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YouTube Live Streaming Software for 24/7 Channels

Connect your channel once and keep it live 24/7 from your videos, with your computer off. Upstream creates each YouTube broadcast and runs midroll ads as often as you pick.

Start Streaming Free No credit card required
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Upstream creates the YouTube live event

Pick your channel and Upstream creates the event with your title, description and thumbnail. It starts the event when your stream goes live.

Midroll ads on a schedule you pick

Choose how often ads run, from Low to High, or set a gap of 6 to 30 minutes. In a playlist, Upstream puts the ad break between two videos, not in the middle of one.

YouTube Live API

YouTube settings you can change from Upstream

Upstream sets these through the YouTube Live Streaming API, so you don't need YouTube Studio open.

Title and description

Custom thumbnail

Public, unlisted or private

Category and made for kids

DVR (rewind) on or off

Scheduled start time

Midroll ad frequency

Ads together or staggered per viewer

Channel or brand account to stream to

Send a backup stream to YouTube

Upstream sends a second copy of your stream to YouTube's backup ingest. If the main feed drops, YouTube switches to the backup and viewers keep watching. The backup uses one more stream slot on your plan.

Scheduled YouTube streams show as Upcoming

Set a start time once or repeat it every day or week. Viewers see the stream as Upcoming on your channel and can set a reminder. Upstream starts it at that time.

Compare

Streaming to YouTube with OBS vs with Upstream

With a stream key, OBS runs on your computer and you set up the event in YouTube Studio. Upstream connects to your channel through the YouTube API and streams from the cloud.

YouTube

Where OBS and Upstream differ on YouTube

Stream key
OBS with a stream key On your computer
Copy it from YouTube Studio
Upstream In the cloud
Not needed with Google sign-in
Title, description and thumbnail
OBS with a stream key On your computer
Set in YouTube Studio
Upstream In the cloud
Set in Upstream and sent to YouTube
Scheduled streams
OBS with a stream key On your computer
You start OBS yourself at the scheduled time
Upstream In the cloud
Shows as Upcoming and starts on its own
Midroll ads
OBS with a stream key On your computer
YouTube's automatic setting or manual breaks
Upstream In the cloud
Low to High, or every 6 to 30 minutes
Ad breaks in a video playlist
OBS with a stream key On your computer
Can land in the middle of a video
Upstream In the cloud
Placed between videos
Backup ingest
OBS with a stream key On your computer
Needs a second encoder and connection
Upstream In the cloud
Built in, uses a second stream slot
Your computer crashes or loses power
OBS with a stream key On your computer
The stream ends
Upstream In the cloud
Uploaded videos keep streaming
Twitch and Kick at the same time
OBS with a stream key On your computer
Plugins and more upload bandwidth
Upstream In the cloud
Up to 10 destinations from one stream
Stream to YouTube free for 24 hours every month No credit card. Your computer can be off while the stream runs. No credit card

Setup

How to stream to YouTube with Upstream

1

Connect your YouTube channel

Create a free account and sign in with Google. Pick the channel or brand account you want to stream to.

2

Choose what goes live

Upload videos to stream as a playlist, send a feed from OBS, or go live from your browser in Live Studio.

3

Set the details and go live

Add a title and thumbnail, then pick privacy and ad settings. Start now or schedule it for later.

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.

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

FAQ

YouTube live streaming questions

Start streaming to YouTube

Sign in with Google and go live without copying a stream key. The free plan includes 24 hours of streaming every month.

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