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 | Switcher Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $19.99 | From $65 |
| Pricing model | Paid subscription | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 7 days | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | macOS, iOS |
| Covers | Live Streaming, Video Hosting | Live Streaming, Video Editing |
| Works with | YouTube, Twitch, Facebook | YouTube, Instagram, Facebook |
| 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
Multi-camera streaming from iPhones you own
Switcher Studio turns a handful of iPhones and iPads into a multi-camera setup, with one device as the switcher and the rest as wireless cameras. That is a real production for the price of devices most people already have, which is why it turned up in churches and classrooms before it turned up in studios. It is Apple only, so an Android phone cannot be one of the cameras.
Our note
The cost of this is really the cost of the phones, and most people who want it already own them. If you have a spare iPhone and an iPad, it is the cheapest genuine multi-camera setup in this list; if you would need to buy hardware, price OBS Studio and a capture card first.
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.