Live event streaming
Live Event Streaming on Your Own Website
Test the venue. Sell the tickets. Keep the replay.
How to live stream an event from start to finish: the gear, encoder settings, upload speed, tickets, the replay, and a plan sized in hours.
Saturday cup final
Ticketed from your club websiteHow to live stream an event, in three steps
Connect the encoder to your channel
Create a channel on your WordPress site, paste its server URL and stream key into OBS, and switch on recording before the channel goes live.
Measure the upload at the venue
Run the WpStream speed tester at speedtest.wpstream.live at event time. Keep audio plus video bitrate below the lowest reading. Test broadcasts use broadcast hours.
Ticket holders watch on your site
Ticket holders buy through your checkout and watch on your event page. After the final whistle or curtain call, you turn the recording into the replay.
Attendees at home watch on the organizer's own WordPress page, pay through WooCommerce with Stripe or PayPal, and find the replay there once it's published.
Lock to Website keeps the stream off other websites.
Live event streaming equipment, audio first
Three kits cover most events: a phone, one camera, or several cameras into a switcher.
Buy the microphone before a better camera: our mistakes checklist names audio as a common afterthought, and the symptom is distorted or missing speech. Light faces from the front.
Prices are manufacturer list prices, September 2026. See the full equipment guide.
Microphone first
A wireless lavalier such as the RODE Wireless GO (Gen 3), $199 list, clips to the speaker. Or feed the venue's sound desk or mixer into the camera or encoder.
Phone kit
Larix Broadcaster, "a free app for iPhones (iOS) and Android", sends to your channel with its server URL and stream key. The WpStream browser broadcaster works in Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge.
Single-camera kit
An HDMI camera goes into a laptop through a capture card. The Elgato Cam Link 4K, $99.99 list, takes HDMI in and connects to the computer over USB 3.0.
Multi-camera kit
The Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro, $349 list, has 4 HDMI inputs, a hardware streaming engine and an audio mixer in one box, so the AV team can cut between angles.
Backup internet
For a venue with a weak or shared line, bonded cellular uses several mobile connections at once.
LiveU Solo PRO Connect retails at $450 with two modems or $995 with four, plus a Solo PRO encoder.
A second person
One person runs cameras and sound. A second watches the Live Statistics page and a phone logged in as a ticket holder, so problems are seen before attendees report them.
Encoder settings and upload speed for live event streaming
The encoder turns camera and microphone into the stream.
OBS is "Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming" for Windows, Mac and Linux; WpStream's docs also cover vMix, Wirecast, XSplit and Larix.
In OBS, choose Service, then Custom, and paste your channel's Server URL and Stream key. More in our encoder guide.
Resolution and bitrate
YouTube recommends 4 Mbps for 720p at 30 frames per second and 10 Mbps for 1080p30; Twitch lists 4,500 kbps for 1080p30.
If the venue upload is tight, drop one step: a stable stream matters more than a sharper one. Full ladder in the settings guide.
Keyframe, CBR and audio
Set the keyframe interval to 2 seconds. Use CBR. Send audio at 128 kbps stereo. YouTube, Facebook and Twitch publish the same keyframe and CBR advice.
Set these once at the rehearsal and leave them alone on event day.
Upload speed at the venue
Run the WpStream speed tester at the venue, at event time, several times. Combined audio and video bitrate "must be less than the lowest upload speed reading".
YouTube and Facebook suggest about 20% spare, so 4,500 kbps video plus 128 kbps audio needs a lowest reading near 5.8 Mbps. Upload counts, not download.
Wired, Wi-Fi or bonded cellular
Plug the encoder into Ethernet. Our mistakes checklist names "Wifi, not wired" as a common fault, so keep venue Wi-Fi as the backup.
A bonded cellular kit such as the LiveU Solo PRO Connect covers a venue with no reliable line.
Low latency and adaptive bitrate
Normally, streams reach people at home about 20 seconds after the venue.
Low Latency (beta) cuts that to roughly 2 to 5 seconds, with a 1-second keyframe and at least double your bitrate in upload.
Our docs name live auctions and sports among the cases for it.
Most events can skip it: "For the vast majority of live streams, a 20-second delay simply doesn’t matter", as our docs say.
Adaptive Bitrate (beta) needs a 5-second keyframe, isn't recommended together with Low Latency, and "cannot rescue a broadcast that is already struggling".
Platform choice
Where should your event stream actually live?
Choosing a live event streaming platform means choosing who owns the audience and the checkout. Social platforms win on reach.
Eventbrite sells the ticket while the video lives elsewhere: in the US, 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket plus 2.9% processing, paid by buyers by default. Hosted event live streaming services bundle both.
Your own site keeps both.
Run one $15 ticket through two of them. Before plan costs on either side, BoxCast leaves the organizer $10.70, and your own WooCommerce checkout with a Stripe US card leaves $14.27.
That is $3.57 more per ticket for the organizer.
WpStream isn't the tool if ads are your model: it has no ad-supported option, and YouTube fits that.
Nor does it fit a conference that needs several stages at once, networking between attendees, exhibitor booths or continuing-education credit tracking (the American Psychiatric Nurses Association's conference lists 115+ contact hours).
A full event platform does. Our conference guide covers the rest.
| What you compare | YouTube or Facebook | BoxCast | Zoom Events | Your site with WpStream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you compare: How you charge | YouTube or Facebook: Not through your own checkout | BoxCast: Ticketing add-on; $4 minimum ticket | Zoom Events: Ticket types; plan billed annually upfront | Your site with WpStream: Your WooCommerce checkout: ticket, season pass or members-only |
| What you compare: Kept from a $15 ticket | YouTube or Facebook: Not applicable | BoxCast: $10.70 (2.9% + $0.30, then 75%), before plan cost | Zoom Events: Not stated on its pricing page | Your site with WpStream: $14.27 with a Stripe US card, before plan cost |
| What you compare: Replay | YouTube or Facebook: Archive on the platform; small mobile channels private by default | BoxCast: Channel ticket: access until deleted | Zoom Events: Cloud recordings offered; replay terms not stated | Your site with WpStream: You convert the recording; the same ticket keeps access |
| What you compare: Rules to know | YouTube or Facebook: Facebook live limit 8 hours; copyright matches can restrict live streaming | BoxCast: No ticket sales in its TV apps; payouts quarterly over $100 | Zoom Events: $2.50 per attendee overage on legacy pay-per-attendee | Your site with WpStream: Hours metered; viewers at once capped by plan; no ads; chat via Better Messages in the Hello WpStream theme, not built in |
| What you compare: Who owns the audience | YouTube or Facebook: The platform | BoxCast: BoxCast player and apps | Zoom Events: Registrant list in Zoom | Your site with WpStream: Your domain and your customer list |
| What you compare: Best for | YouTube or Facebook: Reach, free viewing, ad revenue | BoxCast: All-in-one hosting with TV apps | Zoom Events: Multi-stage conferences with networking | Your site with WpStream: Ticketed events on your own site, replay behind the same ticket |
Run the event on your own website
For live event streaming on your own website, you need a WordPress site with the WpStream plugin, plus WooCommerce for paid tickets; a season pass also needs the separately bought WooCommerce Subscriptions extension.
The free trial, no credit card required, gives you 100 viewer, 20 broadcast and 10 recording hours. Setup screens are in our WordPress live streaming guide.
Ticket
Create a Pay-Per-View channel
Go to All Channels, then Add new Pay-Per-View Channel, set Product data to Live Channel and add a price.
A buyer can watch every later broadcast on that channel, so give each ticketed event its own channel.
Encoder
Paste the server and stream key
In OBS, open Settings, then Stream, choose Custom and paste the channel's Server and Stream Key. With Auto TURN ON, next time you just start streaming from OBS.
Record
Turn on recording before you go live
Enable Record Live Stream in Channel Settings before you turn the channel on. It uses recording hours, and without it there is no replay for ticket holders who missed kick-off.
Go live
Watch the Live Statistics page
Ticket holders open the stream from their confirmation email or My Orders.
The Live Statistics page shows channel state, frame rate, keyframe interval, the bitrate arriving and an incoming bitrate graph, and warns when one is wrong.
Replay after the event
Turn the recording into the replay
The recording shows up under WpStream, then Recordings, a few minutes or longer after the channel turns off. It isn't a video on demand until you create one from it.
For a paid event, open the same product, change it from Live stream to Video on demand and pick the recording.
Everyone who bought a ticket keeps access without paying again, as our video membership guide shows.
How long the replay stays up is your call: SF Opera gives a "48-hour on-demand period", and Bury FC keeps matches for 30 days.
Video unavailable. Please try again later.
Plan sizing
One event or a whole season: which plan fits?
Four numbers decide the plan. Broadcast hours are time on air across all channels, test streams included, and viewer hours are people times hours watched.
Recording hours cover the recordings you keep, and the fourth number is how many watch at once. Video quality changes none of them: hours are based on time only.
One-time plans don't expire, so they fit a single tournament, service or conference day.
On monthly and yearly plans, broadcast and viewer hours reset every month, so they fit a fixture list, a service calendar or a course of weekly sessions.
Take a league fixture watched by 300: it uses 2.75 broadcast, 675 viewer and 2.25 recording hours, with 300 at once.
Lite one-time caps 200 at once, so Plus one-time ($89 as of September 2026) fits. Cost rises in plan steps. See the full cost breakdown.
| Event and assumptions | Broadcast / viewer hours | Recording hours | At once | Plan that fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event and assumptions: League fixture: 2 h match, 15 min pre-match, 30 min test; 300 watch 2.25 h | Broadcast / viewer hours: 2.75 / 675 | Recording hours: 2.25 | At once: 300 | Plan that fits: Plus one-time, $89 (Lite caps 200 at once) |
| Event and assumptions: Christmas Eve service: 1.5 h, 30 min test; 150 watch | Broadcast / viewer hours: 2 / 225 | Recording hours: 1.5 | At once: 150 | Plan that fits: Lite one-time, $36 |
| Event and assumptions: School musical: 2 performances x 2.5 h, 30 min test; 120 each night | Broadcast / viewer hours: 5.5 / 600 | Recording hours: 5 | At once: 120 | Plan that fits: Plus one-time, $89 (one night fits Lite) |
| Event and assumptions: Community festival: 4 h, 30 min test; 800 watch 1 h, 400 at peak | Broadcast / viewer hours: 4.5 / 800 | Recording hours: 4 | At once: 400 | Plan that fits: Plus one-time, $89 |
| Event and assumptions: Association conference day: 2 rooms, 8 h, 1 h tests; 500 watch 5 h | Broadcast / viewer hours: 17 / 2,500 | Recording hours: 16 | At once: 500 | Plan that fits: Pro one-time, $249 |
| Event and assumptions: Club season: 4 home fixtures a month, 300 watch each | Broadcast / viewer hours: 11 / 2,700 a month | Recording hours: 9 a month | At once: 300 | Plan that fits: Pro monthly $169 or yearly $1,490 |
Buy the hours for the event you have. One-time hours do not expire.
Lite
Lite one-time, $36: 100 broadcast hours, 500 viewer hours, 200 viewers at once, 5 channels and 25 recording hours.
A cohort training day fits: 6 hours plus a 30-minute test for 40 participants uses 6.5 broadcast, 240 viewer and 6 recording hours, 40 at once.
Plus
Plus one-time, $89: 250 broadcast hours, 2,000 viewer hours, 1,000 viewers at once, 15 channels and 100 recording hours.
It fits the community festival (4.5 broadcast, 800 viewer, 4 recording hours, 400 at once). Pro one-time, $249, takes 25,000 at once for a conference day.
The trial
Running a fixture list or a weekly service? Monthly plans start at $24 and yearly at $190, with broadcast and viewer hours reset each month.
Start with the free trial, no credit card required. Prices as of September 2026.
What event organizers say
Amazing plugin
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From now on, we will use it for all of our livestreaming events!
Great for Lockout Media
Easy setup and worked great!
We used the WP service and WP plugin to get a Zoom Webinar conference live streamed to a client site. It was very easy to install, set up and get set up.
We only tapped the surface of what this plugin and stream service can do.
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Before doors open: nine checks
Run these at the rehearsal and again at the final briefing, which event crews hold “at least 90 minutes before the doors open or the stream goes live”, per the stagetimer.io production checklists.
Add it to your run of show
01
Check remaining broadcast and viewer hours, and your viewers-at-once cap, against the audience you expect.
02
Turn on Record Live Stream in Channel Settings before you turn the channel on. No recording, no replay.
03
Run speedtest.wpstream.live at the venue, at event time, several times. Plan around the lowest reading.
04
Plug the encoder into Ethernet. Keep venue Wi-Fi or a bonded cellular kit as the backup line.
05
Set the encoder under your measured upload speed: resolution and bitrate, a 2-second keyframe interval, CBR.
06
Test sound with the real microphones and someone speaking at event volume, as YouTube advises for test streams.
07
Run a short test broadcast with the Live Statistics page open. Test streams use broadcast hours, so keep it brief.
08
Write the paused message before doors open, so attendees see your words during a short break.
09
Publish the event page, then test a purchase and login with a non-admin account, as a ticket holder would.
Nine checks done. Open the doors and turn the channel on.
If the stream stops mid-event,
check these three first.
The encoder drops
Attendees see "not yet started" or "paused", not a blank player, and your paused message covers a short break.
If nothing reaches the channel for a set time, it turns itself off; with Auto TURN ON, you restart from the encoder.
The hours run out
Check remaining hours before you blame the network. The encoder can't tell an empty account from a dead router. Emails go out at 20% remaining and again at zero.
On a paid plan you top up and continue, with nothing for attendees to do.
The venue line fails
Move the encoder to the backup connection, bonded cellular or a second wired line, and drop one bitrate step.
Twitch puts it this way: "it's always better to have a stable stream than to push for a higher video quality".
In our view, a steady 720p beats a 1080p that keeps stalling.
More live event streaming guides
Complete Guide to Livestreaming an Event (Step By Step)
Planning, gear and going live for a first event, step by step.
How to Live Stream Conferences and Virtual Events (Complete Guide)
Streaming a conference or virtual event, from the keynote to breakout sessions, for attendees who can't travel.
How Much Does It Cost To Live Stream Events? (2026 Update)
What an event stream costs: camera, microphone and the plan that carries the hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Install the WpStream plugin on WordPress, create a channel and paste its server URL and stream key into OBS. Test the venue upload, then go live. WooCommerce sells the tickets.
Start with the free trial, no credit card required.
Keep combined audio and video bitrate below the lowest reading on the WpStream speed tester, with about 20% spare.
A 1080p30 stream at 4,500 kbps video plus 128 kbps audio needs a lowest reading near 5.8 Mbps at the venue.
For a single event, a one-time WpStream plan fits: its hours don’t expire, from $36 as of September 2026.
For a fixture list or service calendar, monthly or yearly plans fit, because broadcast and viewer hours reset each month.
Multiply people by hours watched: 300 people at a 3-hour event use up to 900 viewer hours, plus 3 broadcast and 3 recording hours.
WpStream Lite stops at 500 viewer hours and 200 at once; Plus allows 2,000 and 1,000, so it fits.
Yes. A Pay-Per-View channel is a WooCommerce product with a price, and all paid WpStream plans include unrestricted PPV.
There’s no revenue share, only the gateway fee, such as Stripe US at 2.9% + 30¢. Season passes need WooCommerce Subscriptions.
It appears under Recordings some minutes after the channel turns off, but isn’t a replay until you make it a video on demand.
For a paid event, switch the same WpStream product to Video on demand and pick the recording; ticket holders keep access.
They see “not yet started” or “paused”, with your paused message if you wrote one, not a blank player. Check your remaining WpStream hours before blaming the network.
With no broadcast for a set time, the channel turns itself off.
Often. CCLI’s church streaming licence, from $84 a year for churches it already licenses, excludes charging for the stream, so check before selling a WpStream ticket.
League rules can block home live streams: Bury FC’s Saturday 3pm league fixtures stream live only outside the UK.
Ready when you are
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