Professional Live Streaming
Professional Live Streaming Platform for Your Own Website
Connect your encoder. Broadcast on your site. Keep the replay.
A professional live streaming platform takes your encoder’s feed, plays it on your page, controls access, and keeps the replay. WpStream does this on your WordPress site.
Tonight's Scheduled Broadcast
Broadcast from Your Own WebsiteFrom your encoder to your own page
Create a live channel
Open the WpStream dashboard in WordPress to create a live channel. Each channel has its own page. Your broadcast gets a home before you go live.
Connect your encoder
Paste the server URL and stream key into OBS, Wirecast, Larix, or a hardware encoder with a custom RTMP destination. No encoder? You can broadcast from a browser.
Go live on your site
The player on your page goes live for your audience. WpStream’s service carries the feed, so your web host doesn’t have to serve live video.
Place the player on any WordPress page using a block, shortcode or page builder. Add your logo to give every broadcast your own branding.
What Makes a Live Streaming Platform Professional?
Here are nine checks a scheduled broadcaster can run on any professional live streaming platform before moving off social media. Each shows how WpStream meets this standard.
Nine Checks, One Page
01
Stable ingest from your encoder. WpStream takes RTMP from OBS, Wirecast, Larix, or a hardware encoder. You can also broadcast from a browser.
02
Delivery that isn’t your web host. The streaming service carries the feed. Your site only hosts the page, using several large networks for delivery.
03
The player on your page. Your logo appears on the player, and no WpStream plan shows ads.
04
Control over who watches. Lock to your website keeps the feed on your domain. You can add encryption or a password page for private events.
05
A way to charge for access. Pay-per-view comes with every paid WpStream plan, and subscriptions run through WooCommerce Subscriptions.
06
A replay after the broadcast. Turn on recording before you go live, and the recording becomes a free or paid video on demand.
07
Cost you can predict. Plans count broadcast, viewer, and recording hours, plus a cap on simultaneous viewers. You can estimate a season’s bill before it starts. If you run out mid-season, you can still go live, but limits and WpStream branding may apply until you top up or upgrade.
08
A test before air. Short test streams are recommended before important broadcasts. They use broadcast hours, so save a few for rehearsals.
09
More than one person can go live. Non-admin broadcasters can go live without touching the WordPress admin dashboard.
If something goes wrong, you can reach the WpStream support team, as the reviews below describe.
Run all nine checks before you sign up anywhere, including here.
Three Routes
Social platform, hosted platform, or your own website?
Free social platforms win on reach. Facebook's help page states that an embedded Live video "may lead new people to discover" your broadcast. If discovery is the goal, keep going live there.
Hosted video platforms offer professional live streaming services and meter them differently. For instance, Dacast counts data transferred and storage. BoxCast counts viewer hours with no cap on how many can watch. Vimeo prices by plan tier, with live events starting at $75 a month billed annually. Restream prices by the number of destinations.
The third route is a live streaming solution on your own WordPress site. The player, access rules, and replay all live there, with WpStream carrying the feed and plans counted in hours.
| For a Scheduled Broadcast | Free social platform | Hosted video platform | Your website with WpStream |
|---|---|---|---|
| For a scheduled broadcast: Where the audience watches | Free social platform: On YouTube or Facebook, or an embed of it | Hosted video platform: The vendor's player, embedded on your site | Your website with WpStream: A player on your own WordPress page |
| For a scheduled broadcast: Around the player | Free social platform: YouTube embeds may show ads and related videos | Hosted video platform: Branding options vary by vendor and plan | Your website with WpStream: Your logo on the player, no ads on any plan |
| For a scheduled broadcast: Charging for access | Free social platform: YouTube: channel memberships, inside YouTube | Hosted video platform: Paywall on some plans, such as Dacast's Event plan | Your website with WpStream: Pay-per-view on every paid plan; subscriptions via WooCommerce Subscriptions |
| For a scheduled broadcast: Who can watch | Free social platform: A Facebook Live embed needs a public audience | Hosted video platform: Password and domain options vary by vendor | Your website with WpStream: Lock to website, encryption, password page |
| For a scheduled broadcast: After the broadcast | Free social platform: On Facebook, the video stays as a post | Hosted video platform: Recording storage set by each vendor's plan | Your website with WpStream: The recording becomes a replay; buyers keep access |
| For a scheduled broadcast: How it is measured | Free social platform: Free; no plan to measure | Hosted video platform: Data transferred, viewer hours, plan tier or destinations | Your website with WpStream: Broadcast, viewer and recording hours |
Set Up the Feed Before You Go Live
Four tasks in the WordPress dashboard and the encoder. The first three are set once. The test comes before every important broadcast.
Any encoder or professional live streaming software with a custom RTMP destination works: our encoder guide covers hardware types, and the software guide covers OBS and vMix.
Record
Turn on recording first
Want a replay? Turn on Record Live Stream when you create the channel. The record setting can't change while the channel is running.
Auto Start
Let the encoder start the channel
With Auto TURN ON, the presenter goes live from the encoder without opening the dashboard. Without it, you turn the channel on manually.
Access
Choose who can watch
Put the player on your page. Then pick who watches: everyone, a password, or paid access.
Rehearsal
Run a test stream
Send a short test with sound and movement like the real broadcast. Then watch it on the page, just as your audience will.
Your Own Player
The broadcast plays on your website
Your WordPress site hosts the page and viewing experience. WpStream’s service carries the live feed.
Add your logo to the player and choose how live streams and videos appear on your site (see the branding options).
Video unavailable. Please try again later.
Decide Who Watches and Who Pays
A free broadcast needs nothing extra: WooCommerce is optional. Charging for access requires WooCommerce, and recurring access needs WooCommerce Subscriptions.
Set one rule per broadcast, or mix them across a season. If you sold a broadcast, switch it to the replay, and buyers keep access.
Free to View
The broadcast is open to anyone who visits your page. No store or checkout is needed.
Password Page
For private events, a password-protected page keeps the audience to invited guests. Private streaming covers various options.
Lock to Website
The feed plays only on your domain, preventing sharing on other websites. It’s a domain restriction, not DRM.
Encryption
Encrypt the feed for extra protection. Note that this may affect website performance, so test it before a major broadcast.
Pay-Per-View
Sell one broadcast or video through WooCommerce on every paid plan. The pay-per-view walkthrough explains the setup.
Season Pass
Recurring access, like a season pass, runs through WooCommerce Subscriptions, a separate extension. See how memberships work.
Five Broadcast Schedules, Worked Out in Hours
Viewer hours equal broadcast length times audience size. A 2-hour broadcast watched by 150 people uses 300 viewer hours.
The simultaneous-viewer cap is separate. A big one-off can fit the hours but still need a larger plan. Check both.
These are labelled examples with assumed audiences, not customer stories.
Example: Radio Morning Show
A 3-hour show every weekday totals 66 broadcast hours a month. With 40 viewers on average, that’s 2,640 viewer hours: above Plus (2,000), inside Pro (10,000). Auto TURN ON lets the presenter start from the studio encoder. Recording every show adds 66 hours of stored video monthly.
Example: Sunday Service
A 2-hour service viewed by 150 people uses 300 viewer hours. About 4.3 Sundays a month make roughly 1,290 viewer hours and 8.6 broadcast hours, fitting within Plus (2,000 viewer hours).
Example: Club Home Game
A 2-hour game for 300 fans uses 600 viewer hours. Two home games a month total 1,200 hours on Plus. Streaming just the final, with 600 fans at once? That’s over Lite’s 200, so Plus One Time ($89, 1,000 simultaneous viewers) covers it.
Sell a season pass and include each game's replay.
Example: Studio Live Class
About 22 one-hour classes a month, with 25 members each, use 550 viewer hours and 22 broadcast hours. That’s just over Lite (500 viewer hours) and fits well within Plus.
Example: Theatre Performance
A 2.5-hour performance for 400 people uses 1,000 viewer hours, with 400 watching at once. Plus One Time ($89) covers this. Lite One Time (200 simultaneous, 500 viewer hours) does not.
Sell it as pay-per-view for one night.
After the Broadcast
The broadcast becomes the replay
Once the broadcast ends, the recording processes in the background and is listed under Recordings, not at the live URL. From there, publish it as a free or paid video on demand.
If you sold the live broadcast, switch the product from Live stream to Video on demand. Everyone who bought it keeps access without paying again. Recording hours measure the stored video.
Video unavailable. Please try again later.
Broadcast, viewer and recording hours, with pay-per-view on every paid plan.
Lite
Lite, $24 a month: 100 broadcast hours, 500 viewer hours, 25 recording hours, 200 simultaneous viewers, and 5 live channels. Yearly it costs $190.
Lite One Time costs $36, and one-time hours don’t expire. The studio class example is just over it at 550 viewer hours.
Plus
Plus, $59 a month: 250 broadcast hours, 2,000 viewer hours, 100 recording hours, 1,000 simultaneous viewers, and 15 live channels. Yearly it is $490, or $89 one time.
The Sunday service example fits here. The radio example needs Pro ($169 a month, 10,000 viewer hours). Ultra ($449 a month) is above it.
The trial
New accounts start with 20 broadcast, 100 viewer, and 10 recording hours. This is a starter allowance, not a free plan, and test streams use broadcast hours. See every plan.
Honest Fit
When is WpStream not the right broadcast platform?
Some broadcasts need features WpStream doesn’t have: native live captions, attendance records, or guaranteed uptime. If you need these, choose a different platform.
Consider reach too. If your goal is to attract new viewers, keep a social channel active. Broadcasting on your site serves your existing audience and the access you control.
Low Latency and Adaptive Bitrate are both in beta, and their keyframe intervals conflict (1 second vs 5), so they don’t pair well.
For most professional streaming, the default delay is fine: "For the vast majority of live streams, a 20-second delay simply doesn't matter," as our low-latency docs put it.
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Professional live streaming, answered
A professional platform takes a stable feed from your encoder, delivers it independently, and plays it in a branded player. It controls viewer access, keeps replays, and bills predictably. WpStream covers these on your WordPress site, counting broadcast, viewer, and recording hours.
Social platforms expand reach. They set rules around the player. YouTube embeds may show ads, and only YouTube and the video owner earn from them.
A professional platform like WpStream gives you control over the player, access rules, and replays.
Yes. WpStream adds a player with a block, Elementor, WPBakery element, or shortcode.
Your site hosts the page while the streaming service delivers video, so your web hosting account won’t carry the live traffic. Free broadcasts don’t need a store; paid access requires WooCommerce.
Create a live channel in the WpStream dashboard, then paste its server URL and stream key into OBS or your encoder.
Place the player on the page your audience visits and choose who can watch. Before the actual broadcast, run a test stream with sound and movement. Tests use broadcast hours.
Multiply broadcast length by audience to get viewer hours.
For example, a 2-hour weekly broadcast watched by 150 people uses 300 viewer hours, about 1,290 a month. The WpStream Plus plan ($59 a month, 2,000 viewer hours) fits.
Broadcasting only occasionally? One-time plans cover a single event, and their hours don’t expire.
Yes. Lock the feed to your website, encrypt it, or put it behind a password for private events.
To charge, WpStream offers pay-per-view on every paid plan through WooCommerce. Recurring access, like a season pass, runs through WooCommerce Subscriptions.
These rules apply to the replay too.
Yes, if recording is on before you go live. After the broadcast, WpStream processes the recording and lists it under Recordings.
You can then publish it as a free or paid video on demand. Switch a sold broadcast to video on demand, and buyers keep access.
Recording hours measure the stored video.
Yes. Social platforms help new people find you, so keep a channel for discovery.
The broadcast on your site with WpStream serves your existing audience, keeping access rules, paid tickets, and replays under your control.
Ready when you are
Start your free trial
Try live broadcasting and replays on your website.