This is one of the few creator categories where the best tool is free and permanently so. OBS Studio is open source at $0 with no watermark, no resolution cap and no account. Streamlabs Desktop is also free, though multistreaming sits behind Ultra at $27/mo. The browser options are stingier: StreamYard's free plan watermarks everything and allows 6 hours of recording a month, and Restream's free tier is 720p to five channels with a watermark. If you want to narrow the field further, run a side-by-side comparison between your top picks or browse the full creator software directory for options outside this category. Every listing is scored using the same review methodology.
Editorial policy: How we review software · How rankings work · Sponsored disclosure
10 tools with free access highlighted below, plus 1 more in this category.
Published price means the vendor states a figure; quote only means it does not. The best-fit line is each tool’s own authored sentence, not a description of its deployment model.
| Tool | Published price | Pricing model | Deployment | Free trial | Best for | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 RiversideSponsored | $0 (watermarked, limited recording) | Free plan + paid tiers | Cloud | Yes | Remote interviews recorded for editing | Read review |
 Be.Live | $0 (three streams a month, watermarked) | Free plan + paid tiers | Cloud | Yes | Interaction-led shows on a small budget | Read review |
 Ecamm Live | $20/mo | Flat monthly fee | Desktop | Yes | Weekly Mac shows that need scene control | Read review |
 Evmux | $0 (watermarked output) | Free plan + paid tiers | Cloud | Yes | Multistreaming creators who want clips included | Read review |
 Melon | $0 (one guest, watermark, four hours) | Freemium | Cloud | Yes | Cheap guest streaming where polish is optional | Read review |
 OBS Studio | $0, free and open source | Open source | Desktop | Yes | Solo streamers who want control and will learn it | Read review |
 Restream | $0 (watermark, 720p, five channels) | Free plan + paid tiers | Cloud | Yes | Creators publishing one show to many platforms | Read review |
 StreamElements | $0, every feature included | Free (monetized through tip processing and merch margin) | Cloud | Yes | Streamers who want the overlay layer without a subscription | Read review |
 Streamlabs | $0 (Streamlabs Desktop, one destination) | Freemium | Desktop / Cloud | Yes | Streamers using three or more Streamlabs products | Read review |
 StreamYard | $0 (permanent, watermarked) | Free plan + paid tiers | Cloud | Yes | Browser-based multi-guest live shows | Read review |
 vMix | $60 one-time | One-time purchase | Desktop | No | Multi-camera live production on a capable Windows PC | Read review |
Showing 11 of 11
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
Riverside is a cloud-based podcast and video recording platform that captures audio and video locally on each participant's device, delivering up to 4K video and uncompressed 48kHz WAV audio regardless of internet quality. Guests join via a browser link with no downloads required. Plans start at $19/month with a limited free tier.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
Be.Live is a browser-based live streaming studio focused on audience engagement, offering <a href="/glossary/multistreaming">multistreaming</a> to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Amazon Live with built-in AI comment tools, on-screen graphics, and guest support for up to 8 participants. Plans range from free (3 streams/month) to $45.83/month for the Growth tier.
Flat monthly fee · Desktop · Free trial
Ecamm Live is a Mac-only live streaming and video production app that lets you broadcast to multiple platforms with professional overlays, multi-camera support, and guest interviews -- all from a native macOS interface. No browser tabs, no plugins. Plans start at $20/month with a 14-day free trial.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
Evmux is a browser-based live streaming and recording studio. It streams in full 1080p HD to several destinations at once, builds scenes with AI, and records sessions in the cloud with automatic transcription and short-clip generation.
Freemium · Cloud · Free trial
Melon (now <a href="/software/streamlabs">[Streamlabs](/software/streamlabs)</a> Talk Studio) is a browser-based live streaming studio that lets you broadcast to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, and custom <a href="/glossary/rtmp">RTMP</a> destinations with guest support, screen sharing, and basic branding. The free plan includes 1 guest with a watermark; paid plans start at $4/month for Standard and $12/month for Pro with up to 6 guests.
Open source · Desktop · Free trial
OBS Studio is a free, open-source application for live streaming and video recording available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It lets you capture your screen, webcam, game footage, and audio from multiple sources, mix them into custom scenes, and broadcast to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, or any platform that accepts <a href="/glossary/rtmp">RTMP</a>. There are no paid tiers. Every feature is free.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
Restream is a browser-based live streaming platform that lets you broadcast simultaneously to 30+ platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok. It combines <a href="/glossary/multistreaming">multistreaming</a>, a built-in production studio, cross-platform chat aggregation, and stream analytics in one dashboard. Plans start at $16/month with a limited free tier.
Free (monetized through tip processing and merch margin) · Cloud · Free trial
StreamElements is a free stream management platform for Twitch, YouTube Live and Facebook Live. Overlays, alert boxes, the SE.Live chat bot with commands, timers and moderation, loyalty point systems, a tipping page and a merch store are all included at no cost, with no paid tier to upsell you to. SEStudio is its browser-based streaming software. An OBS alternative that runs in Chrome, so you can go live from a Chromebook or a locked-down work machine without installing anything. Revenue comes from a processing cut on tips and a margin on merch orders rather than subscriptions, which is the main thing to weigh: the tools cost nothing, but a slice of every donation does. Overlay customisation is also shallower than <a href="/software/streamlabs">[Streamlabs](/software/streamlabs)</a>, the mobile app is limited, and native <a href="/glossary/multistreaming">multistreaming</a> is not part of the free offering.
Freemium · Desktop / Cloud · Free trial
Streamlabs is a live streaming platform built around a free OBS-based desktop app, a browser-based studio (Talk Studio), and cloud <a href="/glossary/multistreaming">multistreaming</a>. It combines overlays, alerts, widgets, and a tipping system into one ecosystem. Streamlabs Desktop is free; the Ultra plan at $27/month unlocks multistreaming and premium tools across the entire suite.
Free plan + paid tiers · Cloud · Free trial
StreamYard is a browser-based live streaming studio that lets you go live to multiple platforms, bring on guests with a link, and add branded overlays -- all without downloading software. It supports YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, X, and custom <a href="/glossary/rtmp">RTMP</a> destinations. Plans start at $44.99/month with a free tier available.
One-time purchase · Desktop
vMix is a professional Windows-based live production and streaming application that supports multi-camera switching, NDI networking, instant replay, virtual sets, and 4K/8K output. It uses a one-time licensing model starting at $60 for Basic HD, with a $50/month subscription option for full Pro features. A 60-day fully functional free trial is available.
OBS Studio and Streamlabs Desktop, both free downloads that output a clean feed. StreamYard and Restream both brand their free streams, and on Restream you also drop to 720p until you reach the $19/mo Standard plan.
Yes. It is open source and there is no paid tier to upgrade to. The cost is setup time: you configure scenes, sources, audio routing and your own bitrate rather than picking from a menu.
OBS records locally for as long as your drive holds out. StreamYard's free plan limits you to 6 hours of recording a month, and Restream's free tier excludes stream recording entirely.
New reviews, repriced plans and fresh comparisons in live streaming software, as we publish them.
Read our buyer guides for deeper editorial takes, check the glossary when a term needs clarifying, or explore pricing calculators to model costs before committing.
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