Restream vs OBS Studio: Multistreaming or a Free Encoder

The short answer: if your company streams to one platform, a monthly product demo on YouTube or a Q&A on LinkedIn, OBS Studio does the job for nothing: it is free, open-source software for recording and live streaming on Windows, macOS and Linux (OBS). Restream earns its fee when the same stream has to reach LinkedIn, YouTube, X and more at once without loading your own connection: one version of its pricing page, read on 26 October 2026, marks the Free and Creator Plus plans as individual use only and puts companies on Business at $239 a month on monthly billing (Restream pricing). The two are not rivals so much as two halves: OBS produces the picture on your computer, Restream copies it to every platform from the cloud. Choose OBS alone if your job is one platform. Add Restream if your job is a company broadcast on several at once.

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Rule of thumb for a company stream:

1. Hours times destinations. Restream counts streaming hours per destination, so one hour live on three platforms uses three (Restream pricing). For example, a weekly one-hour show sent to four platforms uses 4 x 4 x 1 = 16 hours a month, inside the 50 included; a daily one does not fit.
2. The encoder you already run. OBS lists Restream.io as a streaming service in its own settings, and Restream's help centre connects the two in a few clicks (Connect OBS to Restream). Keeping OBS for production costs nothing extra.
3. The accounts at the other end. Restream's MCP FAQ notes that LinkedIn requires 150+ followers and Instagram 1,000+ followers with a Professional account before they accept a stream (Restream MCP FAQ). Check the company pages before the launch date.
4. The number to compare. Viewers per platform for the first multistream, against the single-platform stream before it.

Who does what in the broadcast

Read on 26 October 2026 from the OBS homepage, the OBS remote control guide, Restream pricing and the Restream MCP FAQ.

What separates them

Making the picture, or delivering it

OBS builds the show: window and screen captures, webcams, capture cards, text, transitions and an audio mixer, with Studio Mode to preview a scene before it goes live (OBS). Restream takes what an encoder sends and delivers it to many platforms from its own servers, so your upload carries one stream however many destinations there are, and it merges the chat from all of them (Restream pricing). OBS's knowledge base has guides for streaming protocols such as SRT, RIST and WHIP, and no article on sending one stream to several platforms at once (OBS streaming guides).

Which plan a company is on

Restream served two pricing pages on 26 October. One asks what describes you, marks Free and Creator Plus ($19.99 a month) as individual use only, and lists Business at $239 a month with 50 streaming hours and add-ons such as Webinar at $99 and Clips at $59 (Restream pricing). The other lists Free, Standard at $19, Professional at $49 and Business at $239, with 2, 3, 5 and 8 channels at once (alternate version). Both put Business at $239; for company use, plan on that figure until sales says otherwise.

How each is automated

OBS exposes plugins, Lua and Python scripts, and a password-protected WebSocket that external tools use to switch scenes and control sources (remote control guide). Restream runs an MCP server that an AI assistant uses to schedule events, switch destinations on and off mid-broadcast, and pull analytics, transcripts and chat logs afterwards (Restream MCP FAQ).

What each costs

OBS Studio: $0, version 32.2.2 released 14 August for Windows 10 and 11 and macOS 13 or newer (OBS download). Restream, checked on 26 October 2026: Business $239 a month on monthly billing, with yearly billing shown as saving 17% on one page version and 20% on the other; Creator Plus $19.99 a month on the first version, Standard $19 and Professional $49 on the second (Restream pricing). The Restream entry, written two days earlier, lists the second version.

A pre-flight check before the launch stream

Restream's MCP server connects Claude and other assistants to your Restream account at no charge; it can do only what your plan allows, and OBS keeps streaming to Restream exactly as before (Restream MCP FAQ). The day before a launch, ask the assistant to create the event with its title and description, attach LinkedIn, YouTube and X, and run the pre-flight check the FAQ describes: confirm the plan allows those destinations, test each channel's connection, and report what blocks any of them, such as an expired authorisation or a missing title.

The human check stays with the producer: fix any expired channel in the Restream dashboard, then run a five-minute private test from OBS with Studio Mode open, and only then announce the stream. The MCP cannot change Studio scenes or post in chat, and every write action should be confirmed before it runs. Afterwards, ask for viewers per platform and the full chat log for the launch report.

The meter on the multistream

Restream counts its 50 included streaming hours per destination, so one hour live on three platforms uses three (Restream pricing). Multistreaming, the thing the homepage sells, is the use that drains the allowance fastest. Count destinations before shows, not after the first month's statement.

The free route first

Run the first company stream from OBS to one platform: the auto-configuration wizard, three scenes, a test recording, then go live (OBS quick start). It costs nothing and shows whether the team can produce a clean hour. If the audience then asks to watch on LinkedIn and YouTube at once, that is the moment to price Restream Business against the hours you will stream.

Choose by the job

• Choose OBS Studio on its own if your job is a produced stream or recording on one platform, run by someone comfortable with scenes and settings.
• Add Restream if your job is a company broadcast on several platforms at once, with merged chat, scheduled events and analytics per platform, OBS still doing the production.

Restream's plans are in its glossary entry. OBS has no entry; obsproject.com is its own reference. How to use Restream covers a full multistream setup.

FAQ

Can OBS stream vertical and horizontal at once through Restream?

Yes, with Restream's vertical plugin for OBS: you design a vertical scene, set a channel's orientation to portrait before going live, and YouTube can take both as separate live events (dual output guide).

Which OBS settings does Restream recommend?

Advanced output mode, CBR rate control, a 2-second keyframe interval and the Main profile, with NV12 colour format and the 709 colour space (Connect OBS to Restream).

Is the Restream MCP a paid add-on?

No. Its FAQ says connecting it needs only a Restream account and mirrors what your plan already allows (Restream MCP FAQ).