Castr vs Restream
We give Castr and Restream the same GPA: 2.4 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Castr
Multistreaming, video hosting and 24/7 playout in one service
Restream
Multistream one live video to YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn and more
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACastrFair | 2.4GPARestreamFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $16.67 a month billed annually ($199.99 a year, $19.99 by the month) and streams to 6 destinations, enough for three platforms. That's level with Restream and Ecamm, well under StreamYard's Core, and it includes hosting and a paywall. | 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 | CNo free plan, but a 7-day free trial of Starter with no credit card. The other plans go straight to checkout. | CThere's a free plan that never runs out, and it really streams: 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 | CMultistreaming to 30 destinations, hosting, a player, cloud recording, 24/7 playout and a paywall on every plan. The gaps: you bring the encoder, as the browser Cloud Production switcher is enabled by Castr on request, and recordings are kept up to three days. | 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 | CNo App Store rating on record. You set up an encoder such as OBS or a camera, add each destination and embed the player, which takes some know-how. | 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 | BA web service with no desktop or phone app listed. It sends to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and LinkedIn, takes RTMP, SRT, RTSP and HLS input from OBS or cameras, and has an API on Premium. | 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 | multistreaming plus hosting your own video | 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: Castr and Restream. How we grade
Price against what you get
Castr starts at $16.67 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 Castr starts $2.33 a month lower. Of the other webinar and live streaming tools on the chart, none scores higher than Castr for less, and none scores 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
- Castr starts at $16.67 per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly). Restream starts at $19 per month, billed monthly ($190 a year billed annually).
- Restream has a free plan. Castr does not, though it has a free trial.
- Restream also covers transcription and webinars.
At a glance
| Castr | Restream | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $16.67 per month, billed annually ($19.99 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 | 7-day free trial of the Starter plan, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Castr Live Streaming, Inc. | Restream, Inc. |
| Price read from | castr.com | restream.io |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Castr
- Churches and schools streaming services or events to several platforms
- Broadcasters running a 24/7 channel from pre-recorded video
- Selling access to live streams behind a paywall
Restream
- Creators who go live on several platforms at the same time
- Streamers who already use OBS and want one feed sent everywhere
- Companies streaming launches or town halls to social channels and Slack
Worth knowing
Castr
- Streams come in from encoder software, hardware or IP cameras; the browser-based Cloud Production switcher is enabled by Castr on request.
- Each plan has a player-bandwidth allowance, and monthly plans get less upfront bandwidth and fewer concurrent streams than annual ones.
- Only Starter has the 7-day trial; the other plans go straight to checkout.
- DRM and native iOS, Android and TV apps for the Events plan are add-ons arranged with sales.
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
Castr
- Multistreaming
- One RTMP or SRT feed goes out to up to 30 destinations, including YouTube, Facebook pages and groups, Twitch and LinkedIn; TikTok and Instagram connect through custom RTMP.
- Video hosting and player
- An embeddable player with analytics, video storage from 100 GB, and unlimited viewers within each plan's bandwidth allowance.
- Cloud recording and live-to-VOD
- Records streams of up to 72 hours, keeps the recordings for up to three days, and turns live streams into on-demand videos.
- 24/7 playout
- Runs pre-recorded videos as an always-on live channel, like a TV station, on every plan.
- Paywall and monetization
- A paywall comes with every plan, in-stream ads start on Standard, and Events adds subscriptions, pay-per-view and more than 30 payment gateways.
- Ingest protocols and API
- Takes RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MPEG-TS and SRT input, offers pull links from Standard, and adds API access and HLS URLs on Premium.
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
Castr
Starter$16.67
per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly)
2 concurrent streams (3 on annual), 6 destinations, 200 GB of player bandwidth a month and 100 GB of video storage.
Standard$41.67
per month, billed annually ($49.99 billed monthly)
10 destinations, 500 GB of bandwidth a month and 200 GB of storage, plus SRT and RTMP pull links and in-stream ads.
Premium$166.67
per month, billed annually ($199.99 billed monthly)
5 streams (10 on annual), 20 destinations, 3 TB of bandwidth, 2 TB of storage, adaptive bitrate, API access and 3 team members.
Ultra$291.67
per month, billed annually ($349.99 billed monthly)
10 streams (15 on annual), 30 destinations, 5 TB of bandwidth, 3 TB of storage, failover ingest and low-latency playback.
Events$624.99
per month, billed annually ($749.99 billed monthly)
A branded OTT web app with a CMS, subscriptions and pay-per-view sales, 15 streams, 30 destinations and 10 TB of bandwidth a month.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom stream, bandwidth and storage allocations, enterprise controls and migration help, arranged with sales.
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
Castr
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
Castr's pricing page says annual billing gives 2 months free plus a larger upfront bandwidth pool: Starter is $199.99 a year against $19.99 a month.
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.
