Melon review: $4 a month, and what the price costs you
Melon, now sold as Streamlabs Talk Studio, is the cheapest browser studio that still brings guests on screen. Our check of streamlabs.com on 15 June 2026 recorded a free plan, Standard at $4 a month and Pro at $12. That check is four months old, and the name has already changed once.
The short answer
Buy Melon Buy Melon Pro if you want guests on screen for the least money and can accept basic layouts. Pro was $12 a month and Standard was $4 a month when we checked streamlabs.com/talk-studio/plans on 15 June 2026, with the free plan limited to one guest, a watermark and a four-hour stream. Those figures are four months old.
Skip it if your output has to look produced. StreamYard was $44.99 a month on Core when we checked it on 1 October 2026 and earns the gap on layouts and branding, and OBS Studio is $0 on our 6 October 2026 check if you would rather spend time than money.
Where Melon fits
Melon fits the creator who wants to be live with a guest in ten minutes and does not want to think about it again. It runs in the browser, the guest clicks a link, and the stream goes out to the usual platforms. The appeal is entirely the price, and at this price the appeal is real.
The naming needs stating before the plans do, because it affects what you are buying. Melon is now Streamlabs Talk Studio, so the product, the billing page and the support articles may all use a different name from the one you searched for. Our check was recorded from streamlabs.com/talk-studio/plans on 15 June 2026.
The free plan is usable for testing and not much else. That check recorded one guest, a watermark and a four-hour stream limit, which is enough to run a trial broadcast and too little for a show with two guests on it.
Standard at $4 a month was the cheapest paid tier on our check, which is $48 across a year, and it removes some of the free plan's limits rather than all of them. Pro at $12 a month, which is $144 across a year, is the tier our snapshot associates with up to six guests and unlimited streaming, and it is the one a real show needs.
The Streamlabs Ultra bundle is the other way in and it is worth the arithmetic. Our 15 June 2026 check recorded Ultra at $27 a month, quoted as $189 a year, including Talk Studio Pro along with the rest of the Streamlabs premium products. Twelve months of Ultra at the monthly rate is $324, so the annual quote saves $135, and against Talk Studio Pro alone at $144 a year the bundle costs $45 more for everything else in it.
Against the alternatives Melon is the floor of this category on price. Be.Live was $15.83 a month on Starter, verified 14 June 2026. Restream was $19 a month on Standard, verified 1 October 2026. Evmux was $25 a month on Basic, verified 6 October 2026. StreamYard was $44.99 a month on Core, verified 1 October 2026, which is more than eleven times the Standard rate we recorded here.
The pricing on this page was last verified on 15 June 2026, which makes it four months old, and for a product that has already been renamed that is a real risk rather than a formality. Read streamlabs.com/talk-studio/plans before you pay. The live streaming software category holds the alternatives, and the Streamlabs page covers the wider bundle, with Talk Studio Standard at $4 a month and Ultra at $27 a month on its own 13 June 2026 check.
Melon pricing
Melon is sold as Streamlabs Talk Studio, with a free plan, two paid tiers and a bundle that includes the top tier. The figures below come from our check of streamlabs.com/talk-studio/plans on 15 June 2026. They are four months old and have not been re-verified since. The Melon pricing breakdown carries the longer version.
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | One guest, watermark, four-hour stream limit |
| Standard | $4/mo | Billed annually. Removes some of the free plan limits. $48 across a year |
| Pro | $12/mo | Billed annually. Up to six guests and unlimited streaming. $144 across a year |
| Ultra (bundle) | $27/mo | Quoted as $189 a year. Includes Talk Studio Pro and the other Streamlabs premium products |
The meters here are guests and stream length rather than usage. Five things set what you pay:
- How many guests you put on screen. One on the free plan and up to six on Pro, as recorded on 15 June 2026, so a panel format is a $12 a month tool.
- How long you stream. The free plan carried a four-hour limit on our check, and unlimited streaming is what Pro is for.
- Whether a watermark is acceptable, since it is on the free plan and is the most visible reason to pay anything at all.
- Whether you want the rest of the Streamlabs products. Ultra at $27 a month, quoted as $189 a year, includes Talk Studio Pro, so the bundle is only $45 a year more than Pro alone at $144.
- Billing. Our snapshot records the paid tiers as annual rates, so confirm whether a monthly option exists before you plan around $4 a month.
Melon pricing against the other browser studios
Melon is the cheapest guest-capable studio in this category on our checks. Be.Live was $15.83 a month on Starter and $36.66 on Pro, verified 14 June 2026. Restream was free with Standard at $19 a month and Professional at $49, verified 1 October 2026. Evmux was free with Basic at $25 a month and Pro at $49, verified 6 October 2026. StreamYard was free with Core at $44.99 a month and Advanced at $88.99, verified 1 October 2026. OBS Studio is $0 and runs on your own machine, verified 6 October 2026. Three of those checks are more recent than Melon's, so this is not a strictly like for like comparison.
Melon billing terms worth knowing
The guest count is the limit that decides the tier for most shows.
- Free plan
- One guest, watermark, four-hour stream limit, as of 15 June 2026.
- Standard
- $4 a month on our check, billed annually. $48 across a year.
- Pro
- $12 a month, billed annually. Up to six guests and unlimited streaming. $144 across a year.
- Ultra bundle
- $27 a month, quoted as $189 a year, including Talk Studio Pro.
- Ultra arithmetic
- $324 across a year at the monthly rate against the $189 annual quote, a difference of $135.
- Naming
- Sold as Streamlabs Talk Studio. Billing and support use that name.
- Check date
- 15 June 2026, four months old, not re-verified since.
If a Talk Studio charge does not match these rates, the rate card is right and this page is four months behind, and the rename makes that more likely here than elsewhere. Our creator tool cost calculators will total a streaming stack across a year once you have today's figures.
What Melon gives up
You give up production quality. Layouts are limited, the branding tools are basic, and at higher resolutions the output does not hold up against the more expensive studios. That is what the $4 a month buys you out of.
You give up the large panel. Guest layouts stop working well past three or four people on screen, so the six guests our snapshot associates with Pro is a ceiling rather than a recommendation.
You give up a clear product identity. The move from Melon to Streamlabs Talk Studio leaves two names in circulation, which makes support articles, billing lines and even pricing pages harder to match up than they should be.
You give up standalone multistreaming. Pushing one broadcast to several platforms is tied to the wider Streamlabs offering rather than included here, so a multiplatform creator should price Restream at $19 a month on Standard, verified 1 October 2026, instead.
You give up a long free stream. Four hours and one guest on the free plan, as of 15 June 2026, is an evaluation allowance and not a format.
You give up current evidence, and this is the page where that matters most. Our figures are from 15 June 2026, four months old, and they describe a product that has already changed its name once since launch.
Finally, you give up the depth that a desktop tool gives away free. OBS Studio is $0, verified 6 October 2026, and will out-produce this in every respect except how long it takes to learn.
How Melon compares
The three tools below are the ones weighed against Melon, and the axis is price against polish. Each price is that vendor's own published rate with the date we checked it, and the Melon and Be.Live dates are four months older than the others. The wider field sits in the live streaming software category.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melon | The cheapest browser studio with guests | Free, $4/mo Standard, $12/mo Pro (June 2026) | Basic layouts and a weak large-panel view |
| Be.Live | Interaction-led shows with comment widgets | Free, $15.83/mo Starter (June 2026) | Clunky transitions and wobbles with a full panel |
| StreamYard | Polished browser broadcasts with guests | Free, $44.99/mo Core (October 2026) | The most expensive of the four by a wide margin |
| Restream | Multistreaming to many platforms | Free, $19/mo Standard (October 2026) | 720p on the cheaper plans |
What to test on the Melon free plan
Our 15 June 2026 check recorded a free plan with one guest, a watermark and a four-hour stream limit. Confirm those numbers first, because they are four months old and the product has been renamed since launch.
- Open streamlabs.com/talk-studio/plans and confirm the free limits and the Standard and Pro prices. Ours were $4 and $12 a month in June 2026.
- Run one real stream on the free plan with the watermark in place, and watch it back at the resolution you publish at.
- Put the number of guests your format needs on screen. If that is more than three or four, this is the test that will rule the tool out.
- Check how long your longest show runs against the four-hour free limit recorded on our check.
- Look at the layouts and the branding options against something you have already published. Polish is the thing you are trading away at this price.
- Work out whether you want the rest of the Streamlabs products. Ultra was $27 a month, quoted as $189 a year, and includes Talk Studio Pro, which is $45 a year more than Pro alone at $144.
- Before paying, price the same show on StreamYard at $44.99 a month on Core, verified 1 October 2026, and on OBS Studio at $0, verified 6 October 2026. The cost calculators will total the year.
Melon questions buyers ask
How much does Melon (Talk Studio) cost per month?
Melon (now Streamlabs Talk Studio) offers a Free plan, Standard at $4/month, and Pro at $12/month. Streamlabs Ultra at $27/month ($189/year) also includes Talk Studio Pro as part of a larger bundle. The free plan includes 1 guest with a watermark. Pro unlocks up to 6 guests, unlimited streaming hours, and priority support.
Is Melon still a separate product or is it Talk Studio?
Melon was acquired by Streamlabs and rebranded as Streamlabs Talk Studio. It's the same product with the same features, just under a new name. Your Melon account and login still work. The product is accessible at both the original URL and through the Streamlabs Talk Studio website. Pricing and features are maintained under the Talk Studio branding.
Who is Melon best for?
Melon is best for budget-conscious creators who want the simplest browser-based streaming with guest support. It suits new streamers, coaches running live workshops, and anyone who streams occasionally and would rather not pay the $44.99/month that StreamYard Core cost when we checked StreamYard on 1 October 2026. It is a weaker fit for produced broadcasts, large panel discussions, or creators who need polished branding and engagement tools.
Melon vs StreamYard: which is better?
StreamYard has better production quality, more layout options and smoother transitions. On price, Melon Pro was $12/month on our 15 June 2026 check, against StreamYard Core at $44.99/month when we checked StreamYard on 1 October 2026, a difference of $32.99 a month. Choose Melon if budget is the priority and you stream with one to three guests. Choose StreamYard if production polish and reliable multi-guest layouts matter more than that saving.
What platforms can I stream to with Melon?
Melon supports YouTube, Facebook (Pages and Groups), LinkedIn, Twitch, and custom RTMP destinations. You can stream to individual platforms on any plan. Simultaneous multistreaming to multiple platforms is available through the standalone plans or via Streamlabs Ultra's cloud multistreaming feature using Streamlabs Desktop.
How many guests can join a Melon stream?
The free plan allows 1 guest. Standard increases the limit modestly. Pro supports up to 6 guests, and Streamlabs Ultra extends that to 12 participants. Guests join via a browser link with no account or download required. Note that layout quality degrades with 4+ guests, so test your specific guest count before relying on it for important broadcasts.
Does Melon support multistreaming?
Melon's standalone plans stream to individual platforms. Full cloud multistreaming to several destinations at once comes through Streamlabs Ultra, which our 15 June 2026 check recorded at $27/month, quoted as $189 a year, and which uses Streamlabs Desktop's cloud distribution. If multistreaming is the point, set Ultra at $27/month against Restream Standard at $19/month, checked on Restream on 1 October 2026, and StreamYard Core at $44.99/month, checked on StreamYard on the same date.
Can teams use Melon together?
In a basic way, yes. One person hosts the stream and controls the production, while guests join via link. There's no team dashboard, shared workspace, or role-based permissions. A producer can help by using the host's account, but there's no separate producer role. For teams that need collaborative stream management, StreamYard's Business plan or Restream's team features are better equipped.
Is Melon worth it at $12/month?
If you stream regularly with 1-3 guests and want the cheapest browser studio available, Melon Pro at $12/month offers solid value. You get a functional streaming studio for roughly a quarter of StreamYard's price. The tradeoff is less polished output, fewer layout options, and basic branding tools. If your audience doesn't compare your stream quality to higher-production shows, Melon delivers the essentials affordably.
Can I cancel Melon anytime?
Yes. Monthly plans can be cancelled anytime through your Streamlabs account settings. Annual plans run for the full billing period. Since the free plan is genuinely usable for occasional streaming, you can downgrade to free instead of cancelling entirely. There's no penalty or lock-in beyond the current billing cycle.