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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 24 free hours a month. No credit card. Officially certified YouTube

Key facts about Upstream

What it is
Cloud streaming software that does four things in one plan: 24/7 streams from your videos, scheduled pre-recorded streams, live shows with guests, and multistreaming.
Price
$30 a month per 1080p stream, or $24 billed yearly. As low as $16 a stream with 4 or more, billed yearly.
Free plan
24 hours of streaming every month, with no card and no watermark. The hours reset monthly.
Platforms
30+ platforms, up to 10 at once from one stream.
Playlists
Separate video and audio playlists that loop, in order or shuffled.
YouTube
Certified for YouTube Live. Upstream is on YouTube's official list of verified encoders.

Trusted by teams in broadcast and entertainment

Disney MS logo Disney
Eurovision MS logo Eurovision
NBCUniversal MS logo NBCUniversal
Pinkfong MS logo Pinkfong
Red Bull Red Bull

Setup

How to stream to YouTube with Upstream

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. A YouTube channel added as a multistream destination with YouTube Connect gets its own privacy, category, thumbnail, description, audience and DVR settings. While live, you can edit the title, description, thumbnail, privacy and category. Audience and DVR stay locked until you turn that destination off.

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

Reviews

What Upstream customers say on Trustpilot

Excerpts from Trustpilot reviews by people who stream with Upstream.

4.5 242 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 Marc Ryan
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.

Unlimited streaming

FAQ

YouTube live streaming questions

More from Upstream

Other ways to use Upstream with YouTube

Send your YouTube stream to other platforms, or turn uploaded videos into a live stream.

Multistreaming Stream to up to 10 platforms at once Send one stream to YouTube, Twitch and Kick together. Upstream makes the extra copies in the cloud, so you only upload one. See multistreaming 24/7 streaming Run a 24/7 live stream from your videos Loop a playlist of uploaded videos as one live stream with no set end time. See 24/7 streaming Prerecorded Go live with a video you already made Upload a video and pick a start time. It airs on YouTube as a live stream, not a Premiere. See prerecorded streams
Guides and comparisons

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
Start Streaming Free See pricing

Guides

More on streaming to YouTube