Upstream vs Playout.video

Playout.video Alternative for 24/7 Streaming

Playout.video and Upstream both loop pre-recorded videos as 24/7 live streams from the cloud, with a browser studio for guests. On Upstream, scheduling, a feed from OBS or a hardware encoder and up to 10 platforms at once come with the $30 plan. Playout.video keeps scheduling for its $49 plan and outside feeds for its $149 plan.

Start Streaming Free 24 hours each month on the free plan. No credit card.

Pick Upstream for

Scheduling, your own OBS feed and up to 10 of 30+ supported platforms on the $30 plan, plus a free plan with 24 hours every month and no watermark.

Playout.video costs more

Scheduling starts on its $49 plan and a feed from OBS or an encoder on its $149 plan. Upstream includes both for $30.

What it costs

Playout.video is $29, $49 or $149 a month for each stream. Upstream is $30, or $24 billed yearly, and $20 a stream from 4 streams.

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Prices and limits

Playout.video vs Upstream, prices and limits

What Playout.video and Upstream include for a 24/7 stream, from their own pricing pages. Prices in USD for one stream, billed monthly unless noted.

Checked October 10, 2026

Where Playout.video and Upstream differ

Capability	Playout.video Paid plans	Best fit Upstream Every plan
Cheapest 24/7 plan 1080p, 30 fps	$29 a month $19 billed yearly, Creator plan	$30 a month $24 billed yearly, everything below included
Scheduled start and stop	From $49 a month Channel plan, $39 billed yearly	Every plan once, daily, weekly or back to back cycles
Stream in from OBS or an encoder RTMP ingest	From $149 a month Business plan, $119 billed yearly	Every plan a free RTMP server URL, the free plan too
Platforms at once	5 on Creator 8 on Channel, 10 on Business	Up to 10 from 30+ supported platforms
Free plan	Stops after 2 hours watermark, 2 platforms, 10 GB, no scheduling	24 hours every month 1080p, no watermark, up to 10 of 30+ supported platforms, no card
60 fps	Paid add-on $10 a month extra, from the $49 Channel plan	$40 a month $36 billed yearly
4K	Paid add-on $40 a month extra, on the $149 Business plan only	$70 a month at 30 fps $120 at 60 fps
Four streams with scheduling Price a month	$196 4 Channel plans at $49 each	$80 $20 a stream from 4 streams
Guests on camera	8 on Creator 10 on Channel, 20 on Business	Up to 10 on stage guests join with a link
Music over video	Yes audio tracks over a background video	Yes plus a second channel for ambience under the songs
API	From $49 a month Channel plan	Every plan API and MCP server, the free one too
YouTube verified encoder	Not on the list	Yes on YouTube's verified encoder list

Cheapest 24/7 plan 1080p, 30 fps

Playout.video Paid plans: $29 a month $19 billed yearly, Creator plan
Upstream Every plan: $30 a month $24 billed yearly, everything below included

Scheduled start and stop

Playout.video Paid plans: From $49 a month Channel plan, $39 billed yearly
Upstream Every plan: Every plan once, daily, weekly or back to back cycles

Stream in from OBS or an encoder RTMP ingest

Playout.video Paid plans: From $149 a month Business plan, $119 billed yearly
Upstream Every plan: Every plan a free RTMP server URL, the free plan too

Platforms at once

Playout.video Paid plans: 5 on Creator 8 on Channel, 10 on Business
Upstream Every plan: Up to 10 from 30+ supported platforms

Free plan

Playout.video Paid plans: Stops after 2 hours watermark, 2 platforms, 10 GB, no scheduling
Upstream Every plan: 24 hours every month 1080p, no watermark, up to 10 of 30+ supported platforms, no card

60 fps

Playout.video Paid plans: Paid add-on $10 a month extra, from the $49 Channel plan
Upstream Every plan: $40 a month $36 billed yearly

Playout.video Paid plans: Paid add-on $40 a month extra, on the $149 Business plan only
Upstream Every plan: $70 a month at 30 fps $120 at 60 fps

Four streams with scheduling Price a month

Playout.video Paid plans: $196 4 Channel plans at $49 each
Upstream Every plan: $80 $20 a stream from 4 streams

Guests on camera

Playout.video Paid plans: 8 on Creator 10 on Channel, 20 on Business
Upstream Every plan: Up to 10 on stage guests join with a link

Music over video

Playout.video Paid plans: Yes audio tracks over a background video
Upstream Every plan: Yes plus a second channel for ambience under the songs

API

Playout.video Paid plans: From $49 a month Channel plan
Upstream Every plan: Every plan API and MCP server, the free one too

YouTube verified encoder

Playout.video Paid plans: Not on the list
Upstream Every plan: Yes on YouTube's verified encoder list

Checked October 10, 2026 From each company's own pricing and help pages. The sources are in the FAQ below. No credit card

Pricing

Playout.video pricing for 24/7 streams

What a 24/7 stream costs on Playout.video once it needs scheduling, an OBS feed or more streams, next to Upstream. Prices are a month, from both pricing pages.

Checked October 10, 2026

Playout.video plans and Upstream, by what you need

Capability	Playout.video Month to month	Playout.video Billed yearly	Best fit Upstream Month to month	Best fit Upstream Billed yearly
24/7 loop, no scheduling Playout.video Creator, 5 platforms	$29	$19 $228 a year	$30	$24 $288 a year
24/7 with scheduling Playout.video Channel, 8 platforms	$49	$39 $468 a year	$30	$24 $288 a year
24/7 with a feed from OBS Playout.video Business, 10 platforms	$149	$119 $1,428 a year	$30	$24 $288 a year
Four streams with scheduling Price for all four	$196	$156	$80	$64
1080p, 60 fps	$59 $49 Channel plus the $10 add-on	$39 plus the $10 add-on	$40	$36
4K, 30 fps	$189 $149 Business plus the $40 add-on	$119 plus the $40 add-on	$70	$63

24/7 loop, no scheduling Playout.video Creator, 5 platforms

Playout.video Month to month: $29
Playout.video Billed yearly: $19 $228 a year
Upstream Month to month: $30
Upstream Billed yearly: $24 $288 a year

24/7 with scheduling Playout.video Channel, 8 platforms

Playout.video Month to month: $49
Playout.video Billed yearly: $39 $468 a year
Upstream Month to month: $30
Upstream Billed yearly: $24 $288 a year

24/7 with a feed from OBS Playout.video Business, 10 platforms

Playout.video Month to month: $149
Playout.video Billed yearly: $119 $1,428 a year
Upstream Month to month: $30
Upstream Billed yearly: $24 $288 a year

Four streams with scheduling Price for all four

Playout.video Month to month: $196
Playout.video Billed yearly: $156
Upstream Month to month: $80
Upstream Billed yearly: $64

1080p, 60 fps

Playout.video Month to month: $59 $49 Channel plus the $10 add-on
Playout.video Billed yearly: $39 plus the $10 add-on
Upstream Month to month: $40
Upstream Billed yearly: $36

4K, 30 fps

Playout.video Month to month: $189 $149 Business plus the $40 add-on
Playout.video Billed yearly: $119 plus the $40 add-on
Upstream Month to month: $70
Upstream Billed yearly: $63

Prices in USD Monthly and yearly prices a month. Playout.video bills every plan per stream, and 60 fps (+$10) and 4K (+$40) are add-ons on top. No credit card

Scheduling on every plan

Pick a start time, or repeat it every day or week. Playout.video keeps its calendar for the $49 plan and up.

Schedule livestream StoppedScheduledStarting in 3sStarting in 2sStarting in 1sStreaming

Schedule type One-time schedule Recurring schedule Stream starts and stops automatically at the times you set. Choose the next start and end occurrence; future occurrences repeat from that window.

Start date and time Thu, Sep 24, 08:00 PM End date and time Thu, Sep 24, 11:00 PM

Frequency DailyNext start date and time Select date and time Thu, Sep 24, 08:00 PM September 2026 Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Set time of day

Your own OBS feed for $30

Copy an RTMP server URL into OBS or any encoder and Upstream sends it on. Playout.video takes outside feeds on its $149 plan.

Up to 10 platforms at once

Start once and Upstream sends the stream to up to 10 of 30+ supported platforms. Playout.video's $29 plan sends to 5.

Ambience under the music

Songs on one playlist, visuals on the other, and rain or a fireplace looping under the songs on a channel of its own.

Reviews

What Upstream customers say on Trustpilot

Public reviews from people who stream with Upstream.

4.6 245 reviews on Trustpilot

★★★★★ Super helpful staff if you have any questions. No issues with the platform so far. All minor issues were resolved within the same hour. Their customer service is top notch D Davone ★★★★★ I'm a new customer to upstream, but have been using vps for the past year. I've had numerous problems with my previous provider and decided to change. A Anthony ★★★★★ The upstream is amazing, and the stream designer is a really great tool! I can rest assured that the live stream is performing perfectly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. JM Jordan - MrSpherical ★★★★★ When I decided to run a Stream first I needed to how to do it, and I learned. HC Heidy Cardens ★★★★★ I love how easy Upstream is to use - especially for someone like me who has no technical knowledge of servers. The whole process of a 24/7 live stream was overwhelming to me until I found upstream. AF Alyssa Farris ★★★★★ results speak for themselves. since going live with upstream my stream got 10k views off an account with 900 followers.

Marc Ryan

★★★★★ Great Experience. Far better than other streaming services like Go Stream, Live Karo etc. A Atif ★★★★★ I'm completely brand-new to the nature of 24/7 livestreams. I needed something a bit specific, Sebastian and Dom were both HUGE helpers in explaining everything so I could easily understand it. NR Nolan Rempel ★★★★★ Just what we needed. AMAZING customer service as well!! PY Paint Your Heaven LLC ★★★★★ Fantastic service, super helpful support team. Would highly recommend. A Alister ★★★★★ I am brand new to stream a 24 seven I had the most amazing help from Dom & Mario!!! To be honest, their customer service is just as amazing as Apple! N Nina

Pricing · per concurrent stream

One free stream. Paid gets cheaper as you scale.

Start with 1 paid stream at $30/mo, scale to 1000+, and pay less as you add streams: 2 streams are $50/mo, 3 streams are $70/mo, then 4+ streams are $20/stream/mo or $16/stream/mo when billed yearly.

Free plan No credit card

1 stream only

$0 / forever

1 concurrent stream · 24 hr/month

1080p at 30 FPS

Your price Unlimited streaming

1 stream

$30 / month

$30/stream/mo · 4+ volume rate is $20

$30 start $20 volume rate

Simple pricing while you scale

Every stream includes No add-ons, no upsells. Same on the free plan.

Cloud playout

No bandwidth limits

Scheduled streams Pre-recorded live

Stream recordings

Multistream x10 Stream Designer + overlays Live Studio Playback controls Separate playlists Stings, jingles + ad inserts Team access Live Streaming API MCP for AI assistants Certified for YouTube Live

No watermark

Instant cloud availability*

^* Free-plan capacity may be limited during unusual demand.

FAQ

Upstream vs Playout.video questions

01 How much does Playout.video cost?

Playout.video has a free plan, then Creator at $29 a month, Channel at $49 and Business at $149, or $19, $39 and $119 a month billed yearly (checked October 10, 2026). Each price is for one stream, and every extra stream costs another plan. 60 fps is a $10 a month add-on from Channel and 4K a $40 a month add-on on Business, so 1080p at 60 fps costs $59 a month and 4K $189 (add-on prices checked October 12, 2026). Upstream is $30 a month, or $24 billed yearly, with scheduling and an RTMP server included.

02 Is Upstream cheaper than Playout.video?

For a 24/7 stream that starts and stops on a schedule, yes: $30 a month against Playout.video’s $49, or $24 against $39 billed yearly. Four scheduled streams cost $80 a month on Upstream and $196 on Playout.video. Playout.video’s Creator plan is $19 a month billed yearly, lower than Upstream’s $24, but it has no scheduling, sends to 5 platforms and takes no feed from OBS.

03 Does Playout.video have a free plan?

04 Can I stream from OBS into Playout.video?

05 Can I schedule 24/7 streams on Playout.video?

06 Is Playout.video a YouTube verified encoder?

07 Is Playout.video ever the better pick?

08 Where do these prices and limits come from?

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Guides

Try Upstream next to Playout.video

Start free with 24 hours a month, 1080p and up to 10 platforms at once. No credit card, no watermark.

No credit card 1 stream included 24 hours/month Full functionality

Start Streaming Free See pricing