires you to transfer everything to a new server. According to their help article, you’d need to contact the customer service team to request an R&D license key, then back up all your content and settings and restore on your new server.

It’s more of a commitment because you’ll need to build and maintain the new server, and have the same level of control and customization so you can match the workflow you originally set up with Wowza. 

If you want to switch to a less technical platform that requires less hands-on work to maintain, it’s best to speak with the team directly for advice on guidance on what to expect.

Migrating to Wowza requires backing up all your content and settings, then setting up a new server or cloud environment to restore everything. You’ll need to check that your streams, codecs, and DRM are compatible, and test playback to confirm performance and reliability.

It’s a hands-on process that involves building and maintaining the new environment while keeping the same level of control and customization you had with Wowza. If you’d prefer a simpler platform that’s easier to manage day-to-day, speak with the Wowza team or explore alternatives for guidance.

Reviews

I appreciate how Wowza lets me stream to multiple platforms automatically, simplifying my Bible study broadcasts and integrating seamlessly with my mobile app. Its affordability and platform compatibility make it a valuable tool. 
On the downside, Wowza isn’t very user-friendly, making setup and navigation challenging. Integration with tools like Zoom can be tricky, and customer support isn’t always seamless.

Verified G2 User

Pricing 

• One-Time Purchase: $295
• Basic Monthly: $195 per month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Castr

Best for: Professional broadcasters, businesses, and organizations that need reliable multistreaming capabilities with advanced features

G2 rating: 4.8/5 stars

Castr is a powerful video streaming platform designed to help creators and businesses reach audiences across multiple platforms through easy-to-use multistreaming tools.

It’s a feature-rich platform that offers customization while still being user-friendly and straightforward to set up, so you don’t need to be a tech pro to get started. 

With its multi-camera live streaming capabilities, Castr stands out as a flexible solution for anyone looking to stream to Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms simultaneously. Whether you’re a solo streamer or part of a larger organization, Castr helps simplify the streaming process without compromising quality.

Castr Pros 

• Stream to multiple platforms simultaneously with ease using the multistream feature.
• Manage all content in one place, including live streaming, recording, VOD, and cloud storage.
• Eliminate server headaches with a fully cloud-based platform.
• Stream across multiple protocols like RTMP, HLS, and RTSP for broader distribution.
• Simplify workflow with an intuitive dashboard to support beginners and experienced streamers alike.
• Monetize content with on-demand access to recorded streams.

Castr Cons

• Pay more for premium features such as higher bandwidth, increased storage, and adaptive bitrate
• Limited third-party integrations compared to other platforms
• No built-in marketing tools
• Steep learning curve because some features overwhelm new users
• Delayed support, which can disrupt live streaming events

Castr Migratability

To migrate to Castr, sign up for an account and connect the platforms you want to stream to. Set up your streams in the Castr dashboard, and you can start broadcasting immediately. Since your content stays on your original channels, there’s no need to transfer media or rebuild your audience.

Because Castr enables you to multistream to different channels, it’s fairly low commitment to stop using it. There’s very little to really migrate, because your content and followers remain on each channel. Canceling your Castr account from your billing settings is usually enough. 

Reviews

Castr makes multistreaming easy with a user-friendly interface, high-quality streams, and helpful scheduling, though pricing can be steep for smaller creators, analytics could be more detailed, and occasional syncing delays occur.

Verified G2 User

Pricing

• Starter: $12.50 per month
• Standard: $33.50 per month
• Professional: $62.50 per month
• Premium: $104.50 per month
• Ultra: $250 per month

Riverside

Best for: Live streaming tool that can easily stream to other platforms

G2 rating: 4.8/5 stars

If you’re after high-resolution recordings of your streams, easy branding, and a wide reach via repurposing, then Riverside may be the live streaming platform for you. 

Riverside is also a top choice for those looking to save time repurposing their streams or streaming to multiple platforms. Its AI video editor streamlines repurposing by turning webinars or live streams into polished social media content with just a few clicks. You can create clips instantly or use the editor to trim recordings and add captions, text, music, and other branding elements.

If you’re on a tight budget or need only basic live streaming tools, some advanced features may not be necessary. However, for creators seeking a professional-grade live streaming experience, this is a great choice.

Riverside Pros

• Multistream seamlessly to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, or any custom RTMP site.
• Engage your audience through Omnichat or invite viewers to call in live.
• Record in 4K locally without relying on your internet connection, ensuring high-quality streams.
• Repurpose content easily with automatic transcriptions, AI summaries, and quick clip creation for social media.
• Customize your live studio with branding, logos, lower thirds, and live sound effects.
• Stream in HD and beyond while capturing separate tracks for all guests and live call-ins.
• Use built-in tools like teleprompter, screen share, and presentation-mode recorder for polished tutorials or demos.

Riverside Cons

• Full features available only on higher-tier plans, limiting functionality on the free plan
• Lacks post-stream hosting, so videos aren’t available on-demand within the platform

Riverside Migratability 

To migrate to Riverside, create an account, then set up your recording sessions or projects in the dashboard. Connect your team members and configure any streaming or recording settings you need. Once everything is ready, you can start capturing content immediately.

To migrate from Riverside, download your content files from your dashboard and upload them to your new platform. You may also need to manually transfer descriptions, imagery, and your subscriber list.

How much manual effort is involved depends on the platform you’re moving to, and the level of migration support they provide.

Reviews

Ideal for productivity, Riverside offers an intuitive interface, AI-assisted professional-quality recordings, fast exports, and direct publishing, though it has limited advanced editing controls, occasional lags, and some features are restricted on lower-tier plans.

Verified G2 User

Pricing

• Free plan: Includes live streaming in 720p with basic branding
• Standard plan: $15 per month
• Pro plan: $24 per month

Restream

Best for: Multistreaming 

G2 rating: 4.3/5 stars

Restream is a live streaming platform focused on multistreaming, letting creators broadcast to multiple platforms from a single dashboard. Its browser-based studio and unified chat make it easy to manage multiple streams and engage audiences across platforms.

It also supports pre-recorded streams, allowing users to schedule content and maintain an active presence.

Restream helps users repurpose content by letting them extract audio and video files for social media, podcasts, or other multimedia projects. Its intuitive interface and seamless integrations reduce setup time, providing a professional multistreaming solution without technical complexity.

Restream Pros

• Multistream easily to multiple platforms from one dashboard.
• Engage viewers with unified chat across all channels.
• Record locally or in the cloud for high-quality backups.
• Schedule pre-recorded streams to keep channels active.
• Polish streams with Studio features like HD, guest invites, and custom graphics.

Restream Cons

• Free plan is limited to a small number of channels and includes Restream branding
• No built-in editing tools, so post-production requires external software
• Some advanced features require paid tiers
• Dependent on stable internet for consistent multistreaming

Restream Migratability 

To migrate to Restream, sign up for an account and connect the platforms you want to stream to. Set up your channels, events, and schedules in the dashboard, and configure any graphics or stream settings you need. Once everything is ready, you can start multistreaming immediately.

To migrate from Restream, download any stored stream recordings and set up your channels, events, and schedules on the new platform manually. Chat histories, graphics, and scheduling metadata won’t transfer automatically.

Reviews

Restream’s user-friendly interface makes recording and live streaming prerecorded content across LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook simple. Extracting audio and video for repurposing is easy, setup is hassle-free, and the $19/month plan provides excellent value for managing podcasts and video content efficiently.

Verified G2 User

Pricing

• Free plan: Multistream to two channels + watermark
• Standard plan: $19 per month
• Pro plan: $49 per month
• Business: $239 per month

Dacast

Best for: Live event streaming and pay-per-view access

G2 rating: 4.3/5 stars

Dacast is an excellent live streaming platform for professionals and businesses looking for a robust, scalable solution for events. It’s particularly effective for niche markets including sports, religious services, or educational content. Dacast offers features tailored to meet specific industry needs.

What’s great about Dacast is its seamless integration with your existing business tools like CRMs and marketing platforms, simplifying your workflows and boosting efficiency. During live broadcasts, you get real-time analytics, allowing you to tweak your content in real time to optimize viewer engagement.

Users can expect a powerful, enterprise-grade streaming solution with strong security, monetization options, and detailed analytics. However, beginners may find the platform a bit technical and better suited to business and professional use rather than casual streamers.

Dacast Pros

• Customize extensively with advanced API access for deep integration and specific functionalities.
• Ensure reliable global streaming using a multi-content delivery network (multi-CDN) strategy with Akamai, including access to China.
• Monetize flexibly through subscriptions, pay-per-view, and ads via the built-in paywall.
• Maintain consistent branding with white-labeling and full player customization.
• Monitor engagement instantly with real-time analytics on viewer behavior.
• Host webinars seamlessly with built-in Zoom integration for meetings and live events.

Dacast Cons

• Steep learning curve, likely overwhelming for new creators or less technical users.
• No ultra-low-latency streaming, limiting real-time interactive use cases like gaming or live auctions.
• Lacks DRM support, reducing security for high-value content.
• Bandwidth and storage limits on certain plans may incur extra costs or restrict high-volume streaming.

Dacast Migratability

To migrate to Dacast, sign up for an account and set up your channels or on-demand libraries in the dashboard. Upload your videos, configure your player settings, and connect any monetization or distribution options you need. Once everything is ready, you can start streaming or sharing content immediately.

To move from Dacast, you need to download all your video files and upload them to your new platform. You’ll also need to securely export your customer data. 

How simple and straightforward this step is depends on the platform you’re moving to and whether they offer migration services to support you at this stage.

The worst case scenario would be having to manually input your subscriber details from Dacast, but it’s still a relatively low commitment to migrate because you’re essentially just moving your data from one platform and uploading it to another.

Reviews

Dacast offers great tech support and reliable streaming, and the team genuinely cares about users. The main drawback is the lack of encoding, without automatic bitrate adjustments, streaming to different devices can affect quality and cause buffering issues.

Verified G2 User

Pricing

• Starter plan: $39 per month 
• Event: $63 per month 
• Scale: $165 per month 
• Custom: Contact sales for pricing requirements 

Vimeo

Best for: Media companies and brands

G2 rating: 4.3/5 stars

If you’re aiming for a professional-level live stream, Vimeo is a top choice. It’s designed for creators who prioritize high-quality streaming experiences for a global audience.

Vimeo offers full HD 1080p streaming that’s crisp and clear, and provides extensive customization of your streaming space with your brand’s logos and colors. The platform handles large events smoothly with features like multi-camera support, real-time captioning, and interactive overlays, to create more dynamic and accessible content.

Users can expect professional-grade streaming with excellent video quality, customizable features, and robust monetization tools. It’s an ideal choice for creators and businesses who want to deliver polished content and monetize it effectively. Creators with smaller budgets may need to find Vimeo alternatives.

Vimeo Pros

• Monetize flexibly with subscriptions, pay-per-view, and advertisements.
• Protect your content using DRM and private streaming options.
• Simulcast easily to multiple platforms at once to maximize reach.
• Access detailed analytics to understand viewer behavior and refine strategies.
• Host on-demand content and create custom over-the-top (OTT) apps for a full video workflow.
• Deliver professional-quality streaming in full HD with advanced production tools.
• Customize your player and use multistreaming options to enhance viewer experience.

Vimeo Cons

• High cost with live streaming since it requires advanced or enterprise plans
• Less flexible customization compared to other white-label platforms
• Basic analytics with fewer insights than some competitors
• Limited third-party integrations, lacking the advanced capabilities of all-in-one platforms

👀 See how Vimeo stacks up against Uscreen

Vimeo Migratability

To migrate to Vimeo, sign up for an account and organize your videos into projects or showcases. Vimeo’s platform allows you to customize privacy settings, embed options, and distribution preferences, giving you have full control exactly how your content is shared from the start.

Migrating from Vimeo is relatively straightforward. Because it’s a well-known brand, many platforms have migration processes or guides to support customers migrating from Vimeo. 

If not, it’s easy to download your videos from Vimeo and upload them to your new platform. To move your customer data, you can export it into a CSV file and import it into the platform you’re moving to.

Reviews

I love Vimeo for professional-quality streaming and portfolio hosting, with a lightweight, responsive player, easy branding customization, and a user-friendly interface. The main drawbacks are complex embed settings, restrictive subscription plans with annual billing, and limited access to advanced features at lower tiers.

Verified G2 User

Pricing

• Free 
• Starter: $20 per month 
• Standard: $41 per month 
• Advanced: $108 per month

JW Player

Best for: Media broadcasting with advertising

G2 rating: 3.4/5 stars

JW Player is a highly flexible and scalable video platform, best known as a reliable video player with wide compatibility for various video streaming formats. It also offers end-to-end streaming solutions, catering to businesses and publishers looking to integrate high-quality video into their services.

It’s best known for its lightweight, customizable video player, but it offers full video hosting, live streaming, and monetization features. The platform supports a variety of video formats and streaming protocols, including HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and adaptive bitrate streaming.

JW Player includes a robust suite of tools for monetizing content, including pre-roll ads, subscriptions, and pay-per-view. It’s designed to be highly customizable, making it an excellent choice for developers who need a video solution that integrates easily into existing systems.

For smaller creators who don’t want these expensive or complex features, JW Player alternatives may be a better fit.

JW Player Pros

• Stream 24/7 with professional-grade quality in HLS and DASH, up to 4K resolution.
• Offer on-demand content with flexible monetization options like AVOD, TVOD, and SSAI.
• Enjoy easy setup and management, ideal for teams handling multiple streams.
• Delivers a lightweight, robust video player capable of handling large audiences.
• Offers customization and developer-friendly features with strong API support.
• Access analytics tools to optimize your streaming strategy and viewer engagement.

JW Player Cons

• Pricing is not transparent and requires you to contact the company for a quote
• May be too complex or costly for smaller businesses and individual streamers
• Limited advanced features compared to competitors like Wowza or Brightcove
• Customer support issues, with poor or unhelpful responses reported by some users
• Support during live events only available for Plus and VIP plans
• Security and revenue concerns reported, including Player ID theft and difficulties generating revenue

JW Player Migratability

To migrate to JW Player, sign up for an account and upload your video content to their platform. JW Player allows you to configure your player, set up monetization options, and integrate with your website or apps for direct streaming, giving you flexibility in how your content is delivered.

Migrating from JW Player typically involves downloading your content and data and then manually uploading it to your new platform. 

Again, how easy this is will depend on the platform you’re moving to and how much support they offer during your onboarding process. At a minimum, you should be able to follow the self-help guides to export and then import your data manually.

Reviews

JW Player is stable, reliable, and scales well for large video needs, but its package-based pricing, inflated storage charges, limited customization, high cost, and sales-focused account management make it less transparent and less flexible than other platforms

Verified G2 User

Pricing

You’ll need to contact JW Player directly for pricing information.

Brightcove

Best for: Corporate enterprises

G2 rating: 4/5 stars

If you’re looking to boost your live video streaming, Brightcove is a solid choice with its high-quality, global broadcasting capabilities. Whether for big events or smaller gatherings, it delivers a smooth streaming experience across devices and various internet speeds.

Brightcove is a fantastic choice for large-scale content producers and enterprise organizations looking for a professional-grade streaming platform. It’s packed with solid monetization options, extensive customization tools, and powerful analytics, all designed to support high-level operations. 

If you’re a smaller creator or just kicking things off, Brightcove’s high costs and technical complexity could feel overwhelming. Exploring Brightcove alternatives can help you access similar features at a lower cost.

Brightcove Pros

• Monetize flexibly with ads, subscriptions, and pay-per-view options.
• Maintain brand consistency with customizable video players.
• Engage viewers interactively through polls, chats, and Q&A sessions.
• Integrate seamlessly with marketing tools and CRMs to streamline campaigns.
• Access detailed analytics to understand viewer behavior and optimize strategy.
• Deliver high-quality video with live streaming, on-demand delivery, and adaptive bitrate support.
• Secure your content with DRM, secure delivery, and customizable protection features.
• Support large-scale broadcasting with enterprise-grade tools and advanced monetization options.

Brightcove Cons

• High cost and technical complexity, making it less accessible for smaller creators or startups
• Limited live streaming capabilities, primarily single-stream and it lacks native multi-camera or multi-speaker setups
• Requires external tools for content production and dynamic engagement features
• No virtual reality (VR) support, which restricts creators exploring VR live streaming

Brightcove Migratability

To migrate to Brightcove, sign up for an account and work with their platform to set up your video libraries, player configurations, and any custom integrations you need. 

Brightcove is enterprise-focused, so you can often access dedicated support to help configure your account, integrate with your CMS or CRM, and ensure your workflows are optimized from the start.

If you’re migrating from Brightcove, you’re likely on a custom or enterprise-level plan with your new platform. This means you’re likely to have dedicated migration support available to handle that process.

If that’s not the case, you’d be looking at manually exporting all your data and then re-uploading it to your new platform. Depending on the level of customization you have set up, it might involve more work to recreate your setup during the onboarding stage in your new platform.

Reviews

Brightcove offers an intuitive interface, excellent streaming quality, automatic analytics, and top-tier Platinum support, making it ideal for businesses. The main drawback is that pricing can be steep for smaller organizations

Verified G2 User

Pricing

Brightcove only offers custom pricing, so you’ll need to talk directly to their team.

Twitch

Best for: Beginners/free to use

G2 rating: 4.4/5 stars

Twitch is best known as the world’s leading gaming platform, hosting over 240 million streamers each month. There are many other categories on the platform too, from music, arts and crafts, sports, events, and travel, so there’s something for everyone. 

Twitch provides a casual, community-focused streaming experience where viewers can connect with creators in real time. Its free-to-use model makes it ideal for growing creators who want to test Twitch monetization options and build an audience.

Twitch Pros

• Start streaming with low overhead since it’s a free-to-use platform.
• Reach a huge audience of 35 million daily users already seeking content.
• Easily set up with just a device and a stable internet connection, no technical expertise required.

Twitch Cons

• High competition with other creators, making it harder to capture attention and grow a following
• Limited and inconsistent monetization through affiliates, sponsorships, and donations
• No content ownership; creators rely on the platform and their followers remaining engaged
• Viewers can easily switch to other streams, impacting retention

Twitch Migratability

On Twitch you don’t have ownership over your audience, so if you want to move to another platform, you’d need to put in the effort to encourage your followers from Twitch to sign up for your new platform.

It is possible to save your streams as an on-demand file which you can use elsewhere, and moving your existing content from Twitch will be a manual effort since the platform doesn’t migrate content for you. Also, if you’re a Twitch affiliate you’d need to be mindful of the 24-hour exclusivity policy, meaning you need to wait 24 hours before you can share that content on another channel.

Overall it’s doable, but it does take effort.

Reviews

Twitch offers robust live streaming features and strong viewer engagement through live chat, making it ideal for gaming and niche communities. Its main drawbacks are user interface issues, including poor search and discoverability, which limit reach beyond the core audience.

Verified G2 User

Pricing

Twitch is free to use, so there’s no upfront cost with the platform. 

YouTube Live

Best for: Creators, educators, and businesses aiming for broad visibility

G2 rating: 4.4/5 stars

YouTube Live works like regular YouTube content but in real time. It’s one of the top live streaming platforms for beginners, allowing you to connect with your existing audience instantly and engage viewers without the extra effort of editing and uploading pre-recorded videos.

The experience is familiar to YouTube users, making it simple for your audience to tune in from a platform they already use. It’s ideal for creators looking to monetize live YouTube content while leveraging their existing subscriber base and channel infrastructure.

However, creators with larger audiences may find YouTube monetization alternatives more effective for generating revenue.

YouTube Live Pros

• Start streaming for free with no upfront costs.
• Set up easily and start streaming immediately with an existing YouTube channel.
• Reach a large audience on a familiar, widely used platform.
• Stream with minimal effort using a user-friendly interface that requires no technical expertise.
• Engage audiences across niches and build deeper connections with viewers.

YouTube Live Cons

• Monetization requires YouTube Partner Program participation
• Ad-based revenue can be inconsistent since your view counts must be high during the live stream
• Limited audience ownership and heavily reliant on YouTube’s platform and algorithms
• Challenging to grow solely through live streaming with potentially unstable revenue and engagement 

YouTube Live Migratability

To migrate from YouTube Live, you’ll need to do the work to encourage your followers to sign up for your new platform. 

Many creators use their YouTube channel as a marketing funnel for their paid services. It works well since your YouTube videos serve as an easy way for people to discover you and build up trust and familiarity with you before committing to purchasing. 

Click here to watch the video -> youtube.com/watch?v=Yp5pAKKMLpI

Reviews

YouTube Live makes it easy to stream to a massive global audience, with excellent video quality, smooth third-party integrations, real-time chat, and useful analytics. Drawbacks include a slightly complex dashboard for beginners and a short delay between live content and viewer playback.

Verified G2 User

Pricing

YouTube Live is free to use. You need to be a verified channel and meet the YouTube Partner Program requirements to be able to stream live on YouTube.

What to look for in a live streaming platform

Before exploring platforms, start by defining your live streaming goals. Are you looking to grow and engage a dedicated audience, broadcast events for your business, or quickly tap into a large social media following? Your priorities will guide every decision.

Next, assess your current audience stage. 

• Are you just starting out and looking for platforms that can help you reach new viewers? 
• Do you have an established following and want tools to deepen engagement? 
• Or are you a business looking for platforms that support monetization, customization, and long-term reliability?

Finally, think about growth. The platform you choose should not only meet your current needs but also scale with you. Consider what flexibility, features, and opportunities you’ll need as your audience and goals expand.

Live streaming is already a major part of the creator landscape. Uscreen data shows that total watch time of live streams per month in 2025 is expected to reach 642,600 hours, highlighting the huge potential for expanding reach and long-term audience growth.

Your goals and growth plans should be your north star, helping you focus on what’s most important now — and what will matter as you grow.

Key features for the best live streaming platforms

When picking from the top live streaming platforms, focus on the features that fit your current needs and can support your growth over time.

• Monetization: How are you going to make money with each live streaming platform? It could be subscriptions, pay-per-view, or sponsorships and donations. Make sure to check how they split the revenue with you, and how much control you have over your earnings.
• Customization and branding: Pick a live streaming platform that lets you customize your stream’s look and feel, and even embed it on your own website. Keeping your branding consistent helps you look professional.
• Audience engagement tools: Look for platforms that support interactive ways to engage, like lively chats, polls, Q&A sessions, and games. This builds your community and keeps your fans hooked and coming back for more.
• Integration and compatibility: Make sure the live streaming platform easily connects with your existing tech and social media. Smooth cross-posting and hassle-free streaming are a must.
• Analytics and performance tracking: Opt for platforms that let you deep-dive into analytics. Knowing who’s tuning in, from where, and what grabs them helps you tailor your content more effectively.
• Reliability and support: Check out the platform’s reliability and the customer support available. Good tech support can be a game-changer for smoothing out those inevitable live stream snags.

Scale your live streaming success with Uscreen

Choosing the right live streaming platform is important for creators looking to deliver high-quality, reliable streams while maximizing revenue. Technical issues and delays can frustrate viewers, slowing growth.

Uscreen stands out among the best live streaming platforms by offering a reliable and easy-to-use platform for creators of all sizes. With multiple monetization options and cloud-based streaming, Uscreen is the platform to develop a killer live streaming strategy that scales.

Live streaming platforms FAQ