Live streaming is a broadcasting practice that is becoming more popular among individuals and professionals alike. It is great to connect with the audience on a deeper level regardless of geographical barriers. While numerous social media platforms allow you to broadcast live effortlessly, you need powerful live streaming software to cater to your professional requirements. As you have landed upon this blog, the chances are you are looking for the best live streaming solution that comes with essential features you need, can grow and scale with your needs, and won’t break your budget.
Finding the right software solution is important if you want to create a live streaming website. There are countless live streaming software options available in the market for both content creators and business owners. However, finding the right solution that works best for you requires in-depth scanning. To make it easier for you, we are breaking down the top 5 live streaming software to power your live videos.
1. Stream Now
StreamNow from Streamhash is one of the best live streaming software solutions you can get to create a full-fledged live streaming site. It can help you launch a personalized and scalable live streaming site to run your streaming business. StreamNow is a fully responsive ultimate solution that comes with great features and functionalities. You get both basic, advanced, and unique features, including social logins, seamless live broadcasting, real-time messaging system, secure payment integrations, admin panel, notifications, native apps, and a lot more.
With valid expertise in the streaming industry, StreamNow boasts a reputed clientele. The software is well equipped to build professional-styled live streaming platforms in different industries like fitness, online learning, entertainment, astrology, and more. StreamHash also provides excellent tech support during the initial consultation and even after the software is delivered to you. Coming with a one-time cost, Stream now offers two pricing plans- Deluxe, which is priced at $499, and premium-priced at $999.
2. Open broadcaster software (OBS)
OBS is an open-sourced two-in-one solution that features integrated screen recording and video editing. The solution allows you to create seamless broadcasts by incorporating different footages, adding images and video, capturing your screen, and more.
Being open-source, new features and plugins are constantly added to software and are customizable to a greater degree. It has advanced features that other paid software solutions provide. However, it lacks features like multi-streaming, virtual sets, guest-hosting, etc. It also lacks customer support services to help you in case of any doubts or clarifications. But there are plenty of guides available on the web in case you need any references.
3. Wirecast
Wire cast is another popular professional live streaming software packed with plenty of features. It comes with guest-hosting features, animated titles and graphics, unlimited encoding of video sources, streaming to multiple platforms, etc., but all for a hefty price tag.
While it has a greatly designed user interface, it features a complex design and might seem difficult at the very first use. If you are looking for streaming high-quality videos for sports, seminars, social events, radio, TV, news, and religious service, Wirecast can be a go-to option. The basic version of the software costs $599, and the pro version is priced at $799.
4. Streamlabs OBS
Streamlabs OBS is another free live streaming software suitable for creators of both beginner and professional levels to broadcast live and grow their audience. It features easy and fast onboarding and a couple of inbuilt tools like overlays, widgets, pro themes, and features to monetize your streams. It also allows users to live stream to multiple platforms at the same time, which is a great way to grow your audience base as a new live streamer.
One of the main features is its exceptional ease of use due to its user-friendly interface and powerful dashboard. If you like to create a minimalist user experience for yourself, the software has a layout editor to set things in a customized way. Streamlabs also offer excellent customer service and real-time troubleshooting. The solution primarily focuses on serving both individuals and games who want to monetize their live streams.
5. XSplit
XSplit is a simple yet powerful live streaming software that supports limitless live videos and recordings and is the right choice for creating rich video content. The software comes in 2 solutions- XSplit Broadcaster and XSplit Gamecaster. Both of these solutions allow you to broadcast live. XSplit also comes in a free version that has fewer features, but you can still use it if you are a beginner. Limitations in the free version include a watermark on live streams. The paid version, which is priced at $4 a month, doesn’t have a watermark and supports multi-streaming as well. The software solution also offers tech support with occasional updates.
Things to consider when choosing a live streaming solution
If you are leveraging live streaming for business communications, choosing a live streaming software that will keep your content secure is important. Some of the essential features to look for in a streaming solution are customization features, security. Businesses that want to brand their content must need the ability to white label players, so you must choose accordingly.
Below are some of the things you must consider when choosing a live streaming solution to stream your videos.
- How can you viewers access your live streams successfully?
- How can your team manage streams, the permissions they have
- How can you integrate your branding in your live videos?
- Are you getting the value of the money you spend on the software?
Conclusion
Live streaming is becoming more popular with each year passing by; it is worth investing in live streaming software to power your live videos. As with choosing any software solution, the right choice depends on your project, operating system, features you need, your budget, etc.
When you are creating a live streaming strategy for your business, think about the content you would be streaming the most, which integrations you need the most, etc. If you have deeper requirements than just broadcasting live, you need a white-label solution to create a professional live streaming space to grow your business.