Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover tips & donations and live streaming. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| StreamElements | Streamlabs | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | From $19 |
| Pricing model | Free | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | One-time purchase | Not stated |
| Free trial | None | 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 | Tips & Donations, Live Streaming, Monetization & Payments | Live Streaming, Monetization & Payments, Tips & Donations |
| Works with | YouTube, Twitch | YouTube, Twitch |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Overlays, alerts and a chatbot, all free
StreamElements is the layer over a stream: alerts when somebody follows, overlays built in a visual editor, a chat bot with commands and loyalty points, and a tipping page. All of it is free with no tier above it, because the business is sponsorships rather than subscriptions. Most streams running something other than plain OBS are running this or its one real rival.
Our note
StreamElements and Streamlabs are the two, they do much the same job, and this is the one that has never charged for it. Set it up alongside OBS rather than instead of it.
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.
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.