Last updated: 2026-01-13

If you want easy multistreaming with minimal setup, start with a browser-based studio like StreamYard, which lets you go live to several platforms at once from a single link on paid plans. If you need a highly customized local setup and are comfortable with plugins and hardware tuning, tools like OBS plus a multistream relay can make sense.

Summary

• StreamYard is a browser-based live studio built to make multistreaming and hosting guests feel simple, even for non-technical people.
• On paid plans, you can stream to 3–10 destinations at once and record up to 10 hours per stream for later repurposing. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Other tools like Streamlabs, Restream, and OBS can work well for specific needs, but they often add cost, complexity, or setup steps that most everyday creators don’t actually want.
• For U.S. creators focused on quality, reliability, and fast setup, StreamYard is usually the most straightforward starting point.

What do we really mean by “easy-to-use” multistreaming?

When people search for easy multistreaming software, they’re usually not asking for a technical toy; they want a tool that:

• Gets them live in minutes, not days.
• Lets guests join without downloads or training.
• Sends a clean, branded show to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitch at the same time.
• Records everything in high quality for later reuse.

That’s why browser-based studios have become the default for non-technical hosts. You open a link, plug in your mic and camera, invite guests, and go live. There’s no encoder to configure, and no one is asking, “Where do I find the RTMP URL again?”

At StreamYard, we’ve leaned into that: you run the whole show from your browser, and our cloud handles pushing your stream to each destination at once. Multistreaming is available on our paid plans, with caps of 3, 8, or 10 destinations per stream depending on plan. (StreamYard Help Center)

How does StreamYard make multistreaming feel simple?

StreamYard is built so you can host a professional show without needing a “tech person” on your team. A few details that matter in real life:

• Browser-based studio: Everything runs in your browser—no downloads for you or your guests. Hosts consistently describe StreamYard as more intuitive and say guests can join easily and reliably without tech problems.
• Fast, click-to-go multistreaming: On paid plans, you pick your destinations (YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Twitch, or custom RTMP) and go live to several of them at once from the same studio. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Independent control of mic and screen audio: You can adjust or mute screen share audio without touching your microphone, which is a big help during demos and reaction videos.
• Built-in branding and layouts: Overlays, logos, lower thirds, intro videos, and flexible layouts are applied live—no scene-graph tinkering, no scripting.
• Guest-first workflow: You can have up to 10 people in the studio and 15 backstage, and many users say StreamYard “passes the grandparent test” for guests.

Because everything is handled in the cloud, your local machine isn’t encoding separate versions of the stream for each platform. You configure once, then focus on your content instead of fighting with settings before every show.

How many platforms can you stream to at once (StreamYard vs other tools)?

If you care about reach, destination limits matter—but they also need to be easy to understand.

StreamYard (browser-based studio)
On paid plans, multistreaming is available with clear caps:

• 3 destinations on entry paid plans
• 8 destinations on mid-tier plans
• 10 destinations on higher-tier plans (StreamYard Help Center)

You can even stream to multiple accounts on the same platform (for example, multiple YouTube channels or Facebook pages) from the same studio, with LinkedIn being the main exception because of their own policies. (StreamYard Help Center)

Restream (cloud relay)
Restream positions itself around “30+ platforms,” but when you look closer, many of those destinations rely on RTMP-style setup rather than native, one-click integrations. Streaming to eight platforms at once requires their Business plan, which is significantly more expensive per month than the StreamYard plan that supports eight destinations. In practice, that means you pay a premium on Restream to reach the same number of channels many users get on StreamYard’s mid-tier plan.

Streamlabs (Ultra and Dual Output)
Streamlabs offers a Dual Output feature that lets you multistream to one vertical and one horizontal platform for free, but streaming to three or more platforms or multiple platforms of the same orientation requires their paid Ultra subscription. (Streamlabs)

OBS (local encoder)
OBS is free and powerful, but by default it streams to a single destination. To multistream, you either:

• Install a community plugin like Multiple RTMP Outputs and send multiple RTMP feeds yourself, or
• Combine OBS with a cloud relay such as StreamYard, Streamlabs, or Restream.

That plugin route works, but users frequently troubleshoot reconnecting and configuration issues when they try it at scale. (Reddit)

For most U.S. creators, the practical takeaway is simple: if you need 3–10 reliable destinations across the major platforms, StreamYard’s paid tiers cover that range without forcing you into a very high-priced plan or a complex local plugin setup.

Is StreamYard easier than Restream or Streamlabs for non-technical guests?

A big difference shows up the moment you invite your first remote guest.

With StreamYard, you send a browser link. Guests click it, choose their mic and camera, and they’re on set. Many hosts explicitly say they prefer StreamYard because guests can join easily and reliably without tech problems, and because the interface is cleaner and more intuitive than what they’ve tried elsewhere.

Restream and Streamlabs both have browser studios, and they can work well once everything is configured. But StreamYard users who have tried them often describe StreamYard as easier to onboard non-technical guests onto, especially for recurring interview shows, community town halls, and client webinars.

If your mental model is “I want my guests to succeed on the first try,” StreamYard’s browser studio and minimal surface area for confusion are a real advantage.

How does vertical + horizontal multistreaming work in StreamYard?

Short-form vertical video has changed multistreaming. Many creators now want a horizontal version for YouTube or Facebook and a vertical version for mobile-first platforms from the same show.

StreamYard’s Multi-Aspect Ratio Streaming (MARS) lets you send both landscape and portrait outputs from a single session. For example, you can stream to YouTube in both formats at once; this uses two destinations and is available on paid plans. (StreamYard Help Center)

Here’s a simple scenario:

• You run a weekly live show.
• From one StreamYard studio, you send a landscape feed to your YouTube channel and Facebook page.
• At the same time, you send a vertical feed to a second YouTube destination optimized for Shorts.

From the audience’s perspective, it feels like a show built for their screen. From your perspective, it’s still one studio link, one guest workflow, one set of scenes.

When do OBS or advanced setups make more sense?

There are absolutely cases where starting with OBS plus a multistream solution is reasonable:

• You want extremely custom scenes, transitions, and routing.
• You’re comfortable installing plugins, tuning bitrates, and managing updates.
• You have strong local hardware and upload bandwidth and don’t mind spending time maintaining your setup.

In those cases, you might use OBS as the local production engine and send a single encoded feed into StreamYard or another relay, or you might rely entirely on multi-RTMP plugins. The trade-off is time and complexity: you can get more granular control, but every change requires more effort, and guest onboarding is rarely as simple as sending a browser link.

For most creators who just want to host great conversations and grow an audience, that extra power doesn’t translate into noticeably better outcomes than a well-run StreamYard studio.

What about recording quality and repurposing your multistreams?

If you’re multistreaming, you almost certainly want to repurpose the content.

On paid plans, StreamYard records your broadcasts in HD for up to 10 hours per stream, giving you long-form files you can download and edit afterwards. (StreamYard Help Center) On top of that, we support studio-quality multi-track local recording in 4K, with 48 kHz WAV audio, so you can polish each speaker’s track in post.

Our AI Clips tool can then analyze your recordings and generate captioned shorts and reels automatically. Uniquely, you can regenerate clips with a text prompt to steer the AI toward specific topics or themes you care about.

The net effect is that your multistream isn’t just a one-time event—it becomes a library of reusable assets you can turn into YouTube clips, LinkedIn posts, email content, and more.

What we recommend

• Default choice: If you want easy, reliable multistreaming to major platforms with simple guest workflows, start with StreamYard’s browser studio and paid multistreaming.
• Higher channel counts: If you truly need more than about 10 destinations or lots of niche platforms, consider combining StreamYard with RTMP destinations or exploring relay-focused tools like Restream—but keep in mind the extra cost and setup.
• Advanced control: If you crave deep scene customization and are comfortable with plugins and tuning, pair OBS with a cloud relay or use it selectively for specific shows.
• Focus on outcomes: Unless you have very specific technical goals, prioritize a setup that lets you hit “Go Live” confidently every time; for most U.S. creators, StreamYard offers that balance of simplicity, power, and cost-effectiveness.