StreamYard vs Restream: Which Multistreaming Plan Fits Your Live Show?
Choose Restream when destination count and monthly cost drive the decision; choose StreamYard when you want 1080p, recording, branding, and guest production bundled into one browser studio. Restream can send a branded 720p show to two channels for free, while StreamYard requires a paid plan for simultaneous delivery to multiple destinations.
For paid workloads, Restream Standard is the economical three-channel option, and Professional is the lower-cost route to five destinations with 1080p Studio output. StreamYard Core is competitive for a three-channel guest show because its higher entry price includes Full HD, recording, production graphics, custom RTMP, and room for ten people on screen.
The plan that fits each workload
Do not compare tiers merely because their names or positions look equivalent. Find the least expensive plan that satisfies the entire workload: simultaneous destinations, browser-studio resolution, participant capacity, recording deliverables, branding, RTMP endpoints, and the number of people who need account access.
- Two-channel solo show: Restream Free at $0 when 720p and Restream branding are acceptable. Removing the branding requires Restream Standard at $19 per month, while StreamYard requires Core at $44.99 for multistreaming.
- Three-channel guest show: Restream Standard at $19 for 720p, Restream Professional at $49 for 1080p, or StreamYard Core at $44.99 for three destinations with 1080p and integrated recording tools.
- Five-channel 1080p production: Restream Professional at $49. StreamYard requires Advanced at $88.99 because Core stops at three destinations.
- Business broadcast: Restream Business at $239 for eight channels, two included seats, co-producer mode, team workspaces, and a website player with a stated 1,000-viewer capacity. StreamYard asks organizations to obtain current business pricing.
These are public month-to-month prices in US dollars before tax. Both pricing pages display lower effective monthly rates for annual commitments, but annualized figures should not be compared with cancel-any-month prices without acknowledging the longer commitment.
What the current pricing pages confirm
StreamYard’s individual-plan matrix lists Core at $44.99 per month with three destinations, 1080p, ten on-screen participants, unlimited streaming and recording, custom RTMP destinations, production graphics, and 50 hours of permanent storage. Advanced is $88.99 per month and raises multistreaming to eight destinations, local recording to 4K, and backstage capacity to fifteen; the page designates both tiers for individual use and directs companies to business plans.
Restream’s pricing matrix lists two channels on Free, three on the $19 Standard plan, five plus 1080p Studio streaming on the $49 Professional plan, and eight on the $239 Business plan. It also confirms six on-screen participants on Free, ten on the paid creator tiers, cross-platform chat, two included seats on Professional and Business, and separately priced Clips packages.
An independent comparison updated on May 7, 2026 characterizes Restream as the stronger fit for distribution-heavy workflows and StreamYard as the simpler choice for guest-led production. That distinction in the Riverside feature comparison is useful as an editorial assessment, but its StreamYard business price should not replace a fresh quote because the vendor’s current public page routes organizations to sales.
Destination count and 1080p determine the first upgrade
Restream has the more useful free multistreaming tier. A solo host can reach two supported channels from the browser without paying, provided that 720p output and Restream branding are acceptable. StreamYard Free can be used to evaluate its studio and make limited local recordings, but it does not cover a simultaneous two-platform show.
At three destinations, resolution separates the entry plans. Restream Standard removes its watermark but keeps Studio output at 720p. StreamYard Core costs $25.99 more each month and includes 1080p, while Restream requires its $49 Professional tier for Full HD from the browser Studio.
That creates a narrow reversal for a three-channel 1080p show: StreamYard Core is $4.01 less than Restream Professional. At five destinations, Restream Professional becomes the clear price leader because StreamYard must move to Advanced; the resulting $39.99 difference buys StreamYard capacity that only matters if the show needs its additional destinations or larger backstage room.
Keep live output and recording resolution separate. Restream Professional can stream at 1080p from its Studio and record at up to 4K, while StreamYard Advanced’s 4K specification applies to local recordings rather than the live program. Destination platforms may impose their own resolution, eligibility, or bitrate limits regardless of the subscription.
Guest shows, podcasts, and recording
StreamYard Core is a self-contained option for a recurring interview or panel. It supports ten people on screen, records live streams, permits unlimited local recordings, removes the StreamYard logo, and provides graphics, overlays, video clips, backgrounds, custom layouts, and intro and outro video.
Advanced retains the ten-person on-screen limit but allows fifteen people backstage. That distinction matters for a webinar in which speakers rotate through the program: backstage capacity is not the same as the number of people viewers can see simultaneously.
Restream supports six on-screen participants on Free and ten on its paid creator plans. Professional adds 4K recording, split-feed downloads, Full HD Studio output, and a second included seat, making it more appropriate than Standard when a producer needs independent access or editors need higher-resolution source files.
For a podcast, decide which deliverable has priority. If the live audience experience is central, compare comment management, overlays, guest turnover, and recovery controls. If the downloadable master is the main product, prioritize separate tracks, local recording quality, storage duration, download workflow, and compatibility with the editing system.
Run a complete guest rehearsal before purchasing annually. Test invitation links, microphone and camera selection, screen sharing, backstage communication, recording downloads, synchronization, and recovery after a brief connection loss. A participant ceiling shows how many people fit, not how comfortably one producer can manage them.
Branding, chat, and custom RTMP
Both free tiers display vendor branding, while their entry paid plans remove it. StreamYard Core bundles logos, overlays, clips, backgrounds, custom layouts, chat overlay, and intro and outro video. That package can justify its price for a formatted talk show whose host must trigger production elements without changing applications.
Restream supplies cross-platform chat and common Studio elements such as scenes, overlays, backgrounds, QR codes, and a scrolling ticker. The relevant operational question is whether the producer can monitor the required destinations and reach each control quickly during the rundown, not simply whether a feature appears in a matrix.
Custom RTMP connects an endpoint that lacks a native integration, but it does not guarantee feature parity. Video may arrive while comments, viewer totals, scheduling, authentication, or automatic metadata remain unavailable. Count each RTMP endpoint as a destination and test the receiving service’s accepted resolution, frame rate, audio format, and orientation.
Four reproducible monthly budgets
1. Two-channel solo broadcast
Assume one host, two native social destinations, 720p output, no recording requirement, and vendor branding allowed. Restream Free costs $0; StreamYard Core costs $44.99 because multistreaming is not included on StreamYard Free. If clean branding is mandatory, Restream Standard raises the budget to $19.
2. Three-channel guest show
Assume one host, four guests, three destinations, custom branding, audience comments, and a recording. Restream Standard is the minimum at $19 when 720p is acceptable. For 1080p Studio output, Restream Professional costs $49 and StreamYard Core costs $44.99.
3. Five-channel 1080p production
Assume five simultaneous destinations, no more than ten on-screen participants, Full HD from the browser studio, recording, and no extra workspace. Restream Professional totals $49; StreamYard Advanced totals $88.99. Restream saves $39.99 for this exact workload, while StreamYard provides three unused destination slots and a larger backstage allowance.
4. Business broadcast
Assume two authenticated team members, eight destinations, 1080p, co-production controls, a team workspace, and an embedded audience of no more than 1,000 concurrent viewers. Restream Business covers those stated requirements at $239 per month. StreamYard’s reproducible cost is the written sales quote, which should specify seats, storage, destination capacity, support, security requirements, and renewal terms.
Add-ons and constraints that change the total
Restream’s Clips package is not required for any of the four live workloads. Adding the displayed allowance increases the monthly total by $19 on Standard, $29 on Professional, or $59 on Business. Treat repurposing as a separate expense unless it replaces an editing service already in the production budget.
Additional Restream team seats are listed at $25 per seat per month on eligible paid tiers. Extra workspaces can also carry a separate charge, so a larger production group should not assume that the two-seat Business example scales without additional cost.
StreamYard’s individual tiers include AI clips, but storage still needs attention. Unlimited recording activity is not the same as unlimited permanent storage: once the included allowance is full, the producer must remove material or obtain more capacity where available.
Destination rules can override both vendors’ plan allowances. A network may require live-stream eligibility, account approval, a particular account type, or a supported orientation. Verify every account individually because two pages on the same network can still consume two destination slots.
Make the purchase from a real show specification
Write down the smallest production you expect to run during the next quarter: exact destination accounts, required Studio resolution, maximum simultaneous speakers, backstage headcount, recording deliverables, RTMP endpoints, operators, workspaces, and branding rules. Price that configuration monthly and rehearse it before considering an annual commitment.
- Pick Restream Free to validate a branded two-channel concept at 720p.
- Pick Restream Standard for the least expensive clean three-channel show when 720p is enough.
- Pick StreamYard Core for a three-channel guest program that needs 1080p, integrated recording, and show graphics.
- Pick Restream Professional for five-channel 1080p distribution or a two-seat creator workflow.
- Pick StreamYard Advanced when more than three destinations, a larger backstage room, or 4K local source files specifically justify the upgrade.
- Request comparable business proposals when roles, support, security, embedded audiences, or multiple workspaces matter.
Use the exact host, guests, accounts, overlays, and encoder settings intended for the real broadcast during the rehearsal. That exposes costs a feature matrix cannot show directly: producer workload, guest friction, missing chat integrations, and the time required to recover when a destination fails.
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