Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover tips & donations and monetization & payments. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| StreamElements | Zeffy | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | One-time purchase | Usage-based |
| Free trial | None | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | None |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | Tips & Donations, Live Streaming, Monetization & Payments | Crowdfunding, Monetization & Payments, Tips & Donations |
| Works with | YouTube, Twitch | Nothing in particular |
| 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.
Only on this side
Fundraising with no platform or processing fee
Zeffy takes nothing from a donation, and covers card processing itself out of the optional tips donors leave at checkout. Donations, ticketed events, raffles, auctions, memberships and a donor database are all in the same account. It is built for nonprofits, and the sign-up asks you to be one.
Our note
If you qualify as a nonprofit, start here, because no competitor can beat zero. Read the tip prompt on a live form first and decide whether you are comfortable with your donors seeing it, since that is the whole trade.
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.
Only on this side