StreamYard vs Restream: Pricing, Plans and Features Compared

The short answer

Neither is better for everyone. Both run a studio in your browser, bring guests on screen and send one show to several social platforms at the same time. The differences that usually decide it:

• Platforms at once for the money. On October 30, 2026 Restream listed 2 channels on its free plan and 3 at $19 a month; StreamYard listed 1 destination free, 2 at $18.99 and 3 at $44.99. At the top individual plan both list 8.
• Where you build the show. Restream describes two ways in: its own Restream Studio, or any third-party streaming software such as OBS Studio. StreamYard is built around its browser studio; its help center shows how to bring OBS in as a virtual camera.
• Studio extras. StreamYard lists pre-recorded streams, an extra camera, backstage participants and On-Air webinars on its higher plans. Restream lists dual format streaming, clips and webinar add-ons, and a website player on Business.

The tables below set the published facts side by side, so you can match them to how you stream.

Which is cheaper?

At the entry level the prices are close: Restream Standard is $19 a month billed monthly and StreamYard Essential $18.99. Billed yearly, StreamYard Essential works out lower ($14.99 a month against Restream’s $16). What you get for that money differs: Restream Standard lists 3 channels and removes its branding; StreamYard Essential lists 2 destinations, unlimited streaming and Full HD, and its plan list puts “No StreamYard logo” on Core.

In the middle, StreamYard Core ($44.99 monthly, $35.99 yearly) lists 3 destinations and Restream Professional ($49 monthly, $39 annually) lists 5 channels. At the top of the individual plans, StreamYard Advanced ($88.99 monthly) and Restream Business ($239 monthly) both list 8, but Business is a team plan with 2 seats, so it is not a like-for-like match. StreamYard’s multistreaming page also mentions paid plans “starting at $20/month” for new users in their first year, billed annually; the prices above are the ones its pricing page showed on the day we checked.

Restream sells two add-ons on top of a plan: Clips (from $19 a month on Standard) and Webinars (from $99 a month). StreamYard lists AI clips on Core and On-Air webinars for 100 viewers on Advanced inside the plan price.

Free plans compared

Both have a free plan with no time limit, but they are built for different things. Restream Free is described on its pricing page as “a taste of multistreaming”: 2 channels at once, with Restream branding. Its FAQ says you can pick 2 of its 30+ social channels and multistream for free.

StreamYard Free gives you the studio but not multistreaming. Its help article on feature limits on the free plan lists no multistreaming, no custom RTMP destinations, the StreamYard logo in all streams, 6 on-screen participants, 2 hours of local recordings, 5 hours of recording storage, no pre-recorded live streaming, and says live streams are not recorded automatically. Its multistreaming page says new users can try all multistreaming features free for 7 days.

So if going live on two platforms at once without paying is the main need, Restream’s free plan lists that and StreamYard’s does not. If you only stream to one place and want a browser studio, both free plans cover that.

How many platforms at once?

Restream counts channels: 2 on Free, 3 on Standard, 5 on Professional, 8 on Business, and a custom number on Enterprise. StreamYard counts destinations: 1 on Free, 2 on Essential, 3 on Core and 8 on Advanced. StreamYard’s multistreaming page lists direct integrations with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Twitch, Kick and Brightcove, with TikTok and other platforms through custom RTMP, and says you can stream to several accounts on the same platform. Restream’s FAQ says it reaches 30+ social channels and supports custom RTMP for any platform that gives you an RTMP URL and stream key. (StreamYard’s multistreaming page lists 1, 3 and 8 destinations without mentioning Essential; its pricing page lists Essential with 2.)

Count the platforms you actually go live on at the same time, then find the cheapest plan on each service that covers that number. If you need a stream key for a custom destination, our stream key guide explains where each platform shows it.

The browser studio and guests

Both studios let guests join from the browser. Restream’s plan comparison lists 6 on-screen participants on Free and 10 on its paid plans, with studio video in HD 720p on Free and Standard and Full HD 1080p from Professional; its FAQ says Restream supports up to 10 participants, invited by link. It also lists customizable scenes, overlays and backgrounds, QR codes, a scrolling ticker and AI background music in the studio.

StreamYard lists 6 on-screen participants on Free and 10 on Core, and Advanced adds 15 backstage participants and an extra camera. Core adds logos, overlays, video clips and backgrounds, 16 more custom layouts and intro and outro videos; Essential lists Full HD (1080p).

Streaming from OBS or other software

This is the clearest difference in how the two describe themselves. Restream’s FAQ says you can use any third-party streaming software or its web-based Restream Studio, and its plan comparison lists encoder integrations, encrypted RTMPS and a live health monitor; SRT ingest appears under Enterprise. Its FAQ adds that it has no bitrate limits of its own and that resolution from custom software is not restricted, though some platforms may not accept Full HD.

StreamYard runs the show in its browser studio. Its help center explains how to bring OBS Studio into the studio as a virtual camera, so OBS becomes a camera source inside StreamYard, and notes that on Advanced and higher plans you can use the extra camera to put OBS on stage next to your main camera. If you prefer to keep your OBS scenes and send the finished stream yourself, read how to multistream with OBS Studio and RTMP vs SRT.

Landscape and portrait, chat and pre-recorded video

• Landscape and portrait at the same time. Restream lists dual format streaming from its Professional plan. StreamYard’s multistreaming page describes Multi-Aspect Ratio Streaming (MARS), which sends horizontal video to YouTube and Twitch and vertical video to TikTok and Instagram from the same session.
• Chat. Restream’s plan comparison lists cross-platform chat. StreamYard’s multistreaming page says comments and questions from every platform appear in one view, and Core lists a chat overlay. Platform rules still apply: Twitch, for example, does not allow merged chat from other services on screen during a simulcast; see is multistreaming allowed?
• Pre-recorded video. Restream’s FAQ says Upload & Stream lets you stream pre-recorded videos live, and its Enterprise tier lists unlimited Upload & Stream. StreamYard lists pre-recorded streams of 2 hours on Core and 4 hours on Advanced, and none on Free.
• Recording. Restream lists cloud recordings and “Record in 4K Ultra HD” from Professional. StreamYard Core says live streams are recorded, with unlimited local recordings and 50 hours of permanent storage, and Advanced adds 4K (2160p) local recordings.

Upload speed

Both are cloud services, so your connection carries one stream whatever the number of platforms. StreamYard’s multistreaming page says a connection of 10 Mbps upload or more is enough; Restream’s FAQ says you do not need extra bandwidth to multistream with it. To size your own connection, try the bandwidth calculator, and test your camera and microphone with the webcam test and mic test before your first show.

Teams and business use

StreamYard’s Essential, Core and Advanced plans are for individual use only under its Plan Usage Policy; organizations are pointed to separate Business plans. Restream’s Business plan includes 2 team seats, co-producer mode and team workspaces, and Enterprise adds SSO, a security review and dedicated account management.

Which should you choose?

• Consider Restream if you want to multistream to two platforms on a free plan, want more channels at the lower price points, or want the option to stream from OBS or another encoder as well as from a browser studio.
• Consider StreamYard if the browser studio is the heart of your show: guest interviews, layouts and branding, pre-recorded streams on Core and Advanced, and landscape and portrait from one session.
• Try both. Restream’s free plan has no end date, and StreamYard offers a 7-day free trial of its paid plans. Run the same test show on each before you pay.

A third option: Multistream Platform

If you already produce your show in OBS Studio, vMix or a hardware encoder and do not need a browser studio, a cloud relay is another way to do the same job. Multistream Platform, which publishes this page, takes one RTMP or SRT stream and delivers it to YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Kick, TikTok, LinkedIn and custom destinations. Its free Starter plan streams to up to 2 channels at once with 20 streaming hours a month at 720p30; plans and limits are on the pricing page. For how it compares one to one, see Multistream Platform compared with Restream and Multistream Platform compared with StreamYard, or all six options in best multistreaming platforms compared.

Sources

• Restream: Pricing plans, plan comparison and FAQ (read October 30, 2026, Monthly and Annually views)
• StreamYard: Plans and pricing (read October 30, 2026, Individuals tab, Billed monthly and Billed yearly views)
• StreamYard: Multistreaming (read October 30, 2026)
• StreamYard Help: Feature limits on the free plan (read October 30, 2026)
• StreamYard Help: How to use OBS Virtual Camera with StreamYard (read October 30, 2026)
• Multistream Platform pricing and features