StreamYard Features: What You Actually Get (By Plan)

StreamYard is a browser-based live streaming platform that's become popular with podcasters, content creators, and businesses running webinars. It works without downloads - just open your browser and go.

But here's the thing: StreamYard has a free plan plus three paid tiers (Core, Advanced, Teams), and features are scattered across them in ways that aren't always obvious. This guide breaks down exactly what you get at each level so you can figure out which plan actually makes sense for your needs.

Want the full pricing breakdown? Check our StreamYard pricing guide for current costs.

Core StreamYard Features (All Plans)

Before we get into the paid-only stuff, here's what StreamYard does across all plans:

Browser-Based Studio

StreamYard runs entirely in your browser. No software to download, no plugins to install. This is genuinely useful - you can stream from any computer with Chrome or Edge without setup hassles. Your guests just click a link to join, which makes remote interviews way easier than making people download Zoom or other apps.

Supported Streaming Destinations

StreamYard supports the major platforms: YouTube, Facebook (profiles, pages, and groups), LinkedIn, Twitch, X (Twitter), and Instagram. You can also use Custom RTMP to stream to any platform that accepts RTMP streams - useful for things like embedded players on your website or niche platforms.

On-Screen Participants

The free plan allows 6 on-screen participants, while paid plans bump that to 10. For most podcasts, interviews, or panels, 10 is plenty.

Comment Integration

StreamYard pulls in comments from all your streaming destinations into one dashboard. You can feature comments on-screen during your stream, which is actually pretty smooth for audience engagement.

Dark Mode

Available on all plans, including free. Minor, but nice if you're streaming in a dim room.

Features by Plan: What's Actually Different

Here's where it gets important. StreamYard gates many features behind specific plans. Let me break down what matters:

Free Plan Limitations

The free plan is functional but limited. You get:

The free plan works for testing or very casual use, but the branding and single-destination limit make it impractical for anything serious.

Core Plan ($44.99/month or $35.99/month annually)

Core is where StreamYard becomes actually usable for most creators. You get:

For most individual creators and small podcasters, Core is the sweet spot. You get multistreaming, branding, and enough features to look professional.

Advanced Plan ($88.99/month or $68.99/month annually)

Advanced adds production-focused features:

The 4K local recordings are the big differentiator. If you're producing video content where quality matters (think YouTube channels, courses), that upgrade is significant. The webinar feature is also useful if you're running live events with registration.

Teams Plan ($298.99/month or $238.99/month annually)

Teams is for larger operations:

Most small businesses won't need Teams. It's priced for organizations running regular live events with multiple producers.

Business Plan (Custom Pricing)

For companies using business email domains or needing enterprise features like SSO and advanced admin controls, StreamYard requires the Business plan. Pricing is custom and requires contacting sales.

Standout Features Worth Knowing About

Beyond the plan comparison, here are specific StreamYard features that matter:

Multistreaming

This is StreamYard's bread and butter. You stream once, and StreamYard broadcasts to multiple platforms simultaneously. Core gives you 3 destinations, Advanced gives you 8. There's no restriction on destination types - you could stream to 5 Facebook pages and 3 YouTube channels if you wanted.

The key benefit: you send one upload stream to StreamYard, and they fan it out. This means you don't need crazy upload bandwidth to multistream.

Guest Destinations

On paid plans, your guests can add their own streaming destinations. If you're interviewing someone, they can simultaneously stream to their own YouTube channel. Each guest can add up to 2 destinations, with a limit of 6 guest destinations per broadcast. Good for expanding reach without extra work.

Local Recordings

StreamYard records locally on each participant's device. Even if someone has terrible internet, their local recording won't be blurry or choppy. This is huge for podcasters and content creators who need clean audio/video files for editing.

Free plan: 2 hours/month. Paid plans: Unlimited. Advanced and above: 4K quality.

AI Clips

A newer feature - StreamYard uses AI to automatically generate short clips from your streams. You can customize captions, add your logo, and adjust duration. Available on all paid plans (with generation limits varying by plan).

Scenes

Pre-save different stage configurations and switch between them with one click while live. You can create up to 16 custom layouts. Useful for shows with multiple segments or different interview formats.

Notes and Teleprompter

Write notes for each studio that sync in real-time, then display them as a scrolling teleprompter visible only to you. Helpful if you need to reference talking points without looking away from the camera.

Sound Effects

Add sound effects like applause during your stream. StreamYard includes built-in options plus the ability to upload your own.

On-Air Webinars (Advanced+)

StreamYard's webinar feature includes built-in registration, an embeddable player, and the ability to restrict access by domain. It's not as full-featured as dedicated webinar platforms, but it's included in your StreamYard subscription.

Greenroom

A waiting area where guests can prepare with hosts before going live. Useful for coordinating with multiple guests or giving people a moment to check their setup.

What StreamYard Doesn't Do

To be fair, here's where StreamYard falls short:

Is StreamYard Worth It?

For browser-based streaming, StreamYard is genuinely good. The ease of use is real - guests can join without downloading anything, and the interface isn't overwhelming.

Get the Core plan if: You're a creator or small business wanting professional-looking streams with multistreaming to a few platforms. $36-45/month is reasonable for what you get.

Get Advanced if: You need 4K recordings for content repurposing, want to stream to more than 3 platforms, or need the webinar features.

Skip Teams unless: You have multiple people producing streams regularly.

Stay on Free if: You're just testing or streaming casually to a single platform and don't mind the StreamYard branding.

Looking at alternatives? Check our StreamYard alternatives guide for other options.

Try StreamYard

StreamYard offers a 7-day money-back guarantee on paid plans, so you can test before committing. The free plan is also genuinely free forever - not a time-limited trial.

Try StreamYard →

For screen recording and video editing needs beyond live streaming, also check out our guides on screen recording software and free video editing tools.