Live streaming is an incredible way to engage with subscribers and grow your channel. Even better if you can do it with ease from your smartphone or tablet!
Some of the best live streaming platforms like StreamYard, Wirecast, Streamlabs and Be.Live have mobile live stream apps that you can use on your mobile device. But there are also some great other options you might not have heard of!
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In this guide, we’ll share the best live streaming apps on iPhone, iPad and Android. We’ll cover everything from the best free live streaming apps up to more advanced options, so there’s an option for every budget and use case.
Whether you want to do mobile live streaming on Facebook Live, YouTube Live, LinkedIn Live, Twitch or another major platform – this video will help you choose the best live streaming app for you.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s get started with the free, beginner-friendly live streaming options.
Built-in Best Live Streaming Apps
If you’re mobile streaming to social media platforms like Facebook or YouTube, you can go live using just their apps.
This is the most obvious, basic option but it’s still worth mentioning as it might tick all the boxes you need. Plus there’s the added bonus that they’re free to use!
A lot of these social media apps are packing in more and more live streaming features, so they’re more usable than ever.
The biggest benefit of using these is they’re fast, easy and you’ve likely already got them installed on your iPhone, iPad or Android device.
Doing a Facebook Live or YouTube live stream is usually as simple as adding a title, description and pressing ‘Go Live’.
Most social media platforms that support mobile live streaming give you the ability to:
- Interact with your audience
- Add simple effects
- Share a photo or image from your device
- Bring in a guest (this was missing from the YouTube app until very recently!)
If you’re live streaming to YouTube from an Android device you can also share your screen in your live stream.
But if you are live streaming using the YouTube mobile app, there are some minimum requirements:
- You need over 1000 subscribers for an unrestricted live stream
- You need over 50 subscribers for a restricted live stream
You can learn more about YouTube’s requirements for live streaming here.
Those requirements only come into play if you’re using the YouTube app. If you’re using one of the other options we have coming up, you don’t have to meet the above requirements.
We’ll cover off the more professional live streaming apps next.
Professional Live Streaming Apps
For this section, we’ve gone through and tested all the top live streaming options right now.
From those, we’ve narrowed it down to a short list of three live streaming apps as well as one that gets an honorable mention.
Let’s start with the honorable mention.
Honorable Mention
Streamlabs is an awesome live streaming app. There’s an iOS and Android app as well as a desktop version.
While you have the option to live stream using your device camera, you can also live broadcast your device screen too. This makes it an awesome option if you want to be live streaming gaming.
A lot of the widgets and integrations inside Streamlabs seem to be targeted at Twitch streaming. This is why it only got an honorable mention in this guide. It doesn’t seem like a solid option for entrepreneurs, content creators and businesses looking to create professional live streams.
It’s a decent option, but stick around for the shortlisted options.
Live Streaming App Option #1
The first short listed option is Prism Live Studio. It’s a free live streaming app that works on iOS, Android and Windows.
It has a really easy to use and intuitive interface.
Top Prism Live Studio Features
- Easily add different graphics and animations to create more engaging live streams
- Use built-in stickers for thanking viewers who have donated or welcoming viewers to the live in real time
- Draw or doodle on your screen to highlight something in your live stream
- You can save widgets and titles as presets for use in future live streams
- Share media, music, a web page or your device screen directly into your stream
It also has three modes: video camera, photo and live stream. This means it has built-in camera functionalities so you can unlock more advanced camera features when creating pre-recorded video content.
Like all the pro-level apps we’ll cover, Prism Live has multi-streaming. Also known as simulcast, this feature allows you to go live to multiple platforms at once.
Add graphics, text, photos and videos while you’re live, literally with the press of a finger. You can even bring up the live chat from your live stream to feature it in the stream.
Prism Live Studio Downsides
Nothing major to be aware of here. It’s not as feature packed as the next options we’ll mention but that’s not surprising given that it’s free.
Prism Live Studio Pricing
It’s completely free!
Overall, Prism Live Studio is an amazing option especially given the price tag.
If you want to live stream gaming or live stream a tutorial, Prism Live could be a good option for you.
Live Streaming App Option #2
The second shortlisted option is StreamYard. It isn’t technically an app, it’s a live streaming platform that runs through your browser. But hey, it still works really well on mobile!
Like Prism Live, StreamYard has a really intuitive and easy to use interface. But it also has a ton more live streaming features and functionality built in.
Top StreamYard Features
- Super easy to bring in guests to your live stream (if you’re on a paid plan you can have up to 10 guests!)
- Tons of different presets and templates you can quickly change up while you’re live
- Makes multistreaming much more straightforward than other platforms
- Can engage and interact with viewers really well such as by featuring their comments on screen
- It integrates all comments across different platforms into the one integrated comment feed
StreamYard’s templates are really powerful. When you have guests you can bring one person up full screen, then do a 50/50 screen split and then have a grid view of all guests. You can change between each of these just with the tap of a button.
Some live streaming platforms make you broadcast multiple streams – one stream to Facebook, another one to YouTube, etc.
But the beauty of StreamYard is because it’s already running in your web browser, you just need to push one stream to StreamYard and then they handle pushing it to the other platforms for you.
The benefit of this is that your bandwidth requirements are much less, making it a great option if you don’t have a great internet connection.
Another cool feature is that you can set up multiple camera angles by joining your live stream as a guest on a different device. Then you’re able to switch between different cameras/devices during your live stream
Want to learn more about StreamYard? Check out our Complete StreamYard Review and StreamYard Live Streaming Tutorial.
StreamYard Downsides
The biggest thing to be aware of with StreamYard is that it doesn’t support sharing your screen in a live stream.
StreamYard Pricing
There’s a free plan which is incredibly powerful but it does have a StreamYard watermark on it. To remove the watermark and unlock all the extra features, you’ll need to jump on a paid plan:
- Basic Plan: From $25/month
- Professional Plan: From $49/month
The plans are cheaper if you opt for the annual option.
Overall, StreamYard is an amazing option. It’s one of top picks for desktop live streaming so it’s incredible that it works this well on mobile as well.
Live Streaming App Option #3
The third and final shortlisted live streaming app is Switcher Studio. Unfortunately this one is only available on iPad and iPhone (sorry, Android users!).
It’s hands down the most professional live streaming tool for mobile out there. It really works the same way as some of the top end, pro-level live stream software.
Top Switcher Studio Features
- Connect up to nine different cameras or video sources and integrate them into your live (this means any spare iPhones, webcams, screen shares, etc. can be used as an extra source in your live)
- Easily add in graphics, animations and playback videos
- Built-in screen sharing during your live stream
- You can bring in multiple guests (the process isn’t as seamless as in StreamYard but you have a lot more control)
The biggest feature of Switcher Studio is definitely the ability to connect so many video sources.
We’ve seen this feature in action at a live conference event. There were different phones set up on tripods all around the room and someone was at the back switching between different cameras with their iPad.
It’s awesome that you can create this kind of content just using mobile devices instead of needing to go out and spend thousands of dollars on a professional camera and live streaming gear.
Switcher Studio Downsides
Switcher Studio definitely isn’t as simple and straightforward as Prism Live or StreamYard. But that’s really not surprising given how many more features and functionalities it has packed in.
Switcher Studio Pricing
There’s no free version available but you can go on the 14 day trial to test it out before jumping on a paid plan.
There are three paid options:
- Studio: $49/month (up to two remote guests & two multistreaming destinations)
- Business: $99/month (up to five remotes guests & five multistreaming destinations)
- Merchant: $149/month (up to five remotes guests & ten multistreaming destinations)
These are cheaper if you go on an annual plan too.
So if you’re looking for more features and more controls, that’s when we’d recommend checking out Switcher Studio.
Especially if you want to create really professional, multi-cam live streams that are still really portable, this would be the best option for you. This is where Switcher Studio really shines.
Hats off to Switcher Studio – they really have built an amazing app. But, is there an app for Android coming soon?!
The Best Live Streaming App
If we had to pick one overall winner, it would have to be StreamYard.
Even though you’ve got an amazing offer for free live streaming with Prism Live, and you’ve got super advanced features with Switcher Studio, StreamYard is hands down the best all-rounder.
Especially given that you can use that same account on desktop and mobile as well – it really is the best bang for buck.
Now you know the best live streaming apps for Android, iPhone and iPad to create an awesome live broadcast. Using tools like this to run live events is a great way to engage viewers all around the world and grow your audience.
Next, check out our complete guide on the Best Cheap Smartphone Filming Gear to help you level up your mobile live streaming.
Recommended Gear & Resources
Check out an up-to-date list of all the gear, software & tools we use and recommend right now at Primal Video on our resources page here!
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