Red5 vs Wowza (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Red5 grades higher than Wowza: 1.8 against 1.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Red5 grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Red5
Self-hosted ultra-low latency streaming server and SDKs
Wowza
Streaming server software you run yourself, plus a cloud platform
Which one is for you
Pick Red5 if
- Fits if you have developers building a live product
- Works for teams that need autoscaling on their own cloud
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a ready webinar tool, as there is no registration
- Tight on Developer Pro: 100 connections with no clustering or autoscaling
- Watch out: hosting and data transfer are billed by your cloud provider
- Pricey if you want mobile SDKs: $349 a month per launched project
- Watch out: extra fees may apply for Castaway, custom SLAs and custom development
Pick Wowza if
- Fits if your team builds its own streaming service
- Makes sense if you need a server you can run in your own setup
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you stream occasionally: $195 a month, or $295 for a single month
- Not for you if you want webinars with registration and polls
- Watch out: extra transcoded channels cost $25 each beyond the 10 per instance, and extra instances cost $195 each
- Watch out: Wowza Video, the managed cloud, is priced separately, and Perpetual and Enterprise licenses are quoted by sales
How we grade them
| 1.8GPARed5Weak | 1.4GPAWowzaWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DDeveloper Pro is $29.99 for 100 connections with no clustering; unlimited connections start at $109, over the $99 dearer-quarter mark. | D$195 a month for Streaming Engine, right at the dearest tenth of the category ($195 and up). One month costs $295. |
| Free plan and trial | C30-day trial of Red5 Pro. The listing does not say whether it needs a card. | DA free trial is offered but its length is not stated, and there is no free plan. |
| Features | CLow-latency streaming, autoscaling, SDKs and an open-source server. No registration or reminders. | DIt is infrastructure: it streams and transcodes video, but gives no registration, polls or attendee chat, so you build the rest. |
| Ease of use | DIt is developer infrastructure that you deploy and configure. | DA server product that needs setup and configuration, with no rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and mobile SDKs, with AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean and Akamai. | BWeb platform listed, with RTMP, SRT, HLS, WebRTC, Docker and an API. |
| Best for | developers building low-latency streaming | self-run streaming server software |
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: Red5 and Wowza. How we grade
Price against what you get
Red5 starts at $29.99 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wowza starts at $195 a month and scores 1.7.
Red5 scores higher and starts $165.01 a month lower. Of the other webinar and live streaming tools on the chart, 10 score higher than Red5 for less, and 38 score higher than Wowza 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
- Red5 also covers video calls and webinars.
At a glance
| Red5 | Wowza | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29.99 per month for 100 connections | $195 per month for Streaming Engine, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Red5 Pro | Free trial for Streaming Engine and for Wowza Video; the page does not state its length |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Infrared5, Inc. | Wowza Media Systems, LLC |
| Price read from | red5.net | wowza.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Red5
- It is developer infrastructure, not a finished webinar product with registration or email reminders.
- Hosting is separate: you pay your cloud provider for servers and data transfer.
- Developer Pro is capped at 100 connections with no clustering or autoscaling.
- Pricing says additional fees may apply for services such as Castaway, custom SLAs and custom development.
Wowza
- It is infrastructure, not a webinar tool: there is no registration page, polls or attendee chat out of the box.
- Additional transcoded channels cost $25 each beyond the 10 included per instance.
- Wowza Video, the managed cloud product, is priced separately; this listing records the Streaming Engine plans shown on the pricing page.
- Perpetual and Enterprise licenses are quoted by sales, with no published price.
Key features
Red5
- Low-latency streaming
- Delivers live video over WebRTC, RTMP, RTSP and HLS, with recording and video on demand on every listed plan.
- Autoscaling
- Startup and above autoscale across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure or DigitalOcean; Developer Pro has no clustering.
- Instance-based licensing
- The FAQ says there is no charge per minute, viewer or bandwidth; price follows the license and number of running instances.
- Client SDKs
- SDKs for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, Unreal Engine and Unity are sold per launched project.
- Open-source server
- Red5 also publishes an open-source media server and TrueTime tools such as WatchParty and Studio, including a webinar variant.
Wowza
- Self-hosted streaming server
- Wowza Streaming Engine runs on premises, in a private or public cloud, behind a firewall or fully offline, and can be deployed as a Docker container.
- Many protocols
- It ingests and delivers WebRTC, SRT, RTMP, RTSP and HLS, and supports low-latency HLS and DASH.
- APIs and SDKs
- A REST API and a Java SDK let developers script the server and add custom modules.
- Transcoding
- Each paid Streaming Engine instance includes 10 concurrent transcoded channels; extra channels are $25 each.
- Security options
- DRM, watermarking and encryption are offered, and the company says it holds a SOC 2 Type II report.
- Managed cloud option
- Wowza Video is a separate cloud platform that handles ingest, transcoding, delivery, analytics and a player without running servers.
Plans
Red5
Developer Pro$29.99
per month, up to 100 connections
Live streaming, recordings and VOD with no clustering or autoscaling; email support.
Startup$109
per month, billed annually ($119 billed monthly)
Unlimited connections, adaptive bitrate and autoscaling on AWS, Google Cloud, Azure or DigitalOcean.
Growth Pro$279
per month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
Adds transcoding and a private Slack channel to the Startup features.
Enterprise$3,499
per month and up
Adds offline deployments, 24/7 support and phone support to Growth Pro.
Mobile SDKs$349
per month per launched project, billed annually ($419 monthly)
One fee covers the iOS, Android and Linux SDKs for a single project.
Wowza
One Month of Streaming$295
one-time purchase for one month, first instance included
Streaming Engine for occasional events: up to 10 concurrent transcoded channels on the first instance, extra instances $295 each.
Basic Monthly$195
per month, billed monthly, first instance included
Streaming Engine for steady use: up to 10 concurrent transcoded channels on the first instance, extra instances $195 each per month.
EnterpriseCustom
Annual plans and discounted rates, hybrid cloud services (CDN, Flowplayer, analytics), offline keys and professional services.
PerpetualCustom
A license with no expiration for containerized, air-gapped or self-hosted deployments, scoped and quoted by Wowza.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Red5 or Wowza?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Red5 is cheaper to start with: $29.99 a month, against $195 a month for Wowza. Red5 starts at $29.99 per month for 100 connections, and Wowza starts at $195 per month for Streaming Engine, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Red5 or Wowza?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Red5 nor Wowza has a free plan. Both have 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.