StreamYard Review - Features, Pricing, Pros, & Cons

Dornubari Vizor June 23, 2023

StreamYard Review – Features, Pricing, Pros, & Cons

StreamYard

StreamYard has become an extremely popular live-streaming tool since its inception in 2018. It’s a go-to solution that has simplified live streaming for millions. Using this tool, anyone can live stream anytime, anywhere, without running into complications.

However, the scenario has changed. Now, many other brilliant and dynamic live video streaming solutions have entered the market, some offering more value by being innovative. In that case, is StreamYard still a smart choice for live streaming?

This StreamYard review is here to answer that question. In this review, we’ll be discussing its features, pricing, pros, and cons. You will find everything you need to know to make an informed decision.

My Verdict – StreamYard Review

StreamYard is a great solution for live streaming. It’s simple and offers good features to get the job done.

However, it’s important to note that StreamYard is a focused and specialist tool. It offers a limited set of features focused solely on live streaming. It’s not an all-in-one solution, but rather a simple live streaming platform.

Nowadays, creators and entrepreneurs are looking for all-in-one solutions like GroupApp, which provide more value at a lower cost and cut down on hassle for both you and your customers.

If you’re looking for a live streaming platform to use in conjunction with other business platforms, I highly recommend StreamYard. It’s a good choice for gaining hands-on experience with live streaming.

One drawback is that, despite being a hyper-focused tool, StreamYard does not provide insights and analytics for live streaming. You’ll have to rely on destination platforms for that information.

If that doesn’t bother you, StreamYard is a reasonably good live streaming platform overall.

StreamYard Overview

StreamYard is a web-based live streaming platform. With StreamYard, you can live stream to multiple platforms for both personal and business purposes.

StreamYard

It was created by friends and classmates Dan Briggs and Geige Vandentop in 2018. It is headquartered in the West Coast, US. The vision was to create a stress-free simple solution for live streaming. Within a few years, StreamYard has worked its way up to the top.

How Does StreamYard Work?

StreamYard is a very focused solution. It operates right from your browser and no plugin or download is required. Just log into your account and it will be up and running. It’s compatible with any web-enabled device.

You get a dashboard with all of your videos, broadcasts, analytics, and other features.

With StreamYard you can

Live stream videos that are pre-recorded.
Live stream on multiple platforms simultaneously.
Create personalized videos.
Add guests
Schedule live streams
Record and store videos
Engage with audiences

Who is it for?

StreamYard is a simple solution for anyone who wants to tell stories, connect with their audience, and create a personal brand through live streaming.

It’s well-suited for

Content creators
Brands
Influencers
Communities
Marketers
Virtual event managers
Business teams
Religious services
Leaders

StreamYard Features

StreamYard is made up of mostly all the features you will ever need for live streams. However, it’s a very limited set of features, yet they provide value in their ways. They get the job done.

Let’s see what StreamYard has to offer. You’ll also get to know how each feature works.

1 – StreamYard Dashboard

As you log into your StreamYard account, you will reach a dashboard. It will present all features including your scheduled virtual events, broadcasts, videos, destination options, and members.

It’s basically the backstage set-up of your live streaming world. It’s simple and easy to navigate.

StreamYard

Broadcasts

You can create and access a broadcast simply through the top option. Here, you can edit your broadcasts and enter the studio.

StreamYard

2 – Live Streaming Studio

This is the primary feature of StreamYard. It allows you to create and manage your live streams. This studio comes with a standard set of tools.

To access Studio, simply go to Broadcasts and pick a specific broadcast. Next, click on Enter Studio.

StreamYard

Let’s round some sub-features and tools you will get.

Pre-Record Videos

StreamYard

StreamYard Studio allows you to pre-record videos for live streaming. You will get access to all tools for editing. You can access the recordings through your dashboard.

With the free plan, you can record for 2 hours per month. The limit increases as you upgrade to paid plans. Plus, with the paid plans, you can record and stream at the same time.

Guests

Using the studio, you can add guests to your live streams or recordings as well. This feature comes in handy for recording podcasts, reaction videos, and interactive live-stream sessions.

You can add up to 10 guests with the paid plan and 6 with the free plan. That’s a good limit, especially for a free plan.

Branding

This sub-feature helps you create a personalized and customized live stream experience. Please note that most of the branding tools are premium.

StreamYard

Using this feature, you can

Change brand color
Add your logo and overlays
Adjust background and themes
Add background music
Add video clips

Banners

You can add custom banners to your live streams.

StreamYard

Live Comments

You can interact with your viewers through live comments. This feature also allows you to react and reply to comments.

Private Chat

This feature allows you to communicate with your guests and team members in the studio.

Screen Sharing & Present

StreamYard offers the facility to share your screen and present slides or videos on your live streams. You can also add an additional camera for multiple views.

StreamYard

3 – Multi-Streaming

Using StreamYard, you can live stream on multiple social media channels and platforms. This enables you to interact with a broad audience.

However, this feature is only available on the paid plans. With a free account, you can only stream to one platform.

To multi-stream, you need to pick your destinations from your account dashboard.

StreamYard

You can also stream to platforms like Amazon Live, Vimeo, Dacast, and Twitch.

Custom RTMP

RTMP stands for Real-Time Messaging Protocol and is used for live streams. You can add your desired platform using this tool if you cannot find that platform among the destinations.

Just click the black Custom RTMP button.

4 – Audience Engagement

Live streams are nothing without audience engagement. That’s why StreamYard helps you take care of that.

You can boost engagement in the following ways using StreamYard

You can highlight comments and spotlight viewers
Answer audience questions
Invite viewers on screen as guests through your studio link.

Offer Giveaways

StreamYard takes it to another level and enables you to hold giveaway contests. It offers a separate Giveaway tool that you can access right here. All you need to do is to pick a broadcast and enter a matching text.

This feature will automatically pick winners for you.

StreamYard

5 – StreamYard On-Air for Webinars

StreamYard provides you with a dedicated feature for hosting webinars. It’s called On Air and is a live webinar platform.

However, it comes at a price of $49 per month! That’s not good news!

This feature is expensive but provides standard tools to hold a live webinar. You can embed it in your website along with the chats. Plus, you can create registration forms.

You can also download your chat data. Plus, you can customize your webinars. It also comes with On-air thumbnails, calendar integrations, and analytics.

6 – Greenroom

This feature is only available on the Professional and Business plans. Greenroom is a waiting area for hosts and guests before entering the live stream studio.

7 – Referrals

StreamYard users can also earn commissions through referrals. The user can earn a $25 recurring commission on each sale. Users can also view their referral stats within the account.

StreamYard Support

StreamYard provides 3 channels for support.

Help Center: You can access guides and training videos
Email Support: You can submit the request and you will get a response on weekdays
Live Chat

StreamYard Pricing

Now, let’s talk about pricing.

StreamYard offers 1 free plan and 3 paid plans (Basic, Professional, and Business). Each plan carries the features and benefits of the previous plans.

StreamYard

The Business plan’s pricing is available at request.

If you opt for an annual billing cycle, you can save money.

StreamYard

Free Plan

This is actually great that StreamYard offers a free plan. However, it comes with its own limitations. It’s only suitable for testing the platform.

With the free plan, you get

StreamYard logo in your streams
Streaming limits
Local recordings – 2 hours/month
6 on-screen participants
2 seats

Basic Plan @ $25/Month

With an annual billing cycle, it will come at $20 per month. This plan is quite limited and is ideal for personal use or beginners at live streaming.

Basic plan includes

All free plan features
No StreamYard logo on your streams
Unlimited streaming
Unlimited local recordings
10 on-screen participants
Live streams are recorded
Multistream – 3 destinations
Custom RTMP destinations
Guest destinations
Logos, Overlays, Backgrounds
Pre-recorded streams – 1 hour
50 hours of storage

Professional Plan @ $49/Month

With an annual billing cycle, it comes at $39 per month. This plan is for small-level businesses or solo content creators. It actually allows you to make the most out of StreamYard.

This includes