OBS Studio vs. StreamYard

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
OBS Studio
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
OBS Studio is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming, featuring real time video/audio capturing and mixing. Users can create scenes made up of multiple sources including window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams, and capture cards.
$0
StreamYard
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
StreamYard is a live streaming studio in a browser. Users can interview guests, share a screen, and simulcast to platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.N/A
Pricing
OBS StudioStreamYard
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
OBS StudioStreamYard
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
OBS StudioStreamYard
Considered Both Products
OBS Studio
Chose OBS Studio
Only one reason which is that OBS studio is free and open source and we had team members capable of using it effectively. Other softwares have great prebuilt features which make it super easy to go live for small streams and individual streamers.
Chose OBS Studio
I have never use anything like OBS Studio. This is very easy to use. I just saw some reviews online and downloaded OBS Studio. This is free for download, easy to run, no virus and no watermark.OBS Studio is a great programme for advanced users and there are no time limits.
StreamYard
Chose StreamYard
There are other options we have tried that are not here, but the strength of StreamYard is its ease of use and the ability to easily connect to multiple social media channels and stream to all of them at the same time. Some other software has other strengths that StreamYard …
Best Alternatives
OBS StudioStreamYard
Small Businesses
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.5 out of 10
OBS Studio
OBS Studio
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.5 out of 10
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.5 out of 10
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
OBS StudioStreamYard
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(13 ratings)
8.0
(4 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(4 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
OBS StudioStreamYard
Likelihood to Recommend
Open Source
From simple streaming to bigger events, OBS has been able to handle all of it with full confidence from us. Have never questioned if it was going to be unreliable in a specific situation, even with minimal training. Software identified the external input source easily and had no issues setting that up (Blackmagic Mini Recorder), and great for pulling in separate audio from the computer input.
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StreamYard
Because it's browser-based, StreamYard is especially well-suited for a situation like mine, where I'm unlikely to have repeat podcast guests very often. It's great that guests don't have to download special software just for a one-time appearance! I haven't personally used StreamYard for livestreaming, but based on its name and reputation, I imagine it's especially well-suited for that use case
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Pros
Open Source
  • RTMP Streaming with customizable bitrate
  • Scene Composition and Switching + source control which allows for creators and our customers to move between different types of content they might have (different video feeds, slides etc)
  • Audio mixer and audio control - noise gating, a/v syncing, audio source control
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StreamYard
  • It has an easy and comfortable interface for participants and admins.
  • It provides the opportunity to add videos, banners, and slides to your session.
  • It provides the opportunity to show live comments and answer to them right from StreamYard.
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Cons
Open Source
  • OBS can be a little clunky sometimes, the lots of features can be a bit overwhelming
  • I can multitask with it, but can't run heavy software like Premiere alongside it
  • No way to make adjustments to file after it's done, have to use After Effects or Premiere for that
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StreamYard
  • One big downside is that you can't download separate high quality video and audio files for each person in the stream.
  • The simplicity takes away from the "customization" that you could potentially have in other platforms.
  • A backroom where you could communicate with other people in the stream, without streaming it while live, would be very useful.
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Usability
Open Source
Very usable because it is free and has had a lot of people helping to suggest improvements and sponsors have allowed the product to grow in sophistication and suitability across a variety of situations and use needs. It is very logical to use once you get started, although the dashboard can seem intimidating at first.
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StreamYard
You don't need to be an expert and you don't have anything to install.
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Support Rating
Open Source
For a free product, a range of support is available. There are plenty of ways to find out answers to questions, because there are probably thousands of people using the product who are willing to share what they have learned. It usually works as designed, so needs for support are limited.
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StreamYard
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Open Source
I have also used TinyTake by Mango Apps and I prefer OBS studio because the video quality results are better and OBS allows you to record an unlimited length of the video. OBS also lets you record an entire screen instead of manually having to draw your parameters, which can create oddly sizes videos if you miss by a few pixels.
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StreamYard
I've already covered this in other responses. The key reasons I wound up using Descript for certain elements of my process was the better usability of its transcripts and the more-robust AI capabilities it offers. Its suggestions for strong clips seemed more on-point, and it offered functionality like chapter suggestions
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Return on Investment
Open Source
  • It was great to have a platform that is free that I can experiment with without having to use our business capital on.
  • It took time to learn, but it helped me understand a lot of things, so it was a great learning experience.
  • It was a great balance of cost and time with the high-quality product we got from it.
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StreamYard
  • It has increased the reach rate and the number of followers on social media pages, for example, on our Youtube page, the number of followers increased by 2 times the original amount.
  • It has reduced the amount of time our communications team spends on editing videos.
  • More team members are able to use StreamYard by themselves, which has allowed us to reduce the time our communications team spends on managing live sessions before.
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ScreenShots