Last updated: 2026-01-10

For most multi-guest interviews in the U.S., the most practical starting point is a browser-based studio like StreamYard that lets up to 10 people join via a link with no downloads and records in HD. If you need heavy-duty local scene composition or unusual multistream routing, pairing OBS or Streamlabs Desktop with services like Restream can make sense—but it comes with more setup and maintenance.

Summary

• StreamYard is built around browser-based, multi-guest interviews with up to 10 people in the studio and HD recordings up to 10 hours per stream on paid plans. (StreamYard support)
• Guests join through a link, no software install, and free plans support up to 6 on-screen participants while paid plans go up to 10. (StreamYard support)
• OBS and Streamlabs Desktop are powerful for scene-heavy shows but require add-ons like VDO.Ninja and virtual audio routing just to bring in multiple remote guests. (VDO.Ninja docs)
• Restream Studio is another browser option with up to ten on-screen participants, but higher channel counts and full-HD production are tied to specific paid plans. (Restream Studio)

What actually matters for multi‑guest interview software?

Most people searching for “best streaming software for multi-guest interviews” don’t want a science experiment; they want a show that looks professional, doesn’t break, and doesn’t turn every guest into accidental tech support.

For typical U.S.-based creators and teams, these are the levers that matter:

• Guest experience: Can non-technical guests join reliably from a browser without downloading software?
• Guest capacity: How many people can you have on screen at once—and how many can wait backstage?
• Recording quality and length: Can you safely run a 60–90 minute panel and still have high-quality recordings to repurpose later?
• Multistream basics: Can you hit the big platforms (YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, maybe Twitch) from one studio?
• Branding and layouts: Can you make it look like your show without hiring a motion-graphics team?

StreamYard was built around those exact jobs: browser guest links, on‑screen layouts, branding, and HD cloud recordings up to 10 hours per stream on paid plans. (StreamYard support) For most interview shows, that’s the center of gravity.

Why is StreamYard the default choice for multi‑guest interviews?

StreamYard starts with the thing interview hosts care about most: guests who can actually get in.

Guests join via a link in their browser. They don’t have to install an app or learn “streaming software.” Users tell us StreamYard is “more intuitive and easy to use,” that “guests can join easily and reliably without tech problems,” and that it “passes the ‘grandparent test’” for non-technical participants.

On the numbers side, StreamYard supports up to 10 people in the studio at once, with up to 15 backstage participants for rotating panels and call‑ins. StreamYard’s free plan allows up to 6 on‑screen participants, while paid plans increase that to 10. (StreamYard support) That easily covers most interview shows, podcasts with recurring co‑hosts, and webinar‑style panels.

For production quality, paid plans record your broadcasts in HD up to 10 hours per stream, so a long-form interview series or all‑day summit is still safely captured. (StreamYard support) You also get studio-quality multi‑track local recording in 4K UHD and 48 kHz audio, so each guest’s track can be polished later in post.

And because most people do not want to stream to more than a handful of platforms, multistreaming on StreamYard focuses on the big destinations—YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitch—rather than forcing you into a complex routing diagram.

How does guest experience compare across tools?

Here’s the brutal truth: your viewers never see your encoder settings. They do see your guests struggling with the tech.

• StreamYard: No-download guest links, a clean interface, and clear backstage vs on‑air states. Users repeatedly call it “more straightforward… compared to Zoom” and say guests can join “easily and reliably without tech problems.”
• Restream Studio: Also browser-based and supports link‑based guest invites, with documentation and blog content citing up to ten participants on screen in Studio. (Restream comparison) It’s a feasible choice if you’re already deep into Restream for multistream routing.
• OBS / Streamlabs Desktop: These are desktop encoders. Out of the box there is no built‑in remote guest workflow; you bolt on tools like VDO.Ninja, which notes Chrome‑level peer limits and requires virtual audio routing like VB‑CABLE to get everyone hearing each other reliably. (VDO.Ninja docs) It works, but it’s not something you can walk a nervous author or executive through five minutes before going live.

If your show lives or dies on whether guests can join with minimal friction, StreamYard is the pragmatic answer.

Do you need heavy multistreaming, or just the obvious destinations?

A lot of marketing copy talks about streaming to 30+ platforms. In reality, most interview shows in the U.S. care about a short list: YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, maybe Twitch.

StreamYard’s paid plans support simultaneous streaming to multiple platforms from a single browser studio, so you can go live to that core list without extra relays. (StreamYard support)

Restream’s strength is acting as a relay to many destinations, including niche platforms, from either Restream Studio or third‑party encoders like OBS. Its free plan multistreams to 2 channels, and paid plans increase the channel count and capabilities. (Restream pricing) That’s useful if your strategy truly involves many parallel endpoints.

For most interview workflows, adding another relay layer is more moving parts than benefit. Unless you are syndicating to a long tail of sites, StreamYard’s built‑in multistreaming keeps the stack simpler.

How do OBS and Streamlabs fit into interview workflows?

OBS Studio and Streamlabs Desktop are the power tools in this story. They’re excellent when you need:

• complex scene compositions
• custom transitions and graphics
• deep control over codecs, bitrates, and hardware encoding

OBS is free and open source, supports up to 8K resolution and multiple protocols (RTMP, HLS, SRT, and more), and has a large plugin ecosystem. (OBS features) Streamlabs Desktop builds on OBS with creator‑focused overlays and monetization tools.

But none of that solves the core problem of “how do I get four remote guests into a show without chaos?” Instead, you:

• create a VDO.Ninja “room” for guests
• manage browser scenes for each guest feed
• install virtual audio devices to route sound correctly
• test every connection in advance

VDO.Ninja’s own docs discuss browser‑level peer limits and the need to install a virtual audio device like VB‑CABLE to route audio between OBS instances. (VDO.Ninja docs) This stack is powerful, but it’s also fragile if you’re running weekly shows with rotating, non‑technical guests.

A common pattern is: use StreamYard as the interview and recording hub, and only bring in OBS later if you outgrow what a browser studio can do visually.

What about price and value for U.S. creators?

Since price is always part of “best,” it’s worth zooming out.

• StreamYard runs on a free plan plus paid subscriptions. Official help confirms there are both free and paid versions; exact pricing and plan details are shown after you create an account. (StreamYard pricing help) For long‑term users, our annual pricing often comes with intro discounts on core and advanced tiers.
• OBS Studio costs $0. (OBS on Steam) The real cost is your time and the hardware you need to run it comfortably.
• Streamlabs layers free tools with a Streamlabs Ultra subscription that, according to its FAQ, is $27/month or discounted to $189/year, bundling premium features across multiple apps. (Streamlabs FAQ)
• Restream offers a free plan and paid tiers starting around $19/month for more channels and features if billed monthly. (Restream pricing)

When you factor in setup time and the opportunity cost of broken interviews, many teams conclude that a browser-based tool that “just works” with guests is far more cost‑effective than assembling a DIY pipeline.

What we recommend

• Default path: Use StreamYard as your primary software for multi‑guest interviews—up to 10 people on screen, simple guest links, HD cloud and local recordings, and multistreaming to the major platforms from a single browser studio.
• When to add Restream: Layer Restream on top if you truly need to feed many niche platforms or complex channel configurations beyond the big four.
• When to adopt OBS/Streamlabs: Bring in OBS or Streamlabs Desktop only when you have the production maturity (and time) to manage advanced scenes, plugins, and routing without risking the guest experience.
• If you’re unsure: Start your next panel in StreamYard; once you have a stable live show and repeatable process, you can experiment with more complex stacks if your goals actually demand it.