Dacast 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 2.2.
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. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dacast
Live streaming and video hosting with bandwidth-based plans
Restream
Multistream one live video to YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn and more
Which one is for you
Pick Dacast if
- Fits if you stream and host video for a paying audience
- Works for events where you can estimate the bandwidth you will use
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want registration, polls or attendee chat, because none are listed
- Watch out: overage costs $0.30 per GB of bandwidth and $0.15 per GB of storage
- Pricey if you need paywalls or ads, since they start on the $63 Event plan
- Tight if you pay monthly, as that carries a three-month minimum
- Watch out: extra team seats are $10 each a month, and multi-CDN and China streaming are add-ons
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
| 2.2GPADacastFair | 2.4GPARestreamFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$39 a month billed yearly for Starter, between the cheaper quarter ($27) and the middle ($49) of webinar tools, with only 2.4 TB of bandwidth a year. | 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 | CA 14-day trial needs no card, and there is no free plan. | 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 | CLive channels with RTMP and HLS, a video library, paywall and ads from the Event plan, and analytics. It lists no webinar tools. | 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 the encoder side is yours to set up. | 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 there is a public API and Google Analytics and Google Drive links. | 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 | live streaming and video hosting by bandwidth | 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: Dacast and Restream. How we grade
Price against what you get
Dacast starts at $39 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 $20 a month lower. Of the other webinar and live streaming tools on the chart, 2 score higher than Dacast 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
- Dacast also covers reports.
- Restream also covers transcription.
At a glance
| Dacast | Restream | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $39 per month, billed annually | $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 | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dacast | Restream, Inc. |
| Price read from | dacast.com | restream.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dacast
- Overage runs $0.30 per GB of bandwidth and $0.15 per GB of storage.
- Monthly payment carries a three-month minimum, and extra team seats cost $10 per user per month.
- Multi-CDN, China Live and China VOD are paid add-ons.
- The page lists no webinar-specific features such as registration or 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
Dacast
- Live streaming
- Full 1080p broadcasting with RTMP and HLS channels and browser or mobile streaming.
- Video hosting
- VOD library with bulk upload from Google Drive and VOD to Live.
- Monetization
- Paywall and pre, mid and post roll advertising start on the Event plan.
- Security
- Domain and country restriction on all plans; DRM and AES for VOD on Scale.
- Analytics
- Advanced analytics and a Google Analytics integration are listed.
- Support
- 24/7 support on all plans, with phone support on Scale.
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
Dacast
Starter$39
per month, billed annually
2.4 TB bandwidth a year and 500 GB storage, with live streaming, simulcast and VOD hosting.
Event$63
per month, billed annually
6 TB upfront and 250 GB storage; adds paywall, ads, countdown and stream monitoring.
Scale$165
per month, billed annually
24 TB a year, 2,000 GB storage, unlimited channels, DRM, 3 team members and phone support.
CustomCustom
High-volume plans with custom SLAs, migrations and extra support.
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
Dacast
No public discounts listed.
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, Dacast or Restream?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Restream is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $39 a month for Dacast. Dacast starts at $39 per month, billed annually, and Restream starts at $19 per month, billed monthly ($190 a year billed annually).
Which has a free plan, Dacast or Restream?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Restream has a free plan. Dacast 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.