Checked 6 October 2026 · 5 tools
Church live streaming, compared on price
Five ways to put a Sunday service online, from free to $299 a month, with each vendor’s own pricing page as it looked on 6 October 2026.
How we chose. We read each tool’s own pricing page on 6 October 2026 and kept a screenshot of it, which is on this page beside the tool. Prices are in US dollars unless the vendor showed a regional price, in which case we say so. Where a vendor only gives prices in a sales call, we say that rather than guess. We did not test these tools hands-on; what each does well and where it falls short comes from the vendor’s own pages, and what its users say is quoted word for word, with a link.
We make Slice. It appears only in the sermon clips guide, marked “ours”. No tool paid to be listed, and nothing here was tested hands-on.
Which one, in ten seconds
Find the line that sounds like you.
- You stream to YouTube and Facebook and have no budgetRestream
- You want a free page where people watch together and chatChurch Online Platform
- You want your own website player and automatic captionsBoxCast
- Your internet is unreliable and the stream cannot dropResi
- You run interviews or panels with remote guestsStreamYard
Side by side
| Tool | Best for | Price | Free tier | Key limits | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restream | a small church that wants to go live on YouTube and Facebook at the same time for little or nothing, and can do without a player on its own website | Free; Standard $19, Professional $49, Business $239 a month (monthly; the page says yearly saves 20%) | Yes: stream to 2 channels at once, with Restream branding | Website player only on Business ($239); recordings kept 15 days on Standard and Professional | Browser studio, or your own encoder; multistreams to YouTube, Facebook and others |
| Church Online Platform | a church that wants a page built for watching a service together, with chat and next steps, at no cost | Free | Entirely free: its page says Life.Church "provides our products completely free of charge" | Made and paid for by one church (Life.Church); no paid tier or paid support | Web |
| BoxCast | a church that wants a website player, automatic captions and social streaming in one bill, with captions even on the cheapest plan | $109, $169, $249 or $449 a month (Standard, Deluxe, Advanced, 4K), billed annually | Free trial; 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan | Standard: 1080p at 30fps, one broadcast at a time, 90-day storage | Your website and social media; separate TV and web app plans from $25 a month |
| Resi | a church whose stream must not drop: Resi sells its own resilient streaming protocol, and prices to match | $99, $159 or $299 a month (non-profit, billed annually); Enterprise by quote | None shown on the pricing page | Social Only streams to Facebook and YouTube but not your website; 7-day storage on the two lower plans | Facebook, YouTube, your website (Starter Lite and up), apps (Pro) |
| StreamYard | a church running interviews, panels or a midweek show with guests who join from a link: StreamYard is a browser studio first | Free; Core $35.99, Advanced $68.99 a month billed yearly ($44.99 and $88.99 monthly). Organisations are pointed to Business plans, priced separately | Yes: StreamYard logo on streams, local recordings up to 2 hours a month, 6 people on screen | Core and Advanced are "for individual use only", per the page; a church account belongs on a Business plan | Browser studio; streams to YouTube, Facebook and other destinations |
Prices in US dollars from each vendor’s pricing page. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.
01
Restream
Best for a small church that wants to go live on YouTube and Facebook at the same time for little or nothing, and can do without a player on its own website.
Price Free; Standard $19, Professional $49, Business $239 a month (monthly; the page says yearly saves 20%)Free Yes: stream to 2 channels at once, with Restream brandingRuns on Browser studio, or your own encoder; multistreams to YouTube, Facebook and others
What it does well
- A genuine free plan: two channels at once, from the browser or from your encoder.
- Standard ($19 a month) removes the branding, adds a third channel, cloud recordings and stream analytics.
- Professional ($49) streams to five channels in 1080p and records in 4K.
Where it falls short
- A player for your own website is only on the $239 Business plan.
- Recordings are kept for 15 days on Standard and Professional.
- Clips and webinars are paid add-ons on top of each plan.
Its pricing pageread 6 October 2026
02
Church Online Platform
Best for a church that wants a page built for watching a service together, with chat and next steps, at no cost.
Price FreeFree Entirely free: its page says Life.Church "provides our products completely free of charge"Runs on Web
What it does well
- Free, paid for by Life.Church and its giving community, according to its own page.
- Made by a church: Life.Church ran the first church online experience in 2006 and has shared the platform with other churches since 2011.
- Built around connection and next steps for the people watching, not only the video.
Where it falls short
- There is no paid tier, so no paid support contract to fall back on.
Its pricing pageread 6 October 2026
03
BoxCast
Best for a church that wants a website player, automatic captions and social streaming in one bill, with captions even on the cheapest plan.
Price $109, $169, $249 or $449 a month (Standard, Deluxe, Advanced, 4K), billed annuallyFree Free trial; 30-day money-back guarantee on every planRuns on Your website and social media; separate TV and web app plans from $25 a month
What it does well
- Unlimited viewers, cloud transcoding, analytics and automated captioning on every plan.
- Simulated live, graphic overlays and a white-labelled embed from Deluxe ($169).
- Advanced and 4K run three broadcasts at once: a second venue, or a youth service at the same time.
- Recordings under 1080p are kept for a year from Deluxe up (90 days on Standard).
Where it falls short
- Standard tops out at 1080p and 30 frames a second, one broadcast at a time.
- Password protection, geo-blocking and automated live captioning start at Advanced ($249).
- Its own app for TVs and the web is a separate subscription ($25 to $200 a month billed annually).
Its pricing pageread 6 October 2026
04
Resi
Best for a church whose stream must not drop: Resi sells its own resilient streaming protocol, and prices to match.
Price $99, $159 or $299 a month (non-profit, billed annually); Enterprise by quoteFree None shown on the pricing pageRuns on Facebook, YouTube, your website (Starter Lite and up), apps (Pro)
What it does well
- Every plan streams to Facebook and YouTube at once, at up to 1080p and 60 frames a second, using what Resi calls its Resilient Streaming Protocol (RSP).
- Starter Lite ($159) adds a white-labelled player for your own website, "Simulated Live" rebroadcasts and cloud transcoding with three quality levels.
- Social Only includes one ProPresenter encoder licence, according to the plan list.
- The page shows non-profit prices up front, with a tick box, rather than behind a sales call.
Where it falls short
- The cheapest plan is $99 a month even with non-profit pricing and a year paid up front ($1,188).
- Social Only has no player for your own website; that starts at $159 a month.
- Recordings are kept for 7 days on the two lower plans and 30 on Pro.
Its pricing pageread 6 October 2026
05
StreamYard
Best for a church running interviews, panels or a midweek show with guests who join from a link: StreamYard is a browser studio first.
Price Free; Core $35.99, Advanced $68.99 a month billed yearly ($44.99 and $88.99 monthly). Organisations are pointed to Business plans, priced separatelyFree Yes: StreamYard logo on streams, local recordings up to 2 hours a month, 6 people on screenRuns on Browser studio; streams to YouTube, Facebook and other destinations
What it does well
- Guests join from a browser link, with 10 people on screen on Core.
- Core streams to 3 destinations at once and records in the cloud, with 50 hours of permanent storage.
- Pre-recorded streams, logos, overlays and video clips in the studio.
Where it falls short
- The two cheaper paid plans are for individuals only; a church is sent to Business plans, which this page does not price.
- The free plan puts the StreamYard logo on your stream.
Its pricing pageread 6 October 2026
Questions
Can a church stream for free?
Yes. YouTube and Facebook both take a stream directly, Restream’s free plan sends one stream to two channels at once (with its branding), and the Church Online Platform from Life.Church is free.
Do I need a website player?
Not to start. Most small churches reach people on YouTube and Facebook. A player on your own site matters when you want viewers on your page, near giving and next steps; Resi adds it at $159 a month, BoxCast at $109, Restream only on its $239 plan.
What does the stream need besides the software?
A camera or two, a computer or hardware encoder, and an upload connection that can carry it. The software decides where the stream goes; it cannot fix a weak connection, though Resi sells its protocol on doing better than most over one.