StreamYard Review, Pricing & Features

StreamYard is a browser-based live streaming and recording studio for multistreaming, webinars, and podcasts. Compare plans, features, and pros and cons.

Category
Video Conferencing
Pricing
freemium/subscription, from Free (paid plans from $35.99/month billed annually)
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2018
Free PlanWeb AppFree TrialAIFreemium

What Is StreamYard

StreamYard is an in-browser live streaming and recording studio. Users join a private backstage area, add guests by link, arrange camera feeds and overlays, and go live to one or several destinations at once, or record locally and publish later. It was founded in 2018 by Geige Vandentop and Dan Briggs and grew quickly among podcasters, marketers, and educators who wanted professional-looking live shows without learning traditional broadcast software.

Ownership has changed more than once: Hopin acquired StreamYard in 2021, and after Hopin's core events business was largely wound down, StreamYard was acquired by Bending Spoons, an Italian technology company, in April 2024. StreamYard remains available as a standalone product under its own branding.

Key Features

StreamYard supports multistreaming to several destinations at once, on-screen branded overlays and lower thirds, a backstage green room for guests before they go live, screen sharing, and both cloud and local recording. Higher tiers add 4K local recording, more simultaneous participants, custom RTMP destinations, and on-air webinar features such as registration.

Pricing

StreamYard's free plan supports single-seat use with a StreamYard watermark and limited storage. The Core and Advanced plans are billed monthly or annually, with a meaningful discount for annual billing, and both are scoped to individual use rather than team seats. Organizations that need multiple seats or admin controls are directed to custom Business pricing.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Runs entirely in the browser with no download required
  • Easy to multistream to several platforms at once
  • Professional-looking overlays and branding without design skills
  • Generous free plan for people just getting started
  • Integrates directly with major platforms like YouTube and Facebook

Cons

  • Core and Advanced plans are scoped to individual use, not team seats
  • A 2024 pricing restructuring significantly raised costs for many existing subscribers
  • Webinar-specific features are gated behind the higher Advanced tier
  • On-screen participant counts are capped per plan
  • No dedicated mobile app for producing a broadcast, only for viewing

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is StreamYard used for?

StreamYard is used to produce and broadcast live video, such as podcasts, webinars, and interviews, directly from a browser, or to record video for later publishing.

Is StreamYard free?

Yes, StreamYard has a free plan for individual use with limited streaming, storage, and a StreamYard watermark; paid plans remove the watermark and add more features.

Who owns StreamYard now?

StreamYard is owned by Bending Spoons, an Italian technology company, which acquired it in April 2024 after it had previously been owned by Hopin.

How many people can be on a StreamYard broadcast?

On-screen participant limits vary by plan, ranging from 6 on the free plan up to 10 or more on paid plans, with additional backstage participants supported on higher tiers.

Can StreamYard stream to YouTube and Facebook at once?

Yes, StreamYard supports multistreaming to several destinations simultaneously, including YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and custom RTMP endpoints.

Does the StreamYard free plan have a watermark?

Yes, broadcasts on the free plan include the StreamYard logo; paid plans remove this watermark.

Did StreamYard pricing change recently?

Yes, in August 2024 StreamYard restructured pricing, which raised the cost of individual and multi-seat plans significantly compared to prior pricing.

Is StreamYard good for podcasts?

Yes, StreamYard is widely used for video podcast production because it combines multi-guest calls, recording, and live streaming in one browser-based tool.

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