Honest review
S

StreamYard Review

StreamYard is a polished browser live studio for hosted shows with guests and multistream fan-out; its pre-recorded streaming caps at 2-8 hours per file and plays once, so it is not a 24/7 looper.

Updated September 1, 2026
Streamloop vs StreamYard
Starting priceFree; paid from $35.99/mo billed yearly (Core)Core is $44.99 billed monthly or $35.99/mo billed yearly; Advanced is $88.99 or $68.99/mo. Pre-recorded streaming requires a paid plan and caps at 2-hour files on Core, 4 hours on Advanced and 8 hours on Teams/Business — played once, with no loop mechanism.
Best forCreators hosting live shows with guests and multistream reach, not always-on looping
Websitestreamyard.com
Strengths & limitations

What StreamYard does well, and where it falls short

An honest breakdown based on published features, third-party reviews, and their own disclosures.

What's good
  • Polished browser studio: guests, screen share, banners and on-screen comments
  • Multistream to 3 destinations on Core and 8 on Advanced, including Facebook, LinkedIn and X
  • Free-forever plan with no credit card
  • Unlimited streaming and recording on paid plans
  • Brand themes, overlays and vertical streaming
  • Widely known, mature product with a large user base
Where it falls short
  • No 24/7 looping: pre-recorded files cap at 2-8 hours per plan and play once
  • Live output tops out at 1080p; 4K applies to local recordings only
  • Pre-recorded streaming is not available on the free plan
  • Meaningfully pricier than dedicated loopers: from $35.99/mo billed yearly
  • No public API or automation interfaces documented
  • Built around attended production, not unattended playout
Feature breakdown

StreamYard feature checklist

Every feature we've verified against StreamYard's published materials, organized by category.

Pricing & access

Pay-as-you-go, no subscription
StreamYard
Subscription; free tier available
Free trial (no card)
StreamYard
Free forever plan with StreamYard branding
Starting price
StreamYard
Free; Core from $35.99/mo billed yearly
720p 30-day price
StreamYard
Included in paid plans; no true 24/7 loop to price
1080p 30-day price
StreamYard
Core $35.99/mo (yearly); no true 24/7 loop to price
1440p / 2K 30-day price
StreamYard
✕
2160p / 4K 30-day price
StreamYard
4K is local recording only

Streaming quality

720p / 30fps
StreamYard
✓
1080p / Full HD
StreamYard
1080p on paid plans
60fps
StreamYard
No documented 60fps live output
Up to 4K @ 60fps
StreamYard
4K local recordings only, not live output
Vertical / portrait streaming
StreamYard
✓
HDR streaming publicly documented
StreamYard
✕

Production & design

Stream designer / layout builder
StreamYard
Brand themes, layouts and scenes
Image, video & logo overlays
StreamYard
Overlays, banners, backgrounds and logos
Embed live websites & graphs
StreamYard
✕
Interactive alerts & widgets
StreamYard
On-screen viewer comments and banners
Custom fonts in overlays
StreamYard
Custom branding on higher plans
Browser Live Studio (camera)
StreamYard
Core product: browser studio with guests and screen share

Sources & inputs

MP4 / MKV / AVI / MOV upload
StreamYard
Pre-recorded uploads on paid plans: 10-25 GB and 2-8 h per file by plan
Separate audio track (music / voiceover)
StreamYard
✕
Import from Google Drive / Dropbox
StreamYard
No documented Drive/Dropbox import
Playlists with custom ordering
StreamYard
Single pre-recorded broadcasts, no looping playlists
Custom loop logic (shuffle, loop counts)
StreamYard
✕
Edit the stream live (swap / skip / reorder)
StreamYard
In-studio media control during attended live shows

Destinations

YouTube (one-click OAuth)
StreamYard
Connect accounts, no manual stream key needed
Custom RTMP (any platform)
StreamYard
Custom RTMP on paid plans
Twitch / Facebook / Kick / TikTok
StreamYard
Facebook, Twitch, LinkedIn, X and more
Multistream to several destinations
StreamYard
3 (Core) to 8 (Advanced) simultaneous destinations
One-click YouTube (no stream key)
StreamYard
✓
SRT ingest
StreamYard
✕

Lifecycle & automation

True 24/7 continuous loop
StreamYard
No loop mechanism; pre-recorded files cap at 2-8 h and play once
YouTube broadcast lifecycle automation
StreamYard
Scheduled broadcasts with titles and thumbnails
Scheduling
StreamYard
Schedule streams and pre-recorded broadcasts ahead
MCP / agent integration
StreamYard
✕
YouTube ad cue points
StreamYard
✕
Edit title / description / thumbnail live
StreamYard
✕
Public API
StreamYard
No public API documented
Unlimited loop without manual rescheduling
StreamYard
Not designed for unattended looping

Limits & inclusions

Storage included
StreamYard
Recording storage by plan (50 h permanent on Core)
Concurrent streams / slots
StreamYard
One live broadcast per studio at a time
Max multistream destinations
StreamYard
8 (Advanced)
Videos per playlist
StreamYard
No playlists
Max upload size / length
StreamYard
10 GB / 2 h (Core) to 25 GB / 8 h (Teams & Business) per file
Team / multi-user access
StreamYard
Teams and Business plans with multiple seats
No watermark
StreamYard
No logo on paid plans; free plan shows StreamYard branding

Reliability & support

Automatic monitoring & recovery
StreamYard
Not documented
Backup streams
StreamYard
✕
Chat / email support
StreamYard
Chat and email support
Uptime guarantee / compensation
StreamYard
No published SLA
In-app viewer analytics
StreamYard
Basic stream analytics on paid plans

Trust & account

Trustpilot rating
StreamYard
Profile exists; score not verified at time of writing
YouTube-Verified encoder
StreamYard
Not listed as verified encoder
Two-factor authentication
StreamYard
Email login codes
Considering an alternative?

When to consider Streamloop instead of StreamYard

StreamYard fits attended live production: guests in the browser, screen sharing, brand themes, on-screen comments and one broadcast fanned out to up to 8 destinations. The free plan makes it easy to start, and paid plans remove branding and raise limits.

Consider Streamloop when the job is an always-on channel: playlists loop continuously with no per-file length cap, output reaches 4K60 with qualified HDR, and usage billing prices 30 continuous days of 1080p30 at roughly $9.98 rather than a $36-plus subscription that still cannot loop.

The two are complementary more than competing: many channels run hosted shows in StreamYard and keep the channel live between shows with a dedicated looper.

Streamloop vs StreamYard
FAQ

StreamYard FAQ

Common questions about StreamYard's features, pricing, and fit

Can StreamYard stream pre-recorded video?

Yes, on paid plans: upload a file and broadcast it as live, with per-file caps of 2 hours on Core, 4 on Advanced and 8 on Teams/Business. The file plays once; there is no loop mechanism.

Is StreamYard good for a 24/7 channel?

No. With 2-to-8-hour file caps and single-pass playback, an always-on channel would need manual restarts several times a day. StreamYard is built for attended live shows; a dedicated looper is the right tool for 24/7 playout.

What does StreamYard cost?

A free-forever plan with StreamYard branding and 2-hour limits; Core at $44.99 monthly or $35.99/mo billed yearly; Advanced at $88.99 or $68.99/mo with 8 destinations and 4K local recordings. Teams and Business tiers add seats and longer pre-recorded files.

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