BoxCast vs Dacast Comparison 2026
BoxCast bundles the player, hosting and a website into one subscription for an organisation that broadcasts weekly, from $109 a month with no free tier. Dacast sells a similar mix of live channels, hosting and a paywall but prices bandwidth by the terabyte per year rather than by capability, starting at $39 a month billed annually for 2.4TB. Dacast's unused bandwidth rolls over, which suits an event producer with a season rather than a fixed weekly schedule, while BoxCast's flat monthly plans suit a broadcast that repeats on the same day every week.
Live streaming for places that stream every week
Live streaming and hosting sold by the terabyte
At a glance
- Dacast starts cheaper, at $39.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
BoxCast | Dacast | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $109 | From $39 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
BoxCast
Live streaming for places that stream every week
BoxCast is built around a recurring broadcast rather than an occasional one, which is why its customers are churches, schools and local sport. Streams go out from a phone, a browser or a hardware encoder, and the same subscription covers the player, the hosting and a website to put it on. Branded television and mobile apps are sold as a separate product. Nothing about the pricing rewards streaming once a quarter.
Our note
Compare this against a platform plus a video host rather than against streaming software, because the bundling is the argument and it only wins when you would have bought both. For an organisation streaming weekly with volunteers running it, the thirty-day refund is the cheapest way to find out whether the reliability claim holds on your own connection.
Dacast
Live streaming and hosting sold by the terabyte
Dacast is a broadcaster's video platform: live channels, a paywall, white-label playback and a bandwidth allowance measured in terabytes a year. Unused bandwidth rolls forward, which suits anybody whose schedule is a season rather than a week. It sells to events and businesses rather than to social creators, and the interface has never pretended otherwise.
Why people weigh these two
- Dacast instead of BoxCast
- Streaming and hosting sold by the terabyte from $39; usage pricing where BoxCast charges a flat subscription built for weekly broadcasts.
- BoxCast instead of Dacast
- BoxCast serves venues and organisations that stream every week, from $109, further up the same broadcaster market.
Which one should you pick
Pick BoxCast if a church, school or sports program streams on a fixed weekly schedule and wants the player, hosting and a site in one subscription that a volunteer can run. It costs more to start, $109 a month against Dacast's $39, but nothing about the pricing assumes technical staff or a variable schedule.
Pick Dacast if the buyer is an event producer or league selling access to a broadcast across a season rather than every week, since bandwidth rolling over rewards an uneven schedule and the paywall is built for charging viewers directly. It is the cheaper entry price, but only at annual billing, and monthly billing carries a three-month minimum that turns a single event into three payments.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper to start with?
- Dacast, at $39 a month billed annually against BoxCast's $109. That rate depends on paying yearly, and Dacast's monthly billing carries a three-month minimum, so a one-off event still costs three payments.
- Which suits an event that only happens a few times a year?
- Dacast. Its bandwidth is sold by the terabyte per year and unused allowance rolls over, which fits a season better than a weekly show. BoxCast's pricing and workflow both assume a broadcast that repeats every week.
- Does either include a website to stream on?
- BoxCast does, bundled into the subscription alongside the player and hosting. Dacast is not described with a website builder here; its plans are about hosting, a paywall and white-label playback instead.
- Can I charge viewers to watch on either platform?
- Dacast is built for that, with pay-per-view and subscriptions on both the live broadcast and the archive. BoxCast is priced around a subscription covering everything an organisation needs, without a paywall feature described in its listing.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.