The Wowza Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Wowza in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Wowza
The Insider’s Guide
Streaming server software you run yourself, plus a cloud platform
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among webinar and live streaming tools, read from Wowza’s own pages.
Made by Wowza Media Systems, LLC · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Wowza’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Wowza’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
1.4
GPA, above 0 of the 34 other webinar and live streaming tools we grade
Wowza sells live and on-demand video streaming infrastructure. Wowza Streaming Engine is a server you run on your own hardware or cloud account, and Wowza Video is its managed cloud platform with its own player. It is aimed at developers and organizations building streaming into their own services, not at people who want a ready-made webinar room.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Wowza, taken from its own pages and our grades.
A server product that needs setup and configuration, with no rating on record.
- 1
Best for self-run streaming server software
Wowza makes streaming server software you run yourself, plus a cloud platform.
- 2
Paid plans start at $195 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $195 per month for Streaming Engine, billed monthly.
- 3
You can try it first
Free trial for Streaming Engine and for Wowza Video; the page does not state its length
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
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.
- 6
Many protocols
It ingests and delivers WebRTC, SRT, RTMP, RTSP and HLS, and supports low-latency HLS and DASH.
- 7
APIs and SDKs
A REST API and a Java SDK let developers script the server and add custom modules.
- 8
A 1.4 GPA, above 0 of 34
That is against the other webinar and live streaming tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
Nothing Wowza does is plain enough to make in a weekend. The 2 things listed below take a company.
Wowza at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $195 per month for Streaming Engine, billed monthly
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- Free trial for Streaming Engine and for Wowza Video; the page does not state its length
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Wowza Media Systems, LLC, since 2007
- Category
- Webinars & Live Streaming
- Our grade
- 1.4 GPA, weak
The report card
Best for self-run streaming server software
Wowza makes streaming server software you run yourself, plus a cloud platform. It starts at $195 a month, and there is no registration, polls or chat, so it is infrastructure for engineers rather than a webinar tool.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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 | D | A free trial is offered but its length is not stated, and there is no free plan. |
| Features | D | It is infrastructure: it streams and transcodes video, but gives no registration, polls or attendee chat, so you build the rest. |
| Ease of use | D | A server product that needs setup and configuration, with no rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web platform listed, with RTMP, SRT, HLS, WebRTC, Docker and an API. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Wowza is for
- Fits if your team builds its own streaming service
- Makes sense if you need a server you can run in your own setup
Who it is not for
- 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
Good to know
Good for
- Developers building live video into their own app or service
- Organizations that need streaming on their own servers or offline
- Teams that want to choose their own encoder, CDN and player
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$195
A month to start
Wowza is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $195 per month for Streaming Engine, billed monthly.
A free trial is offered but its length is not stated, and there is no free plan.
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.
Enterprise
Custom
Annual plans and discounted rates, hybrid cloud services (CDN, Flowplayer, analytics), offline keys and professional services.
Perpetual
Custom
A license with no expiration for containerized, air-gapped or self-hosted deployments, scoped and quoted by Wowza.
Trying it first
Free trial for Streaming Engine and for Wowza Video; the page does not state its length
Read from wowza.com on Nov 12, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Streaming server software you run yourself, plus a cloud platform. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: self-hostable, public API.
It is infrastructure: it streams and transcodes video, but gives no registration, polls or attendee chat, so you build the rest.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- WebRTC
- SRT
- RTMP
- HLS
- Docker
Wowza is made by Wowza Media Systems, LLC, and has been around since 2007.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
0/34
Other webinar and live streaming tools it is graded above
Wowza's GPA of 1.4 is higher than 0 of the 34 other webinar and live streaming tools we grade, and level with 1.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 10 of 34) and worst on features (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $195 a month, against a middle price of $50 for the category: 26 of the 28 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. 24 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 35 webinar and live streaming tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Wowza’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 1 of 34
- DFree plan and trialAbove 6 of 34
- DFeaturesAbove 0 of 34
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 34
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 10 of 34
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 30 webinar and live streaming tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Wowza is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
Nothing Wowza does is plain enough to make in a weekend. The 2 things listed below take a company.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 33 of the 34 other webinar and live streaming tools grade higher. It costs $2,340 a year.
What you could not
- It plugs into other products, WebRTC, SRT and RTMP among them, and has an API.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: SOC 2.
What this rests on. Wowza’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Dacast, Castr, Restream, BoxCast and vMix
The 5 tools Wowza is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
Dacast
Free trial · from $39/mo
Live streaming and video hosting with bandwidth-based plans.
- Wowza is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Dacast also covers reports, webinars and multistreaming.
- 2.4GPA
Castr
Free trial · from $16.67/mo
Multistreaming, video hosting and 24/7 playout in one service.
- Wowza is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Castr also covers multistreaming.
- 2.4GPA
Restream
Free plan · from $19/mo
Multistream one live video to YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn and more.
- Restream has a free plan. Wowza does not, though it has a free trial.
- Wowza is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Restream also covers transcription, webinars and multistreaming.
- 1.8GPA
BoxCast
Free trial · from $109/mo
Live streaming platform with encoders, captions and OTT apps.
- Wowza is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- BoxCast also covers ticketing, web analytics and multistreaming.
- 2.2GPA
vMix
Free trial · from $60 one-time
Windows live video production and streaming software.
- Only Wowza lists a web app.
- Only vMix lists a Windows app.
- Wowza is self-hostable, according to its own site.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Wowza free?
No, Wowza is a paid product, but you can try it first. Free trial for Streaming Engine and for Wowza Video; the page does not state its length.
How much does Wowza cost?
Wowza lists 4 plans. One Month of Streaming: $295 one-time purchase for one month, first instance included.
What platforms does Wowza work on?
Wowza is available on Web.
Does Wowza have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Wowza is listed for Web.
Does Wowza have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Wowza is listed for Web.
Is Wowza open source?
Wowza is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Can Wowza be self-hosted?
Yes. Wowza's own site says it can be run on a server of your own.
Does Wowza have an API?
Yes. Wowza offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Wowza integrate with?
Wowza's listing names WebRTC, SRT, RTMP, HLS and Docker. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Wowza?
Wowza is made by Wowza Media Systems, LLC. It dates from 2007.
What are the alternatives to Wowza?
The closest alternatives to Wowza in our directory are Dacast, Castr, Restream, BoxCast and vMix.
How does Wowza compare with other webinar and live streaming tools?
Wowza's GPA of 1.4 is higher than 0 of the 34 other webinar and live streaming tools we grade, and level with 1.
Is Wowza good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Wowza D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $195 a month, against a middle price of $50 for the category: 26 of the 28 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Wowza?
Nothing Wowza does is plain enough to make in a weekend. The 2 things listed below take a company.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Wowza’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Wowza's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Wowza Media Systems, LLC. Prices change, so check wowza.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
5,038
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
5,038
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Wowza, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/wowza
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Wowza: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/wowza
Know someone choosing between webinar and live streaming tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/wowza/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded webinar and live streaming tools after Wowza, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Webinars & Live Streaming Insider's GuideEvery one of the 35 webinar and live streaming tools we grade, compared
- Lightstream Insider's GuideBrowser-based live streaming studio, built for console streamers2.8 GPA
- ClickMeeting Insider's GuideWebinars and online meetings with paid events and automation2.6 GPA
- Streamlabs Insider's GuideLive streaming apps, overlays and tools for creators2.6 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Wowza’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Wowza is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Wowza Media Systems, LLC. Prices and plans change: check wowza.com before you buy.