Best Live Streaming Software of 2026

All types of businesses, including small firms and corporates, stream content online to attract and engage their audiences. Streaming live events, such as seminars, conferences, and concerts, allows businesses to reach out to global audiences who can’t be physically present at an event.

However, recording and broadcasting videos in real time require technical knowledge. You’ll have to hire experts to encode videos to your desired streaming platform or your website. Also, the process is time-consuming, and if elements such as the background or volume are not edited professionally, audience engagement can take a hit.

This is where live streaming software becomes useful. With a built-in encoder, the tool converts your videos into the digital format so you can stream them on a platform of your choice. It broadcasts live events over the internet while allowing you to measure streaming performance and audience feedback and engagement.

In this buyers guide, we explain what live streaming software is, its features and benefits, and the considerations you should keep in mind to select the right platform for your business.

Here’s what we'll cover:

• What is live streaming software?

• Common features of live streaming software

• What type of buyer are you?

• Benefits of live streaming software

• Key considerations

• Market trends to understand

What is live streaming software?

Live streaming software is a software tool that encodes live videos and feeds into a suitable format to broadcast over the internet in real time. It’s used by businesses and individuals to promote themselves and entertain a live audience over social media channels, YouTube, or other platforms.

A live streaming platform lets users capture, stream, record, and share live content as well as interact with the audience through real-time engagement options, such as live chat.

Audience analytics in Restream software (Source)

Common features of live streaming software

Software features vary by product or vendor, but most live streaming software tools have the following overlapping features:

What type of buyer are you?

Before purchasing live video streaming software, you should assess which buyer category you belong to. The majority of buyers fall into the following categories:

• Individuals: Buyers in this category are mainly artists, travelers, and hobbyists who live stream to entertain their audience, promote their talent, or interact with viewers. Such users need a tool that provides live broadcasting along with basic features such as engagement tracking metrics, chat activity, and screen sharing. An easy-to-use live streaming software platform that provides all basic features free of cost would be beneficial for such buyers. Free streaming software products are suitable for small to midsize events.

• Businesses: Businesses mostly use live video streams to inform and engage their followers, provide product updates, promote new products, and host large events to attract new consumers. They need a tool that can deliver high-quality videos, generate leads, and be configured to any platform or device. These buyers should opt for a live streaming software platform that can embed streams to their company websites; provide customizable templates and video captioning; support content monetization; and offer a live analytics dashboard that offers insights into metrics such as audience demographics, viewing behaviors, and highest viewing hours. These features will help businesses increase reach to engage stakeholders and customers better.

Benefits of live streaming software

Listed below are some benefits you can expect from using a live streaming app:

• Real-time engagement: Live streaming software lets you broadcast your content to thousands of people across the globe in real time. For example, you can create live Q&As to reply to audience questions, create weekly shows to maximize exposure, chat with your viewers during events, and much more. Real-time interaction helps you understand your customers better and build stronger relationships with them.

• Increased awareness and reach: Unlike physical events, live streams let you invite as many people as you want to your events since they don’t have any space constraints. Viewers from across the globe can attend your live event. You can also record the events and share them later on to engage even more people.

• Analytics tracking: Live streaming software offers a built-in activity dashboard to measure the success of your events. The dashboard helps track performance metrics such as the number of viewers, audience behavior patterns, viewer engagement, geographical breakdown, duration of views, and viewership by device. This information will allow you to identify your audience, discover new opportunities, and refine your strategies for future broadcasts.

Key considerations

Here’s something to keep in mind when purchasing a live streaming system:

• Business needs: Live streaming tools are unique in terms of features and pricing models. Price can vary based on the number of hosts, events, hours, or participants you want. Many vendors also provide a free or an open source software version that you can consider. Therefore, assess your needs before making a purchase.

If your company hosts live events for a large number of participants and requires advanced features such as access control and permissions, video editing, animation, unlimited viewers, and live channels, you can opt for a subscription-based platform. But if you stream to fewer viewers, look for a free live video streaming app with basic features such as compatibility with video editing platforms, limited streaming hours, screen sharing, and custom graphics.

Market trends to understand

Here’s a trend in the live streaming software market that you should be aware of:

• Edge computing is enhancing the quality and speed of streaming content. Live streaming software has made it easy for companies to reach audiences across geographies. But a large number of live viewers can degrade the video quality, cause network lag, and lead to untimely buffering, among other issues. To overcome these, live streaming software providers are using edge computing technology, which can offer greater scalability and rapid delivery of content by reducing the volume of data moving through networks. Using advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, the technology allows users to offer effective content searchability, content suggestions, interactive video features, and a personalized audience experience.

Note: The application selected in this article is an example to show a feature in context and is not intended as an endorsement or recommendation. It has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.