Live streaming has become an important tool for many businesses and solopreneurs. It enables these organizations to connect with their audiences in a way that is personal and lifelike, regardless of location. 

As a result, live streaming platforms have become increasingly popular in professional spaces.

In this article, we’re going to break down the ins and outs of live streaming platforms. We’ll start by reviewing the basic functionality of this sort of technology before we dive into a thorough review of the top live streaming platforms in 2023.

Table of Contents

• What is a Live Streaming Platform?
• Who Needs a Professional-Grade Live Streaming Platform?
• How to Choose a Live Streaming Platform
• Top 16 Live Streaming Platforms in 2023
• Stream on Maestro 

What is a Live Streaming Platform?

A live streaming platform is a site, an app, or software that is used to host live video streams over the internet. 

Live streaming platforms range from free consumer-grade tools to paid professional-grade tools. These tools are built differently to accommodate different needs and use cases. 

Even under the umbrella of professional-grade tools, there is a wide variety of features and functionality from platform to platform. For example, some live streaming platforms are geared towards monetization, whereas others are better suited for sales and marketing.

Who Needs a Professional-Grade Live Streaming Platform?

There are different levels of needs when it comes to live streaming. If you’re a creator or influencer, for example, whipping out your phone and hosting a live stream on TikTok might suffice. 

However, if you’re streaming on behalf of your business or hosting paid events, you’ll need the support of a more professional solution.

A professional-grade live streaming platform is typically a paid tool that offers a range of business-focused features, such as white-label streaming, brand customization, flexible monetization, and so forth.

How to Choose a Live Streaming Platform

When you’re looking for a live streaming platform, there are three things to keep in mind: your goals, the features you need to reach your goals, and your budget.

First, make a list of goals. What do you want to accomplish with your live streams? How do you want to make money from live streaming? 

Once you’ve created your list of goals, think about the tools you’ll need to achieve those goals. For example, if you want to host ticketed live streams, you’ll need a live streaming platform that supports ticketed events. 

Top 16 Live Streaming Platforms in 2023

Since live streaming has grown in popularity, everything from VOD-focused online video platforms to social media apps have added live streaming functionality. As a result, there are dozens upon dozens of options available for hosting live streams.

We’ve narrowed this list down to include the best of the best. Our goal is to help you find the perfect live stream hosting platform for your needs.

With that said, let’s compare some of the top live streaming platforms on the market.

1. Maestro

Maestro is a live streaming platform that is equipped with the tools brands need to create fully branded video destinations. This white-label streaming platform offers flexible monetization, and full brand customization, interactivity, analytics, and more. Maestro supports on-demand streaming, as well.

Maestro’s technology has powered the biggest names in music, sports, and gaming, including Billie Eilish, the Golden State Warriors, Epic Games, and Apple. 

Features

• In-browser live streaming 
• Simulcasting
• Live chat
• Engagement & interactivity
• Graphic overlays
• Viewership and revenue analytics
• White-label streaming 
• Total brand customization
• Monetization (ticketing and subscriptions, live commerce, tipping, multi-currency support)
• Community management

Pricing

Maestro has several pricing plans that are built to serve different live streaming use cases, including:

• Starter: Forever Free
• Growth: $29/month
• Scale: $99/month
• Custom: Custom pricing 

Not sure which plan is best for your needs? Get started with our free plan and we will help you from there!

Use Cases

• Live event streaming
• Private stream hosting
• Premium streaming experiences 
• Broadcasting concerts, music festivals, and more
• Corporate live streams

2. JW Player

JW Player is another great live streaming platform that was first known as one of the most reliable HTML5 video players. JW Player is now known as both a video content management and powerful video player.

Features

• Powerful video player
• APIs for customization
• Monetization (with ad integration)
• Engagement tools
• Video analytics

Pricing

JW Player uses custom pricing, so interested streamers must request a quote.

Use Cases

• Education
• Sports streaming
• Faith streaming
• Broadcasting 

3. Kaltura

Kaltura is an open-source live stream platform that has a special focus on education. It is geared towards creating scalable cloud video experiences.

Since Kaltura is open-source, it is extremely customizable. The ultra-customizability may make Kaltura difficult to use for those who don’t have much technical knowledge.

Features

• Video LMS
• APIs and SDKs for customization
• White-label streaming
• Stream recording/lesson capture
• Video CMS

Pricing

Kaltura uses a complex pricing structure since the platform offers customizable experiences. Check out Kaltura’s pricing page for more information. 

Use Cases

• Education live streaming
• Corporate live streaming 

4. Livestream

Livestream is Vimeo’s premium streaming solution that is geared toward creating professional streaming experiences.

Features

• API and SDK for customization
• Monetization (pay-per-view, subscriptions, multi-currency payment)
• 24/7 linear live streaming
• Video website builder

Pricing

Vimeo plans with live streaming capabilities start at $65/month.

Use Cases

• Corporate live streaming
• Virtual event streaming

5. IBM Video Streaming

IBM Video Streaming is a live streaming platform that offers video streaming and content management. This streaming platform has plans at a wide range of price points, making it a  good option for businesses of different sizes.

Features

• Adaptive bitrate streaming
• Scalable content delivery
• Live chat
• Video analytics
• Monetization (pay-per-view and subscriptions)

Pricing

IBM Video Streaming comes at four different price points, broken down as follows:

• Silver: $99/month
• Gold: $499/month
• Platinum: $999/month
• Custom: Contact for a quote

Use Cases

• Corporate video streaming
• Virtual events
• Video marketing

6. Brightcove

Brightcove is a powerful live stream hosting platform that is geared towards enterprises that want to use live streaming for marketing, communication, and more. Brightcove also offers state-of-the-art support for media monetization.

Features

• Reliable streaming
• White-label streaming
• Analytics 
• Monetization (subscription, ads, and more with integrations)
• Engagement tools
• Secure streaming

Pricing

Brightcove does not publish pricing on its website, so interested streamers should reach out directly for a quote.

Use Cases

• Video marketing 
• Media monetization
• Communications 

7. VPlayed

VPlayed is a live streaming platform that is owned by Contus. This solution is focused on live stream monetization and scalable streaming. VPlayed also places a special emphasis on all-device streaming.

Features

• Video content management
• White-label live streaming
• Monetization (ads, subscriptions, pay-per-view)
• Secure live streaming

Pricing

VPlayed does not publish pricing on its site, so interested users must request a quote.

Use Cases

• Enterprise live streaming
• Sports live streaming
• Faith-based live streaming
• Broadcast media

8. Muvi

Muvi is a live streaming platform that is specifically designed to support high-end OTT streaming. Since Muvi provides a highly-professional solution, its prices reflect that. With that said, this is best suited for businesses that have very large streaming budgets.

Features

• Live stream recording
• Built-in CDN
• Monetization (subscriptions, ticketing, pay-per-view, ads, live commerce, multicurrency support)
• Support for UGC platforms
• Smart TV apps

Pricing

Muvi’s four pricing plans include the following:

• Standard: $399/month + $299/month per app + infra fees
• Professional: $1499/month + $499/month per app + infra fees
• Enterprise: $3900/month + $499/month per app + infra fees
• Ultimate: Custom pricing

 

Intra fees include $0.09/GB for bandwidth and $0.07/GB for storage.

Muvi offers a 10% discount for those who pay every six months and a 15% discount for those who pay annually.

Use Cases

• Building OTT streaming services
• Creating television-like experiences 

9. Uscreen

Uscreen is another live streaming platform that is designed for building mobile and smart TV apps. Their mission is to help video businesses create experiences that are compatible with all types of devices.

Features

• Monetization (membership sites, subscriptions, and pay-per-view)
• Marketing tools
• Analytics
• Video scheduling
• Subtitles
• Video search filters

Pricing

Uscreen has three pricing plans. These include:

• Basic: $99/month + $0.50 per subscriber/month
• Growth: $199/month + $0.50 per subscriber/month
• UscreenPlus: Contact for a custom quote

Use Cases

• Smart TV streaming
• Corporate live streaming

10. Wowza

Wowza is a streaming technology company that offers a variety of products and services. Among those offerings is Wowza Video, an live streaming platform.

Features

• Streaming analytics
• Video engagement tools
• 360 streaming
• Video content management system
• Adaptive bitrate streaming

Pricing

Wowza Video is available in a few different pricing plans, including:

• One Month of Streaming: $149 (one-time purchase) 
• Pay as You Go: $25/month + usage fees
• Annual: $1560/year
• Enterprise: Custom pricing 

Use Cases

• Interactive streaming
• Auction live streaming
• E-sports live streaming
• Gambling live streaming

11. Streann

Streann is a high-end live streaming platform that is geared towards helping video businesses make money with proper distribution and engagement. This streaming solution is suitable for highly professional use cases.

Features

• White-label live streaming
• Monetization (ads, subscriptions, and pay-per-view
• Engagement tools
• Mobile live streaming 
• AR and VR streaming
• Live chat

Pricing

Pricing plans from Streann start at $2995/month.

Use Cases

• Smart TV live streaming
• TV broadcasting
• Education live streaming
• Faith-based streaming
• Sports streaming

12. Dacast

Dacast is live streaming platform that offers an embeddable video player for white-label streaming. Since Dacast’s focus is on its embeddable video player, it is best suited for users who simply want to add live streaming to their existing sites and apps.

Features

• Secure live streaming
• Brandable video player
• Monetization (ads, pay-per-view, subscriptions)
• White-label live streaming

Pricing

Dacast offers several pricing plans, including:

• Starter: $39/month
• Event: $63/month
• Scale: $188/month
• Custom: Users must inquire for a quote

Use Cases

• Virtual event streaming
• Corporate video streaming

Free Live Streaming Platforms

As we mentioned, paid live streaming solutions are valuable in professional use cases. However, we’d be remiss to leave out a few apps and websites that offer live streaming support for free. 

Here are a few examples of live streaming platforms that you can use for free.

13. TikTok

TikTok is a short-form video app that is known for its user-centric algorithm. This social media platform is particularly popular because it allows users to go viral and reach large audiences even if they don’t have a huge following.

TikTok does offer live streaming support, but it is limited to users who are over 16 years old and have over 1000 followers.

It’s worth calling out that TikTok has very strict community guidelines and tends to take away live streaming privileges without substantial cause. This is very frustrating to many users who have worked hard to build a following to meet the live streaming requirements.

14. YouTube

YouTube is another popular option for those who want to live stream for free. Like TikTok, there are strict criteria for who is allowed to live stream. YouTubers who want to live stream must maintain at least 1000 followers.

Also similar to TikTok, YouTube has strict community rules that must be followed to keep live streaming privileges. 

One benefit of live streaming on YouTube is that viewers are generally familiar with the platform, so they will be comfortable accessing your stream.

15. Instagram

Although Instagram was originally focused on photos, the app has evolved to focus on video. With that comes live streaming.

Instagram is relatively flexible when it comes to live streaming, especially compared to the free streaming tools we’ve covered so far. Both business and personal profiles are free to live stream with no real restrictions.

One interesting aspect of Instagram’s live streaming tool is that it enables collaborative live streaming with multiple profiles. There is also a Q&A function which is great for encouraging audience participation.

16. Facebook

Facebook is a great option for live streaming if you have an active following or community on the platform. Facebook supports live streaming on all pages, groups, and personal profiles.

If you want to restrict access to your live stream to a smaller audience, you can stream to a private group.

Please note that monetization is limited on Facebook, but creators have the option to attach a donation widget to their live streams to raise money for a cause. Also, live streams on Facebook can be removed if you violate community guidelines or use copyrighted materials.

Stream on Maestro 

Looking for a live streaming platform that makes it easy to build a sleek streaming experience? You’re in luck because Maestro could be the solution for you. 

Maestro makes it easy for brands and solopreneurs to layer monetization, interactivity, and audience management into their live streaming experiences.

Sign up for Maestro to start live streaming in no time at all.

Join our Discord server to learn more tips and tricks for streaming on Maestro.