Hive Streaming vs Livestorm (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Livestorm grades higher than Hive Streaming: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hive Streaming grades higher on value for money. Livestorm grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hive Streaming
Enterprise eCDN and analytics layer for internal live video events
Paid
Livestorm
Browser-based webinars, live or on demand, priced per attendee
Free plan · from $1,200/yr
Which one is for you
Pick Hive Streaming if
- Fits if you're an IT team whose big live events strain the office network
- Works for internal comms teams that want viewing figures after a town hall
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a tool that hosts webinars, because it needs another platform to stream from
- Not for you if you're a small team: the vendor says its customers are the Global 2000
- Watch out: no prices are published, so you can't compare it until you've spoken to sales
- Watch out: nothing is free, and no trial is mentioned
Pick Livestorm if
- Fits if your audience should join from a browser with nothing to install
- Works for teams that run a few small webinars a year and add many colleagues, since team members are unlimited
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you run a webinar every month for up to 100 people, at $2,900 a year for 1,000 credits
- Watch out: credits don't roll over, and once they run out on Pro new attendees can't join until you move up a tier
- Tight if your audience comes back for several sessions, since each session uses another credit
- Skip it if you need HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo or Pardot sync without an Enterprise contract
- Watch out: restreaming, RTMP, translations and SSO are add-ons sold through sales, and its pricing page and help center show different figures
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAHive StreamingWeak | 1.8GPALivestormWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published, so there's nothing to set against the category's $45 middle. Buyers are sent to talk to a video expert, or to buy through Azure and AppSource. | FA monthly webinar for up to 100 people can use 1,200 credits a year, more than the 1,000-credit tier at $2,900 a year. That's several times what Zoom Webinars or GoTo Webinar charge for the same job, and unused credits don't roll over. Its pricing page and help centre don't show the same dollar figures, either. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial. | CThere's a free plan with no time limit, meant for trying it: 30 attendee credits a year, 30-minute events and 10 events per organization. That's a small test webinar or two, not a monthly habit. |
| Features | DIt adds network delivery, bitrate control and analytics, but it does no streaming of its own, so it's of no use without an existing enterprise video platform. | CThe whole webinar job is here: registration pages, reminder emails, a browser room with 25 speakers, polls and Q&A, on-demand and automated events, and replays with captions. The gaps: HubSpot and Salesforce sync are Enterprise only, and restreaming is an add-on sold through sales. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It's an enterprise rollout that gets set up alongside Teams, Kaltura or Vimeo, so there's configuration to do. | CNo App Store rating on record. Attendees just open a browser, which is the easy half. You still build registration pages and email cadences, and watch your credits, since new attendees can't join once they run out on Pro. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but it connects to Microsoft Teams, Kaltura, GlobalMeet and Vimeo. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app listed, but it connects to HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo, Pardot, Brevo and Zapier, and has an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT. The big CRM links are Enterprise only. |
| Best for | easing network load during big internal live events | browser webinars that charge per attendee |
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: Hive Streaming and Livestorm. How we grade
Where they differ
- Hive Streaming also covers reports and dashboards.
- Livestorm also covers multistreaming.
In commonWebWebinars
At a glance
| Hive Streaming | Livestorm | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $1,200 per year for up to 400 attendee credits |
| Free plan | None | Free plan with no time limit: 30 attendee credits a year, events of up to 30 minutes, 10 events per organization and 20 sessions per event. Custom emails and premium features are not included. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hive Streaming | Livestorm Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | support.livestorm.co |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hive Streaming
- No prices are published; buyers are sent to talk to a video expert, and it can be bought through Azure/AppSource.
- It is not a standalone webinar tool: it needs an existing enterprise video platform to stream from.
- Aimed at large enterprises; the vendor describes customers as the Global 2000.
Livestorm
- Credits are a yearly pack that does not roll over; once they run out on Pro, new attendees cannot join until you move to a higher tier.
- One credit is used per person per session, so someone who joins three sessions of an event uses three credits.
- Native HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo, Pardot and Microsoft Dynamics integrations are Enterprise only.
- Restreaming, RTMP, live translations and SAML SSO are add-ons sold through sales, and need a Pro plan of at least 1,000 credits.
Key features
Hive Streaming
- Hive eCDN
- Offloads video traffic from the company network; the vendor says it can reduce WAN load by up to 99%.
- Throughput manager
- Controls bitrate to keep video delivery stable during live events across offices and remote sites.
- IT and network analytics
- Real-time viewer and session visibility with breakdowns by site, device and VPN, plus error insights.
- Engagement analytics
- Executive reports add attention scoring that the vendor describes as GDPR-compliant, with shareable summaries.
- Event readiness checks
- Silent Test checks real 1080p delivery conditions before an event goes live.
Livestorm
- Browser event room
- Attendees join from a browser with nothing to install. Up to 25 speakers can be on screen, with chat, polls, Q&A with upvotes, emoji reactions and file, slide and video sharing.
- Registration pages and email cadences
- Brandable registration pages with custom fields, an embeddable sign-up widget, a company page of upcoming and past events, and unlimited reminder and follow-up emails.
- On-demand and automated events
- Events can be set to start, end or play a video on their own, offered on demand for people to watch at any time, or split into several sessions under one link.
- Replays and captions
- Replays are available right after the session with closed captions, and live captions are in beta. AI repurposing turns the transcript into content for other channels.
- Restreaming and RTMP add-ons
- Paid add-ons stream a Livestorm event to LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Facebook, Twitch and other destinations at once, or bring in a feed from studio software over RTMP.
- Attendance data and exports
- Tracks UTM sources, attendance and conversion rates, and exports registrants, chat and questions. A Livestorm MCP server connects it to Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents.
Plans
Hive Streaming
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hivestreaming.com.
Livestorm
Free$0
30 attendee credits a year, 30-minute events, 10 events per organization and 20 sessions per event; meant for trying the platform.
Pro$1,200
per year for up to 400 attendee credits
Price rises with the credits: $2,900 a year for 1,000 and $9,600 for 4,000. 4-hour sessions, 3,000 live attendees per event, unlimited team members.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom credit packages, 12-hour sessions, Enterprise CRM integrations, custom analytics, a dedicated success manager and an SLA.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hive Streaming or Livestorm?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hive Streaming has no price we could confirm, and Livestorm starts at $1,200 per year for up to 400 attendee credits.
Which has a free plan, Hive Streaming or Livestorm?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Livestorm has a free plan. Hive Streaming does not.
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.