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StreamYard Pricing 2026: Free, Basic, and Professional Plans Compared
StreamYard pricing in 2026 has three tiers: a free plan with a StreamYard watermark and 6 hours of monthly recording, Basic at $49 per month that removes the watermark and raises recording to 10 hours with up to 5 guests, and Professional at $99 per month with unlimited recording hours, up to 10 guests, and full custom branding. Annual billing saves around 20% on both paid plans. There is no time-limited free trial — the free plan is permanent within its constraints.
StreamYard's appeal is browser-based live streaming with no software to install — guests join via a link and you broadcast directly to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, and other platforms simultaneously. The pricing question most users face is whether the $49 Basic tier justifies the watermark removal and extra recording hours, or whether the free plan's constraints are workable for their streaming frequency. The sections below answer that question directly for different streaming volumes and use cases.
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Use this StreamYard pricing page to understand cost structure, usage limits, and where pricing conversations need more detail.
StreamYard Pricing at a Glance: Free to $99/mo
The free plan's 6-hour monthly recording cap is generous enough for most occasional streamers — a weekly one-hour show uses half that allocation with room to spare. The watermark is the more visible constraint: it overlays the StreamYard logo in the corner of every stream and recording, which is professionally limiting for branded shows or paid client work. That combination of constraints pushes most professional streamers to Basic within the first month of active use.
Basic at $49 per month is a significant jump from free — effectively you are paying $49 per month primarily to remove a logo. For context, OBS Studio is free and produces professional watermark-free streams, but requires technical setup and hardware encoding. StreamYard's value at $49 is the browser-based convenience, guest invitation system, and multi-destination streaming without technical configuration. If that convenience is worth $49 per month to you, Basic is the right tier. If not, OBS is the free alternative.
Free: $0/mo ($0/mo — StreamYard watermark, 6 hours recording/mo, up to 6 guests)
Basic: $49/mo (~$39/mo billed annually)
Professional: $99/mo (~$79/mo billed annually)
Pricing source: official pricing page, verified 2026-03-25.
Read the pricing through your actual needs, not only the packaging language.
StreamYard pricing should be evaluated in the context of content volume, team size, and the commercial metric that drives expansion cost over time.
Pricing pages should help creators understand not just what the vendor charges, but what storage limits, export quality, and feature gating mean for total cost of ownership. Use this page to frame vendor conversations before committing to a plan.
- Clarify whether cost scales by minutes, projects, team members, or another metric.
- Confirm what premium features, storage upgrades, or priority support add to total spend.
- Model pricing against the actual content volume expected over the next 12 months.
StreamYard Free Plan: What You Can and Can't Do
Stay on the free plan if you stream occasionally — less than 3 hours per month — and are comfortable with the watermark or use StreamYard to test the platform before committing. Basic at $49 per month is right for content creators running a regular branded show, podcasters streaming their recordings, and anyone for whom the watermark creates a professionalism problem. The 10-hour recording cap covers two to three one-hour shows per week comfortably.
Upgrade to Professional at $99 per month when you consistently stream more than 10 hours per month, need more than 5 simultaneous guests for panel shows or large team broadcasts, require custom overlays and branded backgrounds for each show, or stream to more than the Basic plan's destination limit. At that streaming volume and complexity, the unlimited hours and guest capacity pay for themselves in workflow friction avoided.
StreamYard Basic at $49/mo: Is It Worth It Over Free?
Calculate your actual monthly recording hours before choosing a plan
Count how many hours of live streaming you do per month, not per episode. A weekly one-hour show generates four hours per month — well within the free tier's 6-hour cap. A daily 30-minute show generates 15 hours per month, immediately requiring Professional. Map your real cadence to the plan limits before paying.
Decide whether the watermark is a professional dealbreaker
The StreamYard watermark on the free plan is visible and persistent. For personal streams or hobby content, many creators find it acceptable. For branded shows, client work, or any stream where professional appearance matters, the watermark is a credibility problem that makes Basic's $49/mo justifiable. Be honest about your audience's expectations before deciding.
Check your guest count requirements against each plan's limit
Basic supports up to 5 on-screen guests simultaneously. Professional supports 10. If you run panel discussions, interview shows, or group conversations with more than 5 participants, Basic will not accommodate your format and Professional is the minimum viable tier. Solo shows and two-person interviews fit comfortably on Basic.
Compare StreamYard against OBS if budget is a constraint
OBS Studio is free, open-source, and produces broadcast-quality streams without watermarks. The trade-off is a steeper learning curve, local hardware requirements, and no browser-based guest joining. If $49 per month is a stretch, invest a few hours learning OBS before committing to StreamYard Basic — for technically comfortable streamers, OBS eliminates the monthly cost entirely.
Factor in the annual billing discount when comparing to alternatives
StreamYard Basic at $39/mo on annual billing is $468/year. Restream at $19/mo is $228/year. If multi-destination streaming without studio features is your main goal, Restream is considerably cheaper. But if StreamYard's studio production features — overlays, backgrounds, guest management — are what you actually use, the comparison is less clean.
Frequently asked questions
How much does StreamYard cost per month in 2026?
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StreamYard offers a free plan with a watermark and 6 hours of monthly recording. Paid plans are Basic at $49 per month (10 hours recording, watermark removed, up to 5 guests) and Professional at $99 per month (unlimited hours, up to 10 guests, custom branding and overlays). Annual billing saves approximately 20% on both paid plans.
Does StreamYard have a free plan?
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Yes. StreamYard's free plan lets you broadcast to two destinations simultaneously and host up to 6 guests per stream. The constraints are a StreamYard watermark on all streams and recordings, and a 6-hour monthly recording limit. The free plan does not expire — it remains free indefinitely within those limits.
Does paying for StreamYard Basic remove the watermark?
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Yes. The StreamYard watermark is removed on Basic ($49/mo) and Professional ($99/mo). The watermark is the single most common reason users upgrade from the free plan. Basic also raises the monthly recording cap from 6 hours to 10 hours and increases the guest limit from 6 to still 6 — the guest increase to 10 requires Professional.
What is the difference between StreamYard Basic and Professional?
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Basic at $49 per month gives you 10 hours of monthly recording, removes the watermark, allows up to 5 guests, and provides access to basic branding tools. Professional at $99 per month includes unlimited recording hours, up to 10 guests, custom overlays, custom backgrounds, and priority support. The key upgrade triggers are high streaming volume and the need for guest capacity beyond 5.
How many destinations can I stream to on StreamYard?
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StreamYard's free plan allows streaming to 2 destinations simultaneously. Basic adds more destinations, and Professional supports up to 8 simultaneous destinations across platforms including YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, and custom RTMP. If multi-destination streaming is a core need, verify the specific destination count for the plan you are considering on StreamYard's current pricing page.
Is StreamYard worth $49/mo for a casual streamer?
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For casual streamers who broadcast occasionally without branding requirements, the free plan is sufficient — the watermark is the main downside. Basic at $49 per month is worth it when you stream professionally, need to remove the watermark for brand credibility, or consistently exceed the 6-hour recording limit. Infrequent streamers doing one or two shows per month rarely exhaust the free tier's allowances.
Does StreamYard offer an annual billing discount?
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Yes. StreamYard's annual billing saves approximately 20% compared to monthly. Basic drops from $49 per month to around $39 per month billed annually. Professional drops from $99 to approximately $79 per month billed annually. The savings add up to roughly $120 per year on Basic and $240 per year on Professional.
Can multiple people use one StreamYard account?
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StreamYard accounts are tied to one login, but the host can invite guests to join any broadcast — those guests do not need a StreamYard account. For true multi-user access with separate logins, StreamYard offers team plans through its Business tier, which is available on request. Most podcasters and content teams operate through a single host account with guest invitations.
Sources
Pricing and product details referenced on this page were verified from public sources. Confirm final details directly with the vendor before purchasing.
pricing · verified Mar 25, 2026
Official pricing pageStreamYard pricing reference
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