7 picks · Livestreaming
The stream froze during the sermon, or it never started. Here's which platform, software or switcher fits which church, from free to fully supported.
Updated
BoxCast is the best livestream platform for most churches: one scheduled stream reaches your website, Facebook and YouTube, with live support on Sunday mornings. Resi suits churches with shaky internet or other campuses, and StreamYard suits interviews and midweek studies. To produce the stream, OBS Studio is the best free software, the ATEM Mini the best hardware switcher and vMix the pick for multi-camera Windows booths.
Most church livestreams have a few parts, and the tools on this list don't all do the same job. Work out which part you're missing before you pay for anything.
Plenty of churches start with OBS or an ATEM Mini sending the service to YouTube or Facebook. A paid platform earns its place when you want one stream on the website, Facebook and YouTube at once, recordings kept for you and a person to call when the stream won't start on Sunday morning.
StreamYard sits between the two. It's a browser studio that streams to several places on paid plans, and it suits a missionary interview or a midweek study better than a multi-camera Sunday.
Choosing production software? Read OBS vs vMix for church livestreams.
| App | Best for | Price | Free option | Works on | Learning curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BoxCast | Best overall | From $109/mo billed yearly or $119 monthly (Oct 2026) | No | Web, iOS, Hardware | Easy |
| Resi | Best for shaky internet and multisite | From $99/mo social only; website streaming $159/mo (Oct 2026) | No | Web, Hardware | Moderate |
| StreamYard | Best for interviews and midweek streams | Free plan; Core from $35.99/mo billed yearly (Oct 2026) | Yes | Web | Easy |
| OBS Studio | Best free streaming software | Free (open source) | Yes | Windows, Mac, Linux | Moderate |
| ATEM Mini | Best hardware switcher | Mini Pro $349; Pro ISO $585; Extreme $1,249 (Oct 2026) | No | Hardware, Mac, Windows | Moderate |
| vMix | Best for multi-camera production on Windows | Lifetime from $60; HD $350; MAX $50/mo subscription (Oct 2026) | No | Windows | Advanced |
| Church Online Platform | Best free online service room | Free | Yes | Web | Easy |
01Best overall
One scheduled stream goes to your website, Facebook, YouTube and X at once, and the recordings stay on demand. It works with your current RTMP or SRT encoder, and US-based streaming coaches answer from 7 a.m. Eastern on Sundays, when it matters most.
02Best for shaky internet and multisite
Its Resilient Streaming Protocol is built to keep the service playing when the building's internet hiccups. Plans step up from social only to website and church app streaming, with multisite options for overflow rooms and other campuses. The Social Only plan includes a ProPresenter Encoder license.
03Best for interviews and midweek streams
It runs in the browser, so a volunteer can go live from a laptop, and guests join from a link you send. That makes it the simplest way to stream a missionary interview, a prayer night or a midweek study. Paid plans stream to 3 or 8 destinations at once.
04Best free streaming software
Free, open-source software that turns the booth computer into a switcher for cameras, slides and lower thirds. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and Studio Mode lets you line up the next shot. Record the sermon on the same computer while you stream.
05Best hardware switcher
Plug in HDMI cameras and the slides computer, press a button to cut, and it streams to YouTube or Facebook over Ethernet without a computer. It records to a USB drive too. The ATEM Mini Pro is $349 (Oct 2026) and takes four HDMI inputs.
06Best for multi-camera production on Windows
It switches several cameras, runs built-in animated titles for sermon points and scripture, and streams and records at once. Lifetime licenses start at $60 and HD is $350 (Oct 2026). vMix also gives a limited number of free HD licenses to churches that apply.
07Best free online service room
Free from Life.Church, it turns your stream into an online service with live chat, private prayer, giving links and response moments. It works with YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Resi and BoxCast embeds, and chat translates into 60+ languages. It's best when volunteers are ready to host.
Most livestream recordings sit in the archive after Sunday. Extend the Sermon takes the YouTube link or file and returns 5 to 7 captioned vertical clips, 9 social graphics, a carousel, a blog post, an email and a small-group guide, usually within an hour. Your first sermon is free.
Try a sermon free ↗Made by Church Media Squad, who also run Pro Church Media.
Does the stream keep going when the building's internet struggles, and is there someone to call when it won't start at 8:55?
Is it a streaming platform, production software or a hardware switcher, and which part of your setup does it actually replace?
Monthly platform fees, one-time hardware and software, and the free options a volunteer can run without a training night.
Every price and feature was checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
OBS Studio is free software that streams your cameras and slides to YouTube or Facebook from the booth computer. Add Church Online Platform, also free, if you want live chat and prayer around the stream. StreamYard's free plan works too, but it shows the StreamYard logo and caps monthly streaming hours.
BoxCast starts at $109 a month billed yearly or $119 month to month. Resi starts at $99 a month for social only and $159 with website streaming (Oct 2026). Neither publishes a set church discount, though Resi lists a non-profit pricing option.
Yes. BoxCast sends one stream to your website, Facebook, YouTube and X at once, and StreamYard's paid plans reach 3 or 8 destinations. OBS Studio sends one stream at a time, so it needs a multistream plugin or relay service.
Yes. The streaming tool handles the video, not the song rights. If worship songs are in your stream, you need a streaming license such as CCLI's or OneLicense's.
