Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover live streaming. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Castr | Streamlabs | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $19.99 | From $19 |
| Pricing model | Paid subscription | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | 7 days | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Covers | Live Streaming, Video Hosting | Live Streaming, Monetization & Payments, Tips & Donations |
| Works with | YouTube, Twitch, Facebook | YouTube, Twitch |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Live streaming with hosting and a paywall
Castr covers the parts of streaming that sit either side of the broadcast: hosting the recording afterwards, running a 24/7 playout channel, and putting a paywall in front of either. Bandwidth is sold as a pool rather than metered per viewer. It is priced for a business running channels, not for somebody going live on a Sunday.
Only on this side
Streaming with alerts, overlays and tipping
Streamlabs wraps OBS in something friendlier and adds alerts, overlays and a donation page. Setup takes minutes rather than an evening. It is heavier on system resources than plain OBS.
Our note
Start free and stay there until a specific Ultra feature is blocking you. The resource cost against plain OBS is real, and on a mid-range machine it is the difference between a smooth stream and a stuttering one.
Only on this side
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.