Whether for professional gaming, instructional webinar videos, or feeds from music concerts or award shows, live streaming offers an entertaining way for people to share their ideas, interact with peers, and show their skills and talents. If you’re interested in getting into the live streaming game, it’s important to begin the process with the best streaming software.
This way, you don’t waste time with clunky software, or tools that don’t work well for streaming in the first place. In addition, using suitable streaming software means that you’ll spend less money, feel more comfortable launching your channel, and minimize any frustrations along the way.
What to look for in the best streaming software for Twitch and YouTube
The best streaming software offers a collection of features not found in typical screen capture and recording software. Although each one is different, here are the essential features:
- Real-time, high-performance audio and video capture tools with options to create scenes, add webcams, and include overlaying text or images.
- Local or cloud backups to save your work for editing later.
- Simple tools for including overlays, filters, and other designs to make your stream more professional or fun.
- Direct streaming tools to connect to the most popular streaming services, like YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook.
- Alerts to see when your viewers make comments, join the conversation, or send you a tip.
- An audio mixer to implement sound adjustments, like gain and noise suppression.
- Multiple capture sources, video modes, and property adjustments.
- Hotkeys for completing actions like switching between scenes, pausing streams, and muting certain audio sources.
- Previewing and quick editing tools to alter and view your live stream right before it gets published.
Best streaming software compared
Take a look below for an in-depth analysis of each of the best streaming software options available.
