Castr vs XSplit Broadcaster Comparison 2026
Both cover live streaming. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Live streaming with hosting and a paywall
Windows streaming with a lifetime option
At a glance
- XSplit Broadcaster starts cheaper, at $14.99.
- Only XSplit Broadcaster has a free tier.
Side by side
Castr | XSplit Broadcaster | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $19.99 | From $14.99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 7 days | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Castr
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
- Covers video hosting
- Works with Kick
XSplit Broadcaster
Windows streaming with a lifetime option
XSplit Broadcaster is the paid alternative to OBS on Windows, and the money buys polish rather than capability: scene handling that does not fight you, background removal without a green screen, and a plugin store for the things a stream ends up needing. There is a free version that streams. The lifetime licence is the unusual part of the pricing, and it is aimed squarely at somebody tired of another monthly bill.
Our note
The lifetime licence is the only pricing here worth thinking hard about, because streaming software is a tool people keep for years and the subscription maths turns against you quickly. Run the free version for a month first; if you never hit its limits, the decision makes itself.
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.