10 Best Live Streaming Apps (Comparison + Features)

According to Research and Markets: “The global video live streaming solutions market to grow with a CAGR of 17.80% over the forecast period from 2019-2025”. This market is set to reach new heights, as more and more people are looking for platforms to access live video streams. Being a leading app development agency, we deal with a lot of queries like which are the best live streaming platforms, the cost to develop live-streaming apps, and how to earn money from live streaming platforms. We decided to answer all these questions in this blog.

‘Going live’ is a style statement. We see social media influencers, artists, speakers, and gamers going live on various platforms to interact with their audience and build their brand.

Many businesses also release their products on live streams instead of holding a press conference. When businesses or artists stream live, it allows users and the general audience to ask meaningful questions and make a connection with them.

With the world facing the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become a norm to stay home more. Many offices have announced work from home, students are studying in the safety of their houses, artists are not allowed to organize concerts, conferences, training sessions, and even fitness classes are held online.

This gives an opportunity to new players in the market to not just create a live video streaming service app but also earn from it. Let’s take a look at some stats to prove our point.

According to the Grand View Research, the global video streaming market size was valued at USD 59.14 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at 21.3% annually from 2022 to 2030. You can see the graph that shows the growth of video and live streaming market.

According to Crunchbase Daily, in one of the recent funding rounds (Series E), an event-streaming tech startup called Confluent raised $250 million, making the company value at a $4.5 billion valuation. Confluent is an enterprise event streaming platform used by many companies like Audi, Euronext, Demonware, and TIVO.

Whether you’re looking for apps to stream live videos, apps to go live on or want to build your own app and need to study your competitors, here are the top 10 live streaming platforms you must look out for.

Top 10 Live Streaming Apps

Here is the list of top live streaming apps for you to check.

Apps	Features	Reviews (Play Store)	Download
Tango	Collaborate with your friends or other Tango streamers Meet, interact, and engage with new people Start earning money through gifts	4.3 3,917,219 Reviews
Streamlabs	Swap between the front and rear cameras Customize your stream with our new mobile themes	3.9 90,209 Reviews
YouTube Live	Edit privacy of live streams to target a specific audience Preview before you go live on YouTube	4.3 12,07,46,457 Reviews
Facebook Live	Choose who sees your videos Engage with the audience via comments	2.3 11,98,49,892 Reviews
Twitch	Watch gamers playing video games and esports tournaments Do live chat during any gaming, Esports, and IRL broadcast Broadcast your own gaming content	4.6 4,461,376 Reviews
Instagram Live	Join with other users Send responses and comments Record live videos to post later	3.8 12,31,10,480 Reviews
Livestream	Explore live events from broadcasters around the world Get notified when your friends and followed accounts go live Built-in chat to engage with viewers	3.6 70,303 Reviews
Vimeo	Discover and upload videos Use live Q&A and polls, live graphics, audience chat Track progress with video analytics	4.1 1,30,921 Reviews
Hakuna	Join as a guest to receive gifts from viewers Invite multiple guests Watch or listen to top live streamers	3.7 72,525 Reviews
Broadcast Me	Order with a tap Find restaurants Real-time tracking Online payment	3.8 150 Reviews

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1. Tango

   Tango is one of the popular live streaming apps that allows you to go live and video chat with your friends and viewers. It is the best app for live streaming because it helps you to meet new friends, showcase talents, and support artists. This platform allows content creators to earn online by turning live streams and broadcasts into a business. You can also collaborate with other streamers and create great live stream experiences for the audience as well as receive gifts from them.

   Pros	Cons
   Earn online through live streams Play interactive games with live video streamers Collaborate with your friends and streamers	App gets frozen frequently Fewer filter options to search favorite streamers Some keyboard functions don’t work properly

2. Streamlabs

   Second, on our list is Streamlabs. Whether you’re playing mobile games or using your camera, it is easy to go live with just a few taps of the Streamlabs app. It gives you an option to chat with people all over the world in real-time. Also, it is easy to swap between the front and rear cameras efficiently, hence it is the best live streaming app for Android. Link to your existing channels so that you can go live and chat quickly with your fans whenever you want.

   Pros	Cons
   The app doesnt take too much space Customize your stream with new mobile themes	No new content is displayed sometimes No floating window option is available

3. YouTube Live

   YouTube, of course, needs no introduction. It is the world’s biggest Live Streaming Apps. YouTube is a great channel to monetize for artists via ads but only after they’ve become popular enough. It allows the users to use YouTube live and broadcast their content on a real-time basis if they have 10,000 or more subscribers. You can reach your community in real-time, host charity events, in short, it is your chance to interact, discuss and build community in real time.

   Pros	Cons
   YouTube app is free to use Users are in control of what to put out	Only available to users who have 10k+ subscribers Users won’t be able to monetize it unless popular

4. Facebook Live

   Facebook is the world’s largest social network with over 2.45 billion monthly active users. Basically, about a third of the world’s population actively uses Facebook. One reason for this popularity is the Facebook live feature. In fact, one out of every 5 videos uploaded on Facebook is a live video.

   Pros	Cons
   It is free to use just like the app Any user can do a live video	There are data security issues The app takes up too much space

5. Twitch

   Professional live video game players are familiar with Twitch TV. It is considered to be one of the best gameplay streaming apps. Twitch TV is used by approximately 10 million gamers every day to stream, watch, and chat about video games. With livecast streaming, users can watch live stream gaming videos, Esports, and any IRL broadcast.

   Pros	Cons
   There is a lot of variety of live streams Videos are very interactive	The app constantly buffers Need to log in every time with an OTP

6. Instagram Live

   Instagram has become one of the most popular social networks in the world. Instagram has various features that have its users hooked to it. Instagram launched the Live Stories feature in late 2016. It became popular within a short span and many social media influencers have made their career all because of this app feature. Instagram live is introducing the new feature, “Practice Mode” which permits Instagram creators to test the connection, other pre-show preparation, and manage the lighting prior to going live.

   Instagram’s ability to plan Instagram Live videos puts it on a level with other live platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, as well as Instagram’s parent company, Facebook. Apart from enhancing live streaming features, Instagram is also changing its video strategy, by combing long-form video with the feed video.

   has been revamping its video strategy in recent days

   Pros	Cons
   Any Instagram user can make a live video The videos are interactive	Video gets paused if you get a call No way to monetize

7. Livestream

   Livestream was founded in 2007 by Max Haot, Dayananda Nanjundappa, Phil Worthington, and Mark KornfiltIn. It was known as Mogulus. It is a paid-for tool that requires a substantial investment. If you are an event organizer it may work for you but for individual streamers, this can be very costly. The free version integrates with Facebook Live, Tango, and many other platforms. It is now acquired by Vimeo and called Vimeo Livestream.

   Pros	Cons
   It has various advanced tools such as white-labeling and multi-bitrate streaming Users can use the integration with popular social media platforms	Advanced features can get quite costly The navigation voice sometimes skips directions due to glitches

8. Vimeo

   Vimeo can be called as YouTube’s competitor. It takes pride in being ad-free. Vimeo became the first video player app to support high-definition videos in 2007. The best thing about Vimeo is that it lets users can stream events, stream to unlimited viewers, and simultaneously cast them to social platforms.

   Pros	Cons
   View 4k, Ultra HD even when offline Users can follow their favorite creators	Can get pricey and has a paid subscription Has many video tools but difficult in navigation

9. Hakuna

   Hakuna is a live streaming platform, where you can meet, chat, and make new friends. This is one of the best live broadcasting apps that allows you to invite multiple guests into your live session and find your own community. You can easily choose and switch from video to radio mode while streaming. On Hakuna, you can receive gifts from viewers even if you are not a host, you can join as guests.

   Pros	Cons
   Receive gifts from viewers being a host or guest Follow live streamers and interact with them as guests	In-app advertisements Less filter options available to search people

10. Broadcast Me

    Broadcast Me allows the users to live stream on almost every social media network like Twitter or YouTube. These platforms plus various other applications are integrated into it. There is one upfront payment which gives lifetime access for using this live streaming application

    Pros	Cons
    It delivers HD video quality to viewers This live stream app is fairly easy to use	Works properly only on latest gadgets and OS versions Users have complained about hidden charges

Use Cases of Live Streaming Platforms

Live stream apps are used by a variety of users, from a standup comic to a professional fitness trainer. Here are some uses cases for apps that are used for streaming live video content.

1. Social Media Influencers

   The Millenials and Gen-Z follow social media influencers for their lifestyle and even philosophy. These influencers need to interact with their followers frequently to stay in the limelight. Live video streams create a feeling of exclusivity and this is why influencers use a live video platform to get connected to their followers easily.

2. Gamers

   Gamers is another set of people that use a live streaming platform. They interact with fellow gamers and also use screen share to let others know about their gaming techniques. They use discord servers and need strong video hosting servers for streaming video. Gamers use live streaming services with video management and security features. Gamers interact with their fans and also broadcast esports events and gaming tournaments on live video player apps.

3. Artists

   Artists like singers, standup comics, dancers, musicians, cannot host their events and concerts due to the Coronavirus outbreak. This is why they have turned to stream videos on live video streaming platforms. They are looking to monetize their art and also for audience engagement via the comments section.

4. Speakers and Trainers

   Whether it is motivational speakers or trainers of any sort like an educational teacher, yoga instructor, gym trainer, art teacher, they have started to look for video platforms. They need their viewers and listeners to understand what they are saying with a great viewing experience and broadcast quality.

5. Business people and Brands

   Many businesses need live streaming platforms to organize conferences, meetings, and other business events like launching a product. Many big brands choose to go for viewer engagement with the help of streaming platforms. They promote or sell their products or services audience members via such platforms. This saves them money on marketing their products on television or newspapers or other mass media.

6. Event organizers

   Event organizers are among the class of professionals whose business has suffered a lot due to the pandemic. Many events have been canceled or postponed indefinitely. Video streaming application has become a part of their business needs. Whether it is a conference, wedding, concert, business function, religious event, or any other event, live streaming platforms have become the safest way to conduct an event.

Cost of Developing a Live Streaming Platform

The cost of developing a live streaming app depends on various factors like the hourly charge of the developer, the number, and the complexity of the features to be included. To help you make an estimate, there is a simple formula that you can use to calculate app development costs.

Developer’s Hourly Charge X Time Taken to Develop the Platform= Total Development Charge

Here is a table that has all the key features of a live video streaming apps along with their development hours:

Suppose a custom mobile app development company like us charges $40 per hour and you develop both Android and iOS apps with only the basic features then according to the formula, 673.75 hours X $40 =$26,950.

How Live Streaming Apps Make Money?

Do you know that good live streaming apps gets higher chances of monetization? Check the 4 best methods which live streaming apps apply to make money.

1. Advertisements

   Many platforms like Twitch or YouTube use this model to get revenue.

   Your revenue will be proportional to the number of ads you place. Although, we all know that nobody likes to see annoying ads. This is why you must only put interesting and useful ads, that too just 1 or 2.

   Ads work best if the users have not subscribed. However, if you place the ads on the sidebar, they can be displayed to the subscribed users as well.

2. Subscriptions

   Paid subscriptions are a great way for the users to get rid of the ads and for you to get a steady flow of income. Monthly or annual subscriptions bring in revenue at regular intervals.

   You can also provide special services to only the subscribed users so they feel exclusive. This keeps them interested in the subscription as well.

3. Premium Features

   Premium or paid features are another great way to monetize your app. You can develop additional features like analytics and give access to the users only when they buy this feature.

   If your feature is actually worth it, users will have no problem in buying it.

4. Partner Programs

   This is a great way to earn additional revenue. Your users will have an opportunity to partner with other live streaming websites. This way, websites will get good quality content and streamers get paid for their content.

Let’s check out some frequently asked questions and their answers.

Ready to build Your Own Live Streaming App?

We hope that this article has answered most of your questions about live stream apps. If there are any other queries or doubts about the best live streaming apps, feel free to contact us.

We are a leading Android and iOS app development company. We have developed live streaming apps along with the photo and video apps like Photo Translator In fact, we have developed for 50+ photo-video apps for our clients worldwide.

If you want to hire dedicated developers for your project, feel free to contact us. We will also provide a free quote for your project idea.