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.
| OBS Studio | Switcher Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | From $65 |
| Pricing model | Free | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Billing | One-time purchase | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | None | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, iOS |
| Covers | Screen Recording, Live Streaming | Live Streaming, Video Editing |
| Works with | YouTube, Twitch | YouTube, Instagram, Facebook |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Free and open source streaming and recording
OBS is what most of the streams you watch are running, and it costs nothing because it is a volunteer project rather than a business with a free tier. Scenes, sources, filters and a real audio mixer are all there, along with plugin support. Nothing about it is friendly on the first evening, and the settings that decide whether your stream looks good are the ones with no explanation next to them.
Our note
Every paid streaming tool in this catalog is, in part, selling you an escape from OBS's settings panel. That is a real thing to buy if your time is worth more than the evening. If it is not, OBS does everything they do and costs nothing.
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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.
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.
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