BoxCast vs Restream (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Restream: it is second in our ranking of webinar and live streaming tools, and it grades higher too, 2.4 against 1.8.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Restream grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BoxCast
Live streaming platform with encoders, captions and OTT apps
Restream
Multistream one live video to YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn and more
Which one is for you
Pick BoxCast if
- Fits if you broadcast services or events to a large audience and need unlimited viewers
- Works for groups that want captions and TV apps from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you stream occasionally: Standard is $109 a month with one broadcast and 90 days of storage
- Not for you if you want webinars with sign-up pages and polls, since it is a broadcast platform
- Watch out: TV apps cost $25 to $200 a month more, and ticketing and the Spark encoder are extra
- Tight if you need more than one live stream at once, because that starts at the $249 Advanced plan
- Skip it if you want a trial you can judge in advance: its length is not stated
Pick Restream if
- Fits if you go live on YouTube, Twitch and LinkedIn at the same time and want their comments in one place
- Works for streamers who already use OBS and want one feed sent to several channels
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want 1080p from the browser studio without paying for Professional at $49 a month
- Pricey if you mostly want webinars: $99 a month for 100 attendees on top of the plan, or $299 for 500 on Business
- Tight if you're staying free, with Restream branding, only 2 channels and no cloud recording
- Watch out: recordings are kept 15 days (30 on Business), and extra seats are $25 a month each, sold only on Professional and Business
- Not for you if you want a desktop or phone app, since it's web only
How we grade them
| 1.8GPABoxCastWeak | 2.4GPARestreamFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$109 a month billed yearly for Standard, more than double the category's middle of $49, and it allows one broadcast at 1080p30. White-labelled embeds start at $169. | BStreaming to three platforms means Standard: $190 a year billed annually, or $19 by the month. Against the tools doing the same job, that's level with Ecamm and Castr and well under StreamYard's Core, so it sits in the cheapest band. Webinars are an extra $99 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | DA free trial is offered but its length is not stated; there is a 30-day money-back guarantee, which does not count as free use. | CThere's a free plan with no time limit: 2 channels at once and 6 people on screen in Studio. But Restream branding sits on the stream, it's 720p, and there's no cloud recording. |
| Features | CStreaming, storage and viewer-hour allowances are clear, but the TV apps, ticketing and the Spark encoder are separate purchases, and it has no registration or polls. | CIt does the multistreaming job fully: 30 or more platforms, custom RTMP and SRT, one chat for every channel, combined stats, and recorded video streamed as live. The gaps: Studio stays at 720p on Standard, and webinars and clips are paid add-ons. |
| Ease of use | CWeb only, with no rating on record, and getting the best from it means setting up an encoder. | CNo App Store rating on record. Guests join from a browser, but you connect each channel and build scenes and overlays in Studio, or set up OBS to stream in. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but it lists Facebook, YouTube, X, RTMP and SRT plus a public API. | BA web app, with no desktop or phone app listed, but it streams to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, LinkedIn, X and TikTok, takes feeds from OBS, Zoom and game consoles, and can send a webinar into Slack. |
| Best for | church and school live broadcasts with encoders | streaming to several platforms at once |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BoxCast and Restream. How we grade
Price against what you get
BoxCast starts at $109 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Restream starts at $19 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Restream starts $90 a month lower. Of the other webinar and live streaming tools on the chart, 6 score higher than BoxCast for less, and 2 score higher than Restream for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- BoxCast also covers ticketing and web analytics.
- Restream also covers transcription and webinars.
At a glance
| BoxCast | Restream | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $109 per month, billed annually ($119 billed monthly) | $19 per month, billed monthly ($190 a year billed annually) |
| Free plan | None | Stream to 2 channels at once with Restream branding, 6 on-screen participants in Studio at 720p, and no cloud recording. |
| Free trial | Free trial offered; the page does not state its length. 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | BoxCast | Restream, Inc. |
| Price read from | boxcast.com | restream.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BoxCast
- Each plan includes at least 10,000 viewer hours a month, though viewer numbers are not capped.
- BoxCast OTT apps are priced separately: $25, $75 or $200 a month billed annually ($35, $100 or $250 billed monthly).
- Ticketing is an add-on, and the BoxCast Spark encoder is bought separately.
- A Premium plan exists but is quoted through sales. It is a broadcast platform, not a webinar tool with registration and polls.
Restream
- Webinars cost extra: $99 a month for 100 attendees on Standard and Professional, and $299 a month for 500 on Business.
- The Free plan carries Restream branding, streams to only 2 channels and has no cloud recording.
- Studio streams at 720p on Free and Standard; 1080p needs Professional, and recordings are kept 15 days (30 on Business).
- Extra team seats cost $25 a seat a month and are sold only on Professional and Business.
Key features
BoxCast
- Cloud transcoding
- Creates up to 4 adaptive bitrate streams so playback adapts to each viewer's connection.
- Scheduling and simulated live
- Broadcasts can be scheduled in advance, and recordings or uploads can be re-broadcast as simulated live.
- Captions
- Automated captioning is listed for recorded broadcasts, and automated live captioning is listed among the plan features.
- Streaming to social media
- Streams at the same time to Facebook, YouTube and X.
- Viewer chat, overlays and documents
- Viewer chat, graphic overlays and PDF document display sit beside the live player.
- OTT apps
- Branded web, mobile and TV apps can be bought as a separate product, from $25 a month billed annually.
Restream
- Multistreaming
- Sends one stream to 30 or more platforms, from 2 at once on Free to 8 on Business, plus custom RTMP and SRT destinations and paired channels added by guests.
- Restream Studio
- A browser studio with up to 10 people on screen, scenes, overlays, logos, a scrolling ticker, QR codes and background music. Professional and up stream in 1080p and record in 4K.
- Encoder support
- Instead of Studio, you can stream from OBS, Zoom, mobile encoders or game consoles into Restream and let it fan the stream out to every channel.
- Cross-platform chat and analytics
- Comments from every channel arrive in one feed, and viewer and engagement stats from all channels are shown together, with a live health monitor during the stream.
- Webinars add-on
- One link handles registration, the live webinar and the replay. Attendees watch in a browser without an account, and the webinar can also be streamed into a Slack channel.
- Upload & Stream and clips
- Pre-recorded videos can be broadcast as live streams, and the Clips add-on cuts streams into short vertical clips for TikTok, Shorts and Reels.
Plans
BoxCast
Standard$109
per month, billed annually ($119 billed monthly)
Up to 1080p30, 1 concurrent broadcast, 90 days of storage, 10,000 viewer hours a month and unlimited viewers.
Deluxe$169
per month, billed annually ($189 billed monthly)
Up to 1080p30, 1 concurrent broadcast, 1 year of storage and white-labeled embeds.
Advanced$249
per month, billed annually ($279 billed monthly)
Up to 1080p60, 3 concurrent broadcasts, 1 year of storage.
4K$449
per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)
Up to 4K60, 3 concurrent broadcasts, 1 year of 1080p storage and 30 days of 4K storage.
Restream
Free$0
Stream to 2 channels at once with Restream branding; Studio at 720p with 6 people on screen.
Standard$19
per month, billed monthly ($190 a year billed annually)
3 channels, no Restream branding, guest channels, 10 people on screen, cloud recording of 6 hours per stream kept for 15 days, and transcription.
Professional$49
per month, billed monthly ($470 a year billed annually)
5 channels, 1080p from Studio, 4K recording, horizontal and vertical streams at once, 10 hours recorded per stream and 2 team seats.
Business$239
per month, billed monthly ($2,390 a year billed annually)
8 channels, a website player for 1,000 viewers, 2 seats, co-producer mode, team workspaces and 30 days of recording storage.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom channels and seats, SSO, multiple workspaces, SRT ingest, stream backup and an account manager.
Ways to pay less
BoxCast
- Annual discount
Annual billing saves $10 to $50 a month
Standard drops from $119 to $109 a month and 4K from $499 to $449 when billed annually.
Restream
- Annual discount
Annual billing labelled Save 20%
Restream's pricing page offers annual billing marked "Save 20%". Its price data gives $190 a year for Standard, $470 for Professional and $2,390 for Business, against $19, $49 and $239 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BoxCast or Restream?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Restream is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $109 a month for BoxCast. BoxCast starts at $109 per month, billed annually ($119 billed monthly), and Restream starts at $19 per month, billed monthly ($190 a year billed annually).
Which has a free plan, BoxCast or Restream?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Restream has a free plan. BoxCast does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.