Live Streaming Software and the Servers to Run It

Upstream is live streaming software and the cloud servers that run it. It keeps a channel live 24/7 from a playlist, plays prerecorded videos as live streams on a schedule, lets you go live from the browser with guests in Live Studio or from OBS, and sends each stream to up to 10 of 30+ supported platforms at once. Overlays, stings, ad breaks, backups and team access are built in.

Yes. Every plan has every feature, the free one too. The free plan gives you 24 hours of streaming a month at 1080p and 30 fps, one stream at a time, up to 10 platforms at once and no watermark, with no credit card. Paid plans start at $30 a month for one stream with no hour limit, and add 60 fps and 4K. See pricing.

No. Playlists and scheduled videos stream from Upstream’s servers, so your computer can be off and there’s no server to set up. To go live yourself, use Live Studio in the browser, or send OBS or any encoder to Upstream if you already use one.

Up to 10 at once, from 30+ supported platforms. YouTube, Twitch, Kick, Facebook, Instagram, Rumble and Mixcloud are built in, and YouTube, Twitch, Kick and Mixcloud connect with your account. TikTok and any other service with an RTMP or SRT ingest connect as a custom destination; TikTok gives the stream key to accounts with LIVE access. See all supported platforms.

A channel that’s always live is there whenever someone looks, in every time zone. Every hour people watch adds to your watch time, regulars come back to the same stream, and the chat keeps going. It keeps working for the channel while you make your next video. See 24/7 live streaming.

Yes. Live Studio sits over your playlist. Go live from the browser with a webcam and guests, or send OBS over RTMP, and place yourself full screen, in a corner or anywhere you drag. When nobody is live, the playlist plays. See Live Studio.

With YouTube connected, Upstream sets YouTube’s automatic midroll ads to Low, Balanced, High or your own gap of 6 to 30 minutes. You can also attach an ad break to a video in your playlist, so it plays after that video ends instead of cutting a song in half. Your channel needs to be in the YouTube Partner Program, and the event eligible for ads, to earn from them.

Streams run on Upstream’s servers, so nothing at home can stop them. Add a backup stream and an exact copy runs on a second server in another data centre, sending to YouTube’s backup ingest: if the main stream drops, YouTube switches to the backup and back again. It uses one of your plan’s streams. Upstream also stops Instagram before its 4 hour limit and Facebook before its 8 hour limit, and reconnects Twitch when it ends a broadcast at 48 hours. See platform limits.

Yes. Invite people with their own login as View Only, Moderator or Manager, and remove them any time. Nobody shares your password, and billing stays with you. See team access.

Yes. Upstream is on YouTube’s list of verified live streaming encoders, in YouTube Help.

In the Media Library, open Upload file, then Import from link, and paste a Google Drive link. Choose Connect Google Drive, then Choose from Google Drive to pick private files. Upstream only gets access to the files you pick.

Yes. The Live Streaming API sets up, starts and stops streams, playlists and destinations from your own code, and the MCP server lets AI assistants that support MCP manage them for you.

Yes, once. Upstream refunds a purchase if you ask within 14 days of buying it, one time per customer. The details are in the terms of service.