Top 5 Multistream Platforms You Need to Try In 2024

According to Cisco, video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer traffic by the end of the year. With breakthroughs in internet speed and free streaming software, that’s hardly a surprise. As a result, the demand for live video content has skyrocketed. Neil Patel reports that 63% of people aged 18-34 watch live streaming content regularly. Viewers now want to experience everything on live video — from product launches to gaming and sports competitions.

The problem is that there are dozens of multistreaming platforms out there. Should you stream to YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook? This is where multistreaming platforms come into play.

Multi-platform streaming allows you to stream to multiple sites at the same time. It is also referred to as simulcasting and is becoming essential for live content creators to reach and attract more viewers.

What to Look for In a Multistreaming Platform?

Depending on your business or usage scenario, you will be prioritizing and looking for certain features from your chosen platform.

If you are broadcasting a seminar or corporate event, being able to stream directly to your website along with heatmaps and detailed analytics might be important to understand your viewer’s demographics and location.

Even if you’re not a large organization doing multi-camera streaming, having the option to stream directly to your website takes a weight off your shoulders. Because, let’s face it, some of the comments and links sent in by Twitch chat can contain material that can easily get you banned if you happen to click out of curiosity. And there goes your live stream revenue...

Another important feature is having the ability to personalize the look of the media player will be crucial for you to maintain a consistent brand image.

It’s also great to know that your multistreaming provider also offers a way to backup your stream should there be problems with your accounts on Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook Live.

Finally, you may be looking to earn money via advertisements, engage in affiliate partnership, set up pay per view streaming, or, why not, start your own streaming service like Netflix. If your multistreaming platform also happens to be a video monetization platform, you will be able to do all this.

In summary, here are some reasons to consider an all-in-one video streaming platform that does more than live streaming to multiple destinations:

Offers a backup plan should one of your streaming accounts get banned
Bring your community directly to your website
Retain more of your audience subscription fee when done directly
Personal branding and theming
Diversifying your content distribution
Ability to monetize your content

The Best Multistreaming Platforms

There are many services to choose from but let’s look at the best of the bunch when it comes to multistreaming. Many offer the ability to multistream to a fixed number of streaming destinations but sometimes lack the ability to broadcast directly to your personal or business website. It can be difficult to decide on a solution, especially if you’re new to the concept of simulcasting or streaming in general.

One thing to consider is whether each of the services has a trial for you to get familiar and comfortable with the service and make sure it is right for you. Also, pay attention to the payment options as some providers may bill you for an entire year rather than allowing you to pay monthly.

StreamingVideoProvider

With StreamingVideoProvider, not only can you stream simultaneously to all the major social media platforms, but you also have the option to stream directly to your site. Additionally, it gives you the option of a fully branded video player making your content truly your own. The usage scenarios can range from church live streaming to live streaming events, corporate meetings, and seminars.

Speaking of engaging audiences, you can see just how engaged they are by accessing comprehensive video analytics. This removes the need for guesswork when trying to understand your audience, their location, and viewing patterns.

StreamingVideoProvider supports custom RTMP destinations in addition to providing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). This provides the ultimate peace of mind for those looking to protect and secure their streams.

Our 18-point global video CDN ensures smooth playback anywhere that your audience is viewing from (including support mainland China and South Africa). Hence, the viewing experience for your viewers is always consistent and reliable.

We also provide you with the tools that allow you to easily make money live streaming in minutes, leaving you with more time to do what you do best.

Restream

One nice feature available from Restream’s business package is the failsafe stream backup. This feature gives you the ability to switch between two streams if you encounter any problems with the stream. In terms of other streaming platforms, Restream offers the ability to add a custom RTMP but is only available from their standard package and up. This can be problematic if you are on a tight budget as you will be billed for the year when signing up to one of their paid tier subscriptions. Of course, if you are ready to make the investment, that’s alright.

Castr

Castr supports streaming to the most popular platforms including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch along with support for custom RTMP servers and ingests. Cloud recording is also offered from their broadcast x2 package supporting 10GB of recordings upwards depending on the package. In addition to individual or enterprise tier packages, they also offer packages tailored to your requirements. This can include packages optimized for simulcasting, live streaming CDN, and IP camera streaming. One downfall, however, is the lack of deep analytics which only allows you to access basic data.

Switchboard

Switchboard also supports the mainstreaming sites for those wanting to broadcast simultaneously to multiple platforms along with Custom RTMP support. There are streaming limits specified at 25 hours of streaming a month for their first package going all the way up to unlimited with their business package. The business package ends up at $350. They offer add-ons to their service which allows you to customize to your liking, for an additional charge.

5CentsCDN

This is actually a video hosting CDN provider — a lesser-known option that offers similar simulcast options to those mentioned previously. It also contains a plethora of other services including direct streaming and custom RTMP support. You can access analytics data and have 100GB cloud storage with their cheapest package along with the ability to stream to over 20 destinations.

All of the platforms on our list offer the ability to multistream to the main social media sites and are compatible with OBS Studio and XSplit. This allows you to multistream with OBS, which is fantastic as OBS is not only free but hugely popular amongst streamers due to its easy to use and comprehensive feature set.

Comparison: The Best Multistreaming Platforms

Here are some questions you should ask when looking at the various options available:

Which streaming services are supported and how many?
Do you have access to deep analytics data?
Do you have access to real-time technical data such as FPS, bitrate, or dropped frames?
What are the limits when it comes to multistream channels?
Does the platform support multiple devices that the audience use?
Is there the option to stream directly to a personal website?

	StreamingVideoProvider	Restream	Castr	Switchboard	5CentsCDN
Multistreaming
Facebook compatibility
YouTube compatibility
Twitch compatibility
Mixer compatibility
Detailed Analytics
Video monetization	Ads, pay per view, subscriptions, and custom	RADs only
Cloud recording
Custom RTMP
Simultaneous Platforms	Unlimited	30+	5,10,30+ Respectively	3,5+,10+ Respectively	20+
Free Trial
Starting price	$45 /mo	$16 /mo	$9.99 /mo	$35 /mo	$50 /mo

Conclusion

Businesses are slowly starting to realize that live streaming isn’t just viable for gamers or users of Periscope, but there is a huge demand from audiences wanting to get a look into your industry or fresh product line. From NASA spacewalks to million-dollar esports tournaments, live streaming Is here to stay. So, it’s more important than ever to diversify your reach and provide content to all online avenues, especially when it can be achieved so easily and cost-effectively with these multistream platform tools.

References & Further Reading

If you would like to learn more about multistreaming, please check out the following links to help answer any questions you might have about how to get started.