Castr vs Streamlabs (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Streamlabs grades higher than Castr: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Streamlabs grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
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
Streamlabs
Live streaming apps, overlays and tools for creators
Which one is for you
Pick Castr if
- Fits if a church or school streams services or events to several platforms
- Works for selling access to live streams behind a paywall
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a studio in the browser without asking Castr to switch it on
- Not for you if you've never used an encoder and don't want to learn
- Tight if you stream a lot to your own player, since each plan has a bandwidth allowance
- Watch out: monthly plans get less bandwidth and fewer concurrent streams than annual ones
- Pricey if you need DRM or phone and TV apps, which are Events add-ons on top of $624.99 a month
Pick Streamlabs if
- Fits if you stream games or talk shows and want overlays and alerts
- Works for creators who want a desktop, phone and browser setup from one login
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want registration pages, polls or attendee follow-up, as the pricing page has none
- Tight if you stay free: 2 destinations, 1 guest and watermarks or limits in the editors
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $27 against $189 for the year
- Watch out: the Logitech G discount for Ultra members is US only, and there is no team or business plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACastrFair | 2.6GPAStreamlabsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BUltra is $27 a month or $189 a year (about $15.75 a month), at the low end of what webinar tools charge, with just one paid plan. |
| 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. | CThe free Starter plan has 2 destinations, 1 guest and 1 GB of storage, and the editors add watermarks or limits. |
| 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. | CScenes, overlays, alerts, multistream, a browser studio and editors, but no registration pages or polls. |
| 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 rating on record, and you connect accounts and build scenes before going live. |
| 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. | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok. |
| Best for | multistreaming plus hosting your own video | creators who stream to Twitch and YouTube |
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 Streamlabs. 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. Streamlabs starts at $15.75 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
Streamlabs scores higher and starts $0.92 a month lower. Of the other webinar and live streaming tools on the chart, 2 score higher than Castr for less, and none scores higher than Streamlabs 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
- Streamlabs also covers video editing.
At a glance
| Castr | Streamlabs | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $16.67 per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly) | $27 per month, or $189 per year |
| Free plan | None | Starter plan, free always: free overlays and themes, 2 streaming destinations, 1 guest, limited free apps, no-fee tipping and 1 GB of storage. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of the Starter plan, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Castr Live Streaming, Inc. | Logitech Services S.A. |
| Price read from | castr.com | streamlabs.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
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.
Streamlabs
- Ultra is the only paid plan; the pricing page shows no team or business tier.
- The free Starter plan allows 1 guest and 2 destinations, and the editors add watermarks or limits.
- It is built for creator streams, so webinar features such as registration pages and polls are not part of the pricing page.
- The Logitech G discount for Ultra members is US only.
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.
Streamlabs
- Desktop streaming app
- Streamlabs Desktop for Windows and Mac handles scenes, overlays, alerts and streaming, with multistream and dual output on Ultra.
- Multistreaming
- The free plan streams to 2 destinations; Ultra raises that to 3 or more.
- Guests from the browser
- Talk Studio records and broadcasts from a browser with up to 12 guests, and saves up to 10 hours of recording on Pro.
- Mobile and console streaming
- A mobile app for iOS and Android and a console service that streams to Twitch without a desktop.
- Alerts, tips and Cloudbot
- Alerts and widgets, a tip page and a chat bot come with every plan; Ultra adds a custom tip domain and a custom-named bot.
- Editing and clips
- Cross Clip reformats clips for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, and the Video and Podcast Editors cover browser-based editing.
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.
Streamlabs
Streamlabs Starter$0
Free overlays and themes, 2 destinations, 1 guest, no-fee tipping, 1 GB of storage and basic Cloudbot.
Streamlabs Ultra$27
per month, billed monthly ($189 per year when billed annually)
1000+ overlays and themes, 3+ destinations, up to 11 guests or cameras, 60+ apps, custom tip domain, 10 GB storage, and Pro tiers of its editors and Talk Studio.
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.
Streamlabs
- Annual discount
Annual billing saves $135
Ultra is $189 a year against $27 a month, which the pricing page states as a $135 saving.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Castr or Streamlabs?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Streamlabs is cheaper to start with: $15.75 a month when paid by the year, against $16.67 a month for Castr. Castr starts at $16.67 per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly), and Streamlabs starts at $27 per month, or $189 per year.
Which has a free plan, Castr or Streamlabs?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Streamlabs has a free plan. Castr does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Castr and Streamlabs run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Streamlabs lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.