Live streaming apps have changed the way we consume and share our content. Not only it has revolutionized the entertainment industry but also the information scenario. After TV news channels, even a common user can now broadcast any happening or mishappen with billions of users in a matter of seconds with free live streaming apps like Twitch, YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Twitter Live, Livestream, Larix Broadcaster, SwitcherStudio.
The global video streaming market size was valued to be $455.45 billion in 2022 which is expected to achieve a valuation of $1902.6 billion by 2030 . The market is all set to show a CAGR of 19.3% during the forecasted period. With these huge stats, let’s dive into the overall concept of these live-streaming platforms, the market leaders, and how you can get benefit by developing one of your own by hiring live streaming app development company.
Find the list of 20 top free streaming apps in 2024.
S.No. | Sports App Name | Number of Downloads | Build Year | Platforms |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
Twitch | 100M+ | 2015 | iOS and Android |
2. |
YouTube Live | 10B+ | 2008 | iOS and Android |
3. |
Facebook Live | 5B+ | 2007 | iOS and Android |
4. |
Twitter Live | 1B+ | 2016 | iOS and Android |
5. |
Livestream | 5M+ | 2012 | iOS and Android |
6. |
Larix Broadcaster | 100K+ | 2015 | iOS and Android |
7. |
SwitcherStudio | NA | 2014 | iOS |
8. | Restream | 600M+ | 2015 | iOS and Android |
9. |
Wirecast Go | NA | 2004 | iOS |
10. |
YouNow | 10M+ | 2011 | iOS and Android |
Let’s explore each application in detail:
Twitch is owned by Amazon which is also one of the best free live streaming apps. This software is used mainly by gamers to live stream their gaming sessions and show their skills by streaming live videos. Streamers with more than 1000 subscribers get access to mobile live-streaming features. Other users can subscribe to their favorite channels where they like to see the streaming content.
Key Features
YouTube Live is a feature of YouTube only that supports free live streaming content and pre-recorded video hosting for the creators. With quality content, one can connect to billions of viewers on a daily basis. YouTube has been the industry leader in the mobile streaming application industry for a long time and thus gives exposure to a really huge user base. Similar to the previous one, a user with atleast 1000 subscribers gets mobile live streaming access from the platform.
Key Features
The largest social media platform in the world has also launched its own Live feature where you can connect instantly to your friends to share any moment. The platform allows individuals and brands to share content in real time. With Facebook Live, one can broadcast video and audio from a mobile device, streaming software, or computer. This feature is mostly used to share conversations, interactions, performances, etc.
Key Features
Just like Facebook, Twitter Live is the new feature provided by social media giant Twitter. However, you can access this feature only on the mobile app of Twitter and not on the desktop site. While Twitter assists you share pics, messages, videos, etc. on its feed, Twitter Live is meant to connect to your audience in real-time to share any information more efficiently.
Key Features
Livestream is also a free streaming app owned by Vimeo. The software has both desktop and mobile versions to help users efficiently share their content. Livestream even assists users to stream content via other platforms as well which include YouTube Live, and Facebook Live, all with a single application. The core competency of Livestream is that it is very easy to use for the people with the least technological exposure.
Key Features
With over 100K+ downloads on the Google Play Store, Larix Broadcaster is one of the free live streaming apps. Users can live stream the audio and video content via the app to connect to their target audience. This software carries a range of features that makes it suitable for beginners as well as advanced broadcasters. The easy-to-use interface of the application makes it accessible to all.
Key Features
SwitcherStudio works in the three principles viz. Create great videos, share it with the world, and monetize your content. This best free live streaming app is mainly available for iOS users where users can choose the streaming destination, switch the camera angle, add livestream graphics, screeshare with others, and much more. You can live stream your content to a range of platforms with Switcherstudio. The platforms include Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.
Key Features
With more than 600 million active users, Restream tops our list of free live streaming apps. This is software that helps businesses of all sizes to upload videos of different quality and make them live for the target audience. At the same time, the users can also add voice-overs or translations to broadcast the content with different camera modes. The platform can also be integrated with other streaming applications like OBS Studio, Elgato, XSplit, SLOBS, and much more. Here you can find the best camera apps for android to filter photos and videos.
Key features
This is the video streaming app produced by Telestream that allows you to easily stream videos and content to a large audience base. One can leverage the services like live streaming, webinars, webcasts, sports, church services, training videos, education, and much more. This application and software is currently available only for iOS devices. You can even customize as well as integrate your branding with this application.
Key Features
This is one of the social media top free streaming apps, delivering its services for more than a decade. One can use the app on iOS as well as Android devices to broadcast the content and connect to their target audience. The app is being used by millions of people to interact with fans and followers, chat with friends, meet new people, share music, games, cooking, and many other skills.
Key Features
ClubHouse is also the best free streaming app but different from all the other apps in the list. This software only supports audio streaming and is available for Android as well as iOS. This competency of the ClubHouse app changes the use case of this app as it is more widely used for storytelling, podcast, debates, and book citing. Moreover, this application is also used by brands and professionals to connect with others and build a network.
Key Features
GagaHi is also one of the best free live streaming apps and was originally founded as a dating site but has evolved to be a more famous live-streaming platform. It helps the creators and viewers to connect from different corners of the world. This application has more than 10M downloads on the Google Play Store helping the content creators to connect to a large pool of audience instantly.
Key Features
Be.Live is a top free streaming app that helps you run professional-looking streams across different social networks from any browser. This doesn’t even require you to make any installation on your device. Also, Be.Live allows you to stand out from the crowd with features like logos, overlays, lower thirds, background, widgets, and much more features. You can even opt for 14 days free trial to test the functionalities of the platform.
Key Features
Just like Facebook and Twitter, TikTok is also one of the largest social media platforms with over a billion downloads. With this platform, you can create short video content, establish a strong audience and then even talk to them in real-time with its live feature. This is a China-based company founded in 2016. The application is available in more than 40 languages with a presence in a wide range of countries.
Key Features
This is also a best live streaming app created by IBM. Other than its live streaming capabilities, the platform provides cloud storage for your video content. You can also access the features like instant polling and live chat to increase engagement and more entertainment for your target audience. However, you need to pay the monthly subscription plans starting from $99, going up to $999.
Key Features
Whether you got your audience on Facebook, Tiktok, Twitch, YouTube, Trovo, or any other platform, Streamlabs is all that you need to connect to them. This app helps you live stream the session that can be related to gaming, announcements, information sharing, entertainment, education, or anything else. For its broad use case, the application has received over 10M downloads on the Google Play Store alone.
Key Features
With a range of features like Custom graphics, animations, and scoreboards, Airmix can be the perfect choice for live streaming of your content. With this platform, you can stream to Facebook, YouTube, and more. At the same time, you can also replay the broadcast and turn it into slow motion for better effect. This application is available for Android as well as iOS users. The following features bring it to the list of free live streaming apps.
Key Features
With over 100M downloads on Google Play Store and Apple App Store, Tango is one of the best free live streaming apps. The platform allows you to make friends with different features like video chat, watch, chat, and go live. This application was founded in 2009 to support gaming, messaging, and the internet while the live streaming feature was added in 2017.
Key Features
Dacast is also a top free streaming app that helps users to host, monetize, and end-to-end broadcast of your content. You can take a 14-day trial to try all the features of this platform before becoming a paid user of the app. Dacast was launched in 2010 as a live streaming and video hosting platform and now it has been more than a decade, and the platform is serving its target audience. More than 300,000 professional broadcasters and businesses trust Dacast to distribute their content.
Key Features
Nanostream is also a top free streaming app that allows you to connect with your audience in real-time with ultra-low latency. With this app, you can record videos in high quality to stream them to the internet. The platform has been named as one of Europe’s most innovative companies in live video streaming platforms. You can use the services on Android as well as iOS devices.
Key Features
Interpreting in the simplest words, a software that helps the users to broadcast their content which can be both audio and video over the internet is called a Live Streaming app. Free Live streaming apps mostly use a peer-to-peer network to share content with viewers. The core competency of this app is that it enables high-quality streaming even with a low bandwidth connection. However, you can witness some differences in the functionalities of different live-streaming apps according to the tools and technologies used to build them.
The cost of free streaming apps for Android, iOS, or any kind of platform is determined by a range of factors and thus a fixed amount can never be committed for the same. While such an application can be developed for a few thousand dollars and it might also go up to a hundred thousand dollars. So, lets a have a basic understanding of some of the factors that will determine the cost of your platform.
Country of developer | Western countries like the USA, UK, and Australia are comparatively much costlier than Asian Countries like India. So, hiring a developer from Asian Countries for your live-streaming app might save you a lot of dollars. |
Complexity of Application | When you want to see a range of features and functionalities with a lot of APIs and third-party integrations, it increases the app development cost. |
Development time | Development time is directly proportional to the cost of app. More hours it will take more developers to complete the project, the higher will be the cost. |
Deployment platform | There is a big cost difference between developing an application for Android and iOS. So, the platform you choose for your live streaming application will also impact your cost largely. |
Post-maintenance and support | Opting for post-maintenance and support will also add dollars to your bill. While some companies might offer it for free for some time, at the end you will have to invest in maintenance. |
Above listed the best free live streaming apps and their downloads showcases the popularity of such platforms efficiently. There is no doubt that the increasing use case of free live streaming apps makes it one of the best investment ideas for streaming platform builders. Not only it allows you to explore a wide audience base but different monetization models also bring a good revenue to your pocket.
Twitch, Restream, Instagram Live, and Twitter Live are considered some of the best live streaming apps due to their huge audience connectivity.
There are various live streaming platforms that are free to use. However, you might also have to pay to stream live videos for some other apps which are based on certain monetization model.
There is no constant fee or cost to develop live streaming apps for Android or iOS. A range of factors including app complexity, features, and location of the development team determines the overall cost of building a live-streaming app.