Streamlabs vs VDO.Ninja (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Streamlabs grades higher than VDO.Ninja: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Streamlabs grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. VDO.Ninja grades higher on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Streamlabs
Live streaming apps, overlays and tools for creators
Which one is for you
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
Pick VDO.Ninja if
- Fits if you already use OBS and want remote guests on screen
- Works for people comfortable editing link parameters
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want one product that streams out to viewers, as you need OBS or similar
- Not for you if you want registration pages, polls or attendee numbers
- Too light for support: it is run by one developer with sponsorship, and no paid support is listed
- Watch out: setup is mostly URL parameters from the docs
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAStreamlabsGood | 2.4GPAVDO.NinjaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | AFree, with no paid plans listed, for the hosted service at vdo.ninja. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free Starter plan has 2 destinations, 1 guest and 1 GB of storage, and the editors add watermarks or limits. | AThe hosted service is free outright, and the site has a sponsor page for voluntary support. |
| Features | CScenes, overlays, alerts, multistream, a browser studio and editors, but no registration pages or polls. | DGuest links, rooms with a director and OBS browser-source links, but no stream-out, registration, polls or analytics, so it needs another product. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record, and you connect accounts and build scenes before going live. | DNo rating on record, and the docs explain setup through URL parameters. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok. | CWeb only, and it connects to OBS Studio over WebRTC. |
| Best for | creators who stream to Twitch and YouTube | bringing remote guests into OBS |
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: Streamlabs and VDO.Ninja. How we grade
Price against what you get
Streamlabs starts at $15.75 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. VDO.Ninja has no paid plan and scores 1.3.
Streamlabs scores higher, and starts $15.75 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other webinar and live streaming tools on the chart, none scores higher than Streamlabs for less, and none scores higher than VDO.Ninja 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
- VDO.Ninja is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Streamlabs also covers video editing and multistreaming.
- VDO.Ninja also covers video calls.
At a glance
| Streamlabs | VDO.Ninja | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $27 per month, or $189 per year | Free |
| Free plan | Starter plan, free always: free overlays and themes, 2 streaming destinations, 1 guest, limited free apps, no-fee tipping and 1 GB of storage. | The hosted service is free; the site describes it as 100% free, and the project has a sponsor page for voluntary support. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Logitech Services S.A. | Steve Seguin |
| Price read from | streamlabs.com | docs.vdo.ninja |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
VDO.Ninja
- It supplies video sources, not a stream-out service, so you need OBS or similar software to produce and send the broadcast.
- It has no registration pages, polls or attendee analytics, so it does not replace a webinar platform.
- The documentation is where setup is explained, and the interface is configured mostly through URL parameters.
- It is run by an individual developer with sponsorship support, so no paid support plan is listed.
Key features
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.
VDO.Ninja
- Guests join from a link
- Remote guests open a link in a browser to share a camera, microphone or screen; the documentation lists smartphones as a source.
- Rooms with a director
- A room has a director control center for managing guests, with optional passwords, approval before joining and sign-in options.
- Output into OBS
- Each feed or scene gets a link to paste into an OBS Studio browser source.
- Peer-to-peer WebRTC
- Video travels directly between browsers where possible, using WebRTC rather than a central media server.
- URL parameters
- Advanced Options in the docs let users tune quality, layout and behavior through parameters in the link.
- Self-hostable
- The code can be customized and self-hosted by teams that want control over deployment and signaling.
Plans
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.
VDO.Ninja
Free$0
The hosted service at vdo.ninja, with rooms, guests and OBS browser-source links. No paid plans are listed.
Ways to pay less
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.
VDO.Ninja
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Streamlabs or VDO.Ninja?
As of Nov 12, 2026, VDO.Ninja is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $15.75 a month when paid by the year for Streamlabs. Streamlabs starts at $27 per month, or $189 per year, and VDO.Ninja is free.
Which has a free plan, Streamlabs or VDO.Ninja?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Streamlabs and VDO.Ninja have a free plan.
Which platforms do Streamlabs and VDO.Ninja 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.