Transitions, custom logos, well mixed audio, high resolution – all of these can make the difference between a clearly amateur stream and a professional-quality production. Thankfully, the software you need to create a great looking stream doesn't have to be expensive – and some of the best is free. It can be tricky to pick the right free streaming software for you. Streaming is a growing market, and developers are fighting for your attention with claims of better performance, ease of use and quick setup – so how you do choose? Some of the key features to look out for are supported platforms, choice of input sources, user support, and supported games (some streaming apps make you choose from a list of titles, while others let you record anything). With that in mind, here's our pick of the best free streaming software you can download today. You won't find a more powerful free streaming tool for any platform Open source, powerful and flexible, is easily our top pick when it comes to free streaming software.

It's available for Windows, Mac and Linux, and receives regular updates from an enthusiastic team of contributors. It has something of a reputation for being complicated to set up, but if you're only interested in simple streaming then there's no need to plunge into the more sophisticated capture settings. If you do want more granular control, it's all there. You can create scenes from multiple sources (windows, images, text, webcams, capture cards – the list goes on), mix audio and adjust pretty much every aspect of your streams. The options are extensive, but clearly laid out and explained.

OBS Studio can stream straight to Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Facebook and many other platforms – a much wider range than you'll find in other streaming software. It's even possible to.

Nov 26, 2018 - What's the best video broadcast software for live streaming on a Mac? Let's answer that by comparing OBS Studio, Wirecast, and other options.

OBS Studio is also our top pick if you're looking for a top quality free screen recorder. Other tools might be simpler, but whether you want to capture games or anything else on your desktop, you won't find a more flexible tool for the job. A friendlier face for OBS Studio, but there's little to differentiate it otherwise As the name suggests, is built on the same foundation as OBS Studio, putting a friendlier face on the powerful streaming software. Liquid foundation for dry skin. Streamlabs offers claims to offer improved performance via automatic optimization, though the difference in our tests was negligible. Its cleaner interface makes Streamlabs a reasonable choice for first-time streamers, but if you're already happy using OBS Studio, there's little advantage in switching.

It's currently in beta, so it'll be interesting to see if it diverges further from OBS Studio in the future, but for the moment there's little difference between the two. It's worth noting that Streamlabs currently lacks a studio mode – a feature that came to OBS Studio two years ago. It's an advanced tool that many users won't miss, but worth bearing in mind. Not up to OBS's standards yet, but worth a look if you're new to streaming is a new kid on the streaming block, and is still very much a work in progress.