Castr vs Switcher Studio
We give Castr a 2.4 GPA and Switcher Studio a 1.8, out of 4.0. Castr grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on 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
Switcher Studio
Multicamera live streaming from iPhone, iPad and Mac
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACastrFair | 1.8GPASwitcher StudioWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | DStudio is $45 a month billed annually ($65 by the month). Its pricing page gives Studio 2 destinations while its multistreaming page says 5, so three platforms may need Suite at $79. Either way, that's around three to five times what Ecamm and Castr charge for the same job. |
| 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. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day free trial on Mac or iOS, and the listing doesn't say whether it asks for a card. There's also a 7-day pass for $35 if you only have one event. |
| 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. | CUp to nine cameras, live graphics, 5 remote guests, multistreaming, video hosting and ticket sales, which is more than most streaming tools do. But its own pages disagree on whether Studio streams to 2 destinations or 5, and selling needs Suite. |
| 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. It's an app you install, but the point is wiring up several cameras, graphics templates and destinations, so expect some setup before the first stream. |
| 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. | CApple only: Mac, iPhone and iPad. It streams to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X and custom RTMP, sells through Stripe and Shopify, and the iOS app can be your camera in Zoom, Teams or Meet. |
| Best for | multistreaming plus hosting your own video | multicamera streams from iPhones and iPads |
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 Switcher Studio. 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. Switcher Studio starts at $45 a month and scores 2.0.
Castr scores higher and starts $28.33 a month lower. Of the other webinar and live streaming tools on the chart, none scores higher than Castr for less, and 4 score higher than Switcher Studio 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). Switcher Studio starts at $45 per month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly).
- Only Castr lists a web app.
- Only Switcher Studio lists macOS and iOS apps.
- Switcher Studio also covers video editing.
At a glance
| Castr | Switcher Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $16.67 per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly) | $45 per month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of the Starter plan, no credit card required | 14-day free trial on Mac or iOS |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Castr Live Streaming, Inc. | Switcher Inc. |
| Price read from | castr.com | switcherstudio.com |
| 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
Switcher Studio
- Churches and schools streaming services or games with several cameras
- Creators who film and stream from iPhones and iPads
- Selling tickets or subscriptions to live and recorded video
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.
Switcher Studio
- The app runs on Mac, iPhone and iPad only.
- Sales of tickets, pay-to-view videos and subscriptions carry a $0.99 fee per transaction, and selling needs the Suite plan.
- The pricing page gives Studio 2 multistream destinations while the multistreaming page says 5.
- Suite's discounted first month or first year renews at $99 a month or $948 a year, and past payments are not refunded.
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.
Switcher Studio
- Multicamera switching
- Connect up to nine wireless cameras, including iPhones, iPads and webcams, or HDMI cameras such as DSLRs and GoPros, and cut between angles live.
- Multistreaming
- Streams to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X and custom RTMP channels at once, with Facebook, YouTube and Twitch comments shown in one panel.
- Live graphics and guests
- Branded graphic templates, lower thirds, music, green screen, screen sharing, live polls and on-screen chat, with up to 5 remote guests in split-screen.
- Video hosting and watch pages
- Upload a video library, embed players, playlists and collections on any site, or build watch pages, with password protection and viewer analytics.
- Selling access
- Suite sells tickets to live streams, pay-to-view videos and subscriptions through Stripe, and shoppable streams link to Shopify products through the Cartr app.
- Camera for video calls
- The iOS app can act as the webcam in Zoom, Teams or Meet, with camera switching, graphics and pre-recorded clips during the call.
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.
Switcher Studio
Studio 7-Day Pass$35
one-time, for 7 days
All Studio plan features for a single event, for a one-time fee.
Studio$45
per month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)
Multicamera streaming and recording, multistreaming to 2 destinations, graphics templates, 5 remote guests, 10 hosted videos and 250 cloud assets.
Suite$79
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Everything in Studio plus 20 destinations, 100 hosted videos, watch pages and selling tickets, pay-to-view and subscriptions. First month $79, or $71 a month the first year.
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.
Switcher Studio
- Annual discount
Up to 30% off with annual billing
Switcher's pricing page labels annual billing up to 30% off: Studio is $45 a month billed annually against $65 monthly, and Suite $79 against $99.
- Other savings
Suite first-term discount
Suite is $20 off the first month ($79, then $99 a month) or $95 off the first year ($71 a month, then $948 a year), shown as a limited-time saving.
