Editor Sebastiaan Smits ·
Published November 4, 2026 · Updated November 4, 2026
People look past StreamYard when the paid ladder climbs steeply, when a plan is licensed for individual use only, or when they want a desktop encoder or a delivery service instead of a browser studio. Most move to Restream or OneStream Live for multistreaming, to OBS Studio or Meld Studio for a free encoder, and to Castr or BoxCast for hosting.
Short answer: The closest replacements for StreamYard in our live streaming software ranking are Restream, OneStream Live and OBS Studio. Choose Restream if you want the same browser-studio workflow with a different channel and add-on ladder. Everything below is drawn from the Best Live Streaming Software in 2026 shortlist and judged only against StreamYard, including when it is wiser to remain with StreamYard.
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StreamYard's pricing page lists Essential at $14.99 a month billed yearly with 2 multistream destinations, Core at $35.99 with 3, and Advanced at $68.99 with 8. The StreamYard logo comes off only from Core, so removing branding and reaching a third destination means paying more than double the entry plan.
Essential, Core and Advanced are marked for individual use only, with a Plan Usage Policy behind the label. Organizations are sent to a separate Business plan whose price is not shown. A small company or a church team should read that policy before it subscribes.
The footer of streamyard.com names Bending Spoons Operations S.p.A. of Milan, a company under the management and coordination of Bending Spoons S.p.A. Prices on the page also carry a note that they may vary with promotions, renewal terms and custom offers.
Listed from best to weakest fit for people moving off StreamYard. The rightmost column shows where we rank each one out of 12.
| # | Alternative | Headquarters | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Restream | United States | you want the same browser-studio workflow with a different channel and add-on ladder | #6 |
| 2 |  OneStream Live | Finland | you need many destinations and prefer buying extra ones in small add-on steps | #2 |
| 3 |  OBS Studio | United States | you will run the show from your own computer and want software with no subscription | #4 |
| 4 |  Meld Studio | United States | you want multistreaming and recording in a free app and pay only for overlay tools | #1 |
| 5 |  Castr | Canada | you send one feed from an encoder and want hosting, an embedded player and bandwidth limits stated | #3 |
| 6 |  Ecamm Live | United States | your team works on Macs and wants a local studio for a flat yearly price | #7 |
| 7 |  Switcher Studio | United States | you shoot with phones and tablets and may later sell tickets or subscriptions | #12 |
| 8 |  BoxCast | United States | you want a hosted player with stated storage periods and viewer-hour allowances | #11 |
| 9 |  vMix | Australia | you run multi-camera shows and would rather buy a license than rent a studio | #9 |
| 10 |  XSplit Broadcaster | Hong Kong | you want a desktop encoder with a one-time lifetime license option | #8 |
| 11 |  Wirecast | United States | you need broadcast-style production with per-source recording on a capable computer | #10 |
Also a browser studio with a free plan of 2 channels. Standard is listed at $19 for 3 channels and no Restream branding, Professional at $49 for 5 channels in Full HD, and Business at $239 for 8 channels. Clips and Webinars are separate add-ons priced on top.
Switch from StreamYard if you want the same browser-studio workflow with a different channel and add-on ladder.
Free plan covers 2 destinations at 720p with 1 seat and 1 GB of storage. Basic gives 5 destinations, Standard 10 at 1080p with 4 seats, Professional 30. Extra destinations are sold as add-ons, five more for $10 a month, so cost follows count rather than a jump of tier.
Switch from StreamYard if you need many destinations and prefer buying extra ones in small add-on steps.
Free and open source software that you install on Windows, Mac or Linux. The GitHub repository is licensed GPL-2.0. It has no account, no plans and no guest link: you compose scenes and audio yourself, and the encoding happens on your own machine rather than in a vendor cloud.
Switch from StreamYard if you will run the show from your own computer and want software with no subscription.
A free desktop studio that lists multistreaming to Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, Kick and X, 4K recording with multitrack audio and one-click clipping, with no card. Paid Meld Pro at $17 and Max at $50 a month apply to the Spark overlay builder, not to the streaming itself.
Switch from StreamYard if you want multistreaming and recording in a free app and pay only for overlay tools.
Cloud service that takes an encoder feed and redistributes it. Starter is $19.99 a month, Standard $49.99, Premium $199.99 and Ultra $349.99, each month to month with no long-term contract. Plans differ by destinations, bandwidth and storage, and Standard adds in-stream advertising.
Switch from StreamYard if you send one feed from an encoder and want hosting, an embedded player and bandwidth limits stated.
Mac-only app that requires macOS 11.2 or newer. Standard is $16 a month and Pro $32, both billed as one yearly payment of $192 or $384. The 14-day trial needs no credit card and adds a watermark. Pro adds 4K streaming and isolated audio and video recording.
Switch from StreamYard if your team works on Macs and wants a local studio for a flat yearly price.
Built around iOS devices, with apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Studio is $65 a month, or $45 on annual billing, and multistreams to two platforms. Suite is $99 a month and adds up to 20 platforms, a library of up to 100 videos, and ticket and subscription sales.
Switch from StreamYard if you shoot with phones and tablets and may later sell tickets or subscriptions.
Streaming plans run from Standard at $109 a month billed yearly ($119 monthly) to 4K at $449 ($499), with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Each includes at least 10,000 viewer hours a month. Standard stores 1080p broadcasts for 90 days, higher plans for one year.
Switch from StreamYard if you want a hosted player with stated storage periods and viewer-hour allowances.
Production software sold as a one-off license: Basic HD $60, HD $350, 4K $700 and Pro $1,200, each with 12 months of free updates, or MAX at $50 a month. The comparison table lists 1,000 inputs from HD up, and four inputs on Basic HD.
Switch from StreamYard if you run multi-camera shows and would rather buy a license than rent a studio.
Windows 10 or 11 desktop software. Free runs up to 720p without a watermark for personal use, with 4 scenes. Premium is $14.99 a month, $59.99 a year or $199.99 once, and adds commercial use, unlimited scenes and simultaneous broadcasting to several stream services.
Switch from StreamYard if you want a desktop encoder with a one-time lifetime license option.
Read the full XSplit Broadcaster review · Open vendor site →
Desktop production software for Mac and Windows from Telestream 2 LLC. Studio is $59 a month, or $34 a month billed yearly, with 2 remote guests. Pro is $79, or $42 yearly, and adds cloud multistreaming, 7 remote guests and ISO recording of each source.
Switch from StreamYard if you need broadcast-style production with per-source recording on a capable computer.
Stay with StreamYard if guests joining by link, a browser-only setup and a free plan with 1080p streaming suit your shows. Essential and Core cover one to three destinations, Advanced adds 8 and 4K local recordings, and a first charge can be refunded within 7 days, so a trial run costs little. Check the individual-use limit before a company signs up.
StreamYard's pricing page lists 2 hours a month of local recordings on Free, unlimited local recordings on Core and 50 hours of permanent storage. Download what you want to keep while the paid plan is active, because cancelling moves the account back to the free plan at the end of the billing cycle.
Logos, overlays, backgrounds, custom layouts and guest destinations are plan features inside StreamYard, so they do not travel as a file. Expect to recreate them in the new tool, reconnect each YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn destination, and rehearse with your usual guests before the first public show.
Yes, the pricing page says you can cancel anytime and keep the paid features until the end of the current billing cycle, after which the account returns to the free plan.
Yes, within 7 days: StreamYard has a 7-day money-back guarantee that applies only to the first charge. After 7 days the purchase is deemed complete and cannot be refunded.
The yearly-billed prices are $14.99 for Essential, $35.99 for Core and $68.99 for Advanced a month, against $18.99, $44.99 and $88.99 billed monthly. The page adds that prices may vary with promotions, renewal terms and custom offers.
Partly: the free plan keeps 2 hours a month of local recordings, while Core lists unlimited local recordings and 50 hours of permanent storage. Download your recordings before cancelling, since the paid storage tier ends with the plan.
The streamyard.com footer names Bending Spoons Operations S.p.A., Milan, under the management and coordination of Bending Spoons S.p.A. The company address is Via Nino Bonnet 10, 20154 Milan, Italy.
Not under the plan label: those three are for individual use only, per the pricing page. Companies and larger teams are pointed to StreamYard Business, for which the page shows no price.
Each number and claim about StreamYard and its competitors was taken from the vendors' own websites on November 4, 2026; expect them to drift as those sites are edited.
Sebastiaan Smits, Founder, wrote, edited and fact-checked this page.
Founder of The Interregnum and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page here; research and drafting are AI-assisted. Last reviewed November 4, 2026.
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