Multi-streaming & Restreaming

The "go live to Twitch + YouTube + Kick + TikTok + LinkedIn at once" tooling. For the encoder pushing the source stream see Live Streaming Software. For the self-hosted relay server option see Self-host Streaming Servers. For the protocols underneath see Streaming Protocols. For overlays / chat handling across destinations see Overlays & Alerts.

Hosted multi-stream services

• ★ Restream — closed source, paid free tier; the category leader. Push once, fan out to 30+ destinations (Twitch, YouTube, Kick, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, TikTok via Live Studio integration, custom RTMP). Free tier: 2 destinations, watermark. Paid tiers strip the watermark and add unified chat / analytics. The default in 2026.
• ★ StreamYard — closed source, paid free tier; in-browser studio + multistream destinations; free tier has watermark and 2-destination cap. Better for podcast-style guest interviews than Restream.
• Castr — closed source, paid free trial; multistream + cloud transcode + 24/7 looping.
• Streamlabs Multistream — closed source, paid (now part of Streamlabs Ultra subscription).
• OneStream — closed source paid; scheduling-focused; pre-record once, "live" multiple times.
• Switchboard Live — closed source paid; broadcast-leaning multi-restream.
• vMix Restreamer — paid; vMix's bundled fan-out output.

Self-hosted multi-stream

• ★ NGINX-RTMP push directive — BSD OSS; tiny VPS + nginx + rtmp module = unlimited destinations for free. Push your OBS to your VPS, the VPS forks RTMP to N upstream platforms. Saves your home upload bandwidth (one stream out, not N).

  application live {
    live on;
    push rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app/<key>;
    push rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2/<key>;
    push rtmp://kick-broadcast.../<key>;
  }

• ★ MediaMTX — MIT OSS; the modern NGINX-RTMP replacement; same idea, plus SRT / WebRTC / WHIP, and active maintenance. Default new-design pick.
• SRS (Simple Realtime Server) — MIT OSS; same fan-out story; high performance.
• OvenMediaEngine — AGPL OSS; sub-second LL-HLS / WebRTC delivery on top of multistream.
• Owncast — MIT OSS; not a multi-stream server per se, but pairs with NGINX-RTMP relay setups.

OBS plugins (multi-output from OBS itself)

• ★ obs-multi-rtmp — GPL OSS plugin; adds extra "Streaming output" panels in OBS; push to N destinations from a single OBS instance — uses local upload bandwidth × N (heavy on home connections; better to relay through NGINX/MediaMTX server).
• Aitum Multistream — closed source freemium plugin; same idea, polished UI.
• Source Record plugin — orthogonal but related; record per-source while streaming.

Aspect-ratio fan-out (vertical + horizontal)

• A 2024+ pattern: stream landscape to YouTube/Twitch and vertical 9:16 simultaneously to TikTok / Instagram Live / YouTube Shorts.
• ★ Aitum Vertical — closed source freemium OBS plugin; renders a separate vertical preview + output from your horizontal scene; one of the few clean approaches.
• vMix vertical output — paid; vMix Pro has multi-aspect outputs.
• Restream multi-format — paid feature.
• DIY — second OBS instance with vertical canvas, NDI'd from the first; NGINX-RTMP relay handles ingest.

Unified chat across destinations

• ★ Restream Chat — bundled with Restream; merges chat across all your destinations into one feed.
• StreamYard chat — bundled.
• Streamlabs Crossclip / Crossclip Chat — bundled.
• TwitchYTDualMod / Chatterino multi-account — DIY moderation across platforms.

Re-airing pre-recorded as live (loop streams)

• Castr 24/7 — paid; upload an MP4, loop forever as "live."
• YouTube Premiere — free; native scheduled "live" of an upload.
• Twitch Reruns — free; for partners.
• NGINX-RTMP + ffmpeg loop — DIY: ffmpeg -re -stream_loop -1 -i video.mp4 -c copy -f flv rtmp://your-server/live/key.
• DIY 24/7 lo-fi stream — same pattern; pair with a static OBS scene over RTMP.

Cost / bandwidth math

• Push from home to N destinations directly: upload bandwidth = N × bitrate. 6 Mbps × 4 destinations = 24 Mbps up. Most home connections die.
• Push from home to relay, relay to N destinations: upload bandwidth = 1 × bitrate. The relay's outbound is N × bitrate but it's on a datacenter line.
• Restream / StreamYard handle this for you at a monthly fee.
• NGINX-RTMP on a $5–10 VPS is the cheapest reliable self-host path.

Pick this if…

• Default low-friction, paid: Restream (or StreamYard for podcast-shape).
• Default low-cost, technical: NGINX-RTMP or MediaMTX on a small VPS.
• From a single OBS, simple: obs-multi-rtmp plugin (mind upload bandwidth).
• Pre-recorded 24/7 loop: ffmpeg loop into NGINX-RTMP, or Castr.
• Vertical + horizontal at once: Aitum Vertical or vMix.
• Unified chat across platforms: Restream Chat.