Incorporating a real-time communication feature into your app can differentiate your brand and drive user engagement. However, developing these features takes time and resources, deterring you from focusing on core product features. This is where an SDK or API can come into play, as you can use them to accelerate build times and streamline development workflows.
In this article, you’ll learn more about live-streaming as a service, what to look for when choosing one, and the top seven providers.
What Is a Live-Streaming Solution?
A live-stream application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK) enable developers to incorporate real-time communication into their applications. They come bundled with the libraries and tools required to manage the different facets of live streaming, including transmitting, recording, and encoding audio and video.
Developers can use these tools to design custom live video experience capabilities for their apps. Not only do you get a faster time to market and less maintenance when using APIs, but you can also conserve resources and use them to build other core app features.
How Do You Pick the Right Service?
When evaluating a new solution, look for design features and capabilities that align with your needs. Most come with a range of features, such as:
Video encoding and streaming
Adaptive bitrate streaming
Cloud storage
Analytics tools
Quality developer documentation
Fast and effective customer support
Multi-platform support
Monetization support
Next, based on the specific requirements of your live-streaming app, analyze each tool’s geographical availability, pricing, and supported range of platforms. Also, check if the SDKs are easy to use and if they have detailed documentation of their features.
Top 7 Live-Streaming API and SDK Providers
Although live audio and video features require a lot of work to set up, the real pain is in the scaling and maintenance. To save you time and effort, here are some component options you can leverage to make your work easier.
1. Dacast: Good Monetizable Solution
Dacast is a professional video stream platform that helps developers enhance their apps through video content management and player API.
You can easily integrate real-time interactions with their services for flawless live event streaming with top-tier Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). Dacast gives you access to tools for customization, monetization, analytics, and more to customize your stream configurations.
Dacast’s HTML5 video player is also entirely based on THEOplayer’s technology. This technology helps you deliver cutting-edge streaming capabilities with low latency. Using Dacast’s video solution, you can empower app users to host live events on a secure platform with reliable content delivery.
Key features:
Host live streams with unlimited concurrent viewers
Ad-free HD stream
Recording for on-demand playback
Dynamic token security and password protection
Video monetization
Video quality optimization
Pros:
Fast integration and easy implementation
Multiple features under one roof
Reliable stream performance
Cons:
Limited post-event analytics
Poor customer support
Pricing: From $39/month billed annually
Integrations: AWeber, Videolinq, RumbleTalk, HexaFair, Altar Live, mimoLive
Security and compliance: DaCast is EU GDPR compliant
Free trials: 14-day free trial available
Supported platforms: Javascript, React Native, iOS, Android, Java
2. Video SDK: Rapid Integration Solution
Video SDK helps you integrate audio and video streaming into your web and mobile apps with just a few lines of code. Their SDK functionalities allow you to build a comprehensive solution with on-demand playback, analytics, screen-sharing capabilities, and unlimited rooms.
Video SDK’s services are developer-friendly, allowing you to leverage pre-built integrations or even customize your solutions. Video SDK’s solution is scalable with 150 ms worldwide latency, 99.9% uptime, and serves over 42 countries.
Key features:
Compatible with any custom RTMP outputs.
Live streams up to 25 co-streamers
Adaptive bitrate for better video experience at scale.
Multiple resolution video streams options
Live-stream on 20+ concurrent platforms and any browser
Responsive UI
Pros:
Plug-and-play solution that’s highly customizable
A lot of open-source examples you can reuse or customize
Users report positive experiences with their customer support
Cons:
Users can’t redesign the prebuilt SDK
Some users say the documentation could be improved
Pricing: $0.003/speaker/min and $0.0015/viewer/min
Integrations: Instagram, Vimeo Livestream
Security and compliance: GDPR and HIPAA Complaint
Free trials: Free 10,000 minutes
Supported platforms: JavaScript, React JS, React Native, Android, Flutter, and iOS
3. Stream: Best Low Latency API
Stream provides adaptable video and audio components, empowering you to create high-performance live stream for your application across our expansive global edge network.
Whether users opt for broadcasting from their mobile device or through RTMP, scalability to accommodate millions of participants is ensured. Craft enterprise-grade live streaming solutions tailored to your specific needs, all without the hassle of mastering technical intricacies or enduring lengthy development cycles.
Key Features:
Reactions
AI-Driven Image Moderation
Multi-Tenant
Silent Messages
Spam & Profanity Protection
Unread Messages Counts
Media Attachments & Resizing
Threaded Conversations
User Roles
Multi-Region Support
Fast Response Times (avg 5ms)
RTMP In and Out
HLS
WebRTC
Edge Network
Dynascale
Pros:
Ultra-low latency of less than 500ms powered by WebRTC-based live streaming technology
Configure your stream in backstage mode and go live when you’re ready.
Flexible recording templates and support for custom designs
Flexible user roles allow you to run a broadcast with a moderator and multiple participants
Cons:
There are not many downsides to Stream’s services
Pricing: HLS Live Streaming with normal latency, ~10 secs is $2 per 1,000 participant minutes
Integrations: Integrates with a vast number of complimentary software to enhance user experience, developer maintenance, and moderator functionality.
Security and Compliance: GDPR & CCPA, AICPA SOC, Privacy Shield Framework, DPF, ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC 2
Free trials: Stream’s Build plan is free
Supported platforms: React, React Native, iOS, Android, Flutter, Unity, Javascript
4. Agora: Good for Solutions with a Global Coverage
Agora helps you integrate real-time interactions into your apps with fully customizable services. The platform already powers 50 billion minutes of live voice and video monthly, and they have global coverage of over 200 countries.
With Agora’s video conferencing tools, you can deliver high-quality live-stream capabilities with low latency and intelligent routing. Similarly, with their auto-scaling feature, you’re assured of zero system-wide downtime and hyper-scalability as your apps grow.
Key features:
Premium add-ons like sound effects, AR facial masks, and whiteboards (at an additional cost)
Largest global real-time network with reach in over 200 countries
Automatically subtitles and captions video
You can simultaneously stream on multiple platforms.
Live-chat addition capabilities
Pros:
Good video and audio quality
Easy to set up
Developer-friendly documentation
Cons:
SDK is very low-level
Poor Slack support from the Agora team
Pricing: From $0.99 /1,000 minutes for audio
Integrations: ActiveFence, Marsview, MiO, PubNub, ASPIRE Health, Frazer Auto Dealer Software
Security and compliance: SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, ISO/IEC 27001, CCPA, and COPPA compliant.
Free trials: Free for the first 10,000 minutes every month
Supported platforms: React Native, Android SDK, Flutter, Electron, and Unity
5. Mux: Good for Real-Time Video Integration
Mux can help developers ship live communication capabilities faster through their SDK and UI components.
Mux’s array of SDKs helps developers build solutions like Twitch, which has low latency, live simulcasting, and real-time stream analytics.
Key features:
Has audience and stream health analytics
Webhooks configurations
Able to normalize audio for the best sound quality
Stream to third-party platforms such as YouTube and Twitch
Can integrate with headless CMSs
Users can capture images and clips from your videos
Allows pull-based inputs and direct uploads
Separate administration and configuration access for accounts
Pros:
The documentation is clear and up-to-date
Has a clean and easy-to-use dashboard
Offers integrations with serverless deployment solutions
Cons:
Lacks WebRTC solutions — the video streaming SDK uses RTMP
Some users report poor experiences with customer support
Pricing: Starts from $0.00096/minute of streaming video delivered
Integrations: New Relic, Flowplayer, Cosmic JS, Sanity.io, HexaFair, Contentful, Dataddo, Strapi, AT Internet, and DatoCMS
Security and compliance: Compliant with HIPAA guidelines
Free trials: Mux Data Startup is free
Supported platforms: Python, Go, Elixir, node.js, Ruby, PHP, iOS, Android
6. 100ms: Best for Interactive Streams
100ms is the best solution for integrating interactive live stream with latency lower than seven seconds and scalability of up to millions of users. Their video streaming API and SDK are intuitive and easy to integrate with well-built media systems and CDNs.
100ms allows developers to integrate live streams with just a single API call. You can easily customize aspect ratio, layout, and video resolution to deliver high-quality live streams.
Key features:
Global network of servers
Low latency of less than seven seconds
High-quality video and audio streaming
Build utilities like live widgets and call-to-action buttons on top of the video.
Pros:
Low latency and good audio and video clarity
Developer-friendly docs
Cons:
Slow issue resolution process
Documentation could be better
Pricing: From $0.004/participant/minute
Integrations: YouTube Live
Security and compliance: SOC 2 (Type I & Type II) and HIPAA-compliant
Free trials: Free 10,000 mins/month
Supported platforms: JavaScript, React JS, React Native, Android, Flutter, and iOS
7. api.video: Best Complete Toolkit for Integration
api.video empowers developers to deliver live capabilities on their apps quickly. The platform features over 20 plugins, libraries, and clients to help you build in any environment.
api.videos’ fully customizable API allows streaming at 0.02s playback speed and 99.9% uptime.
Key features:
Private stream
DVR feature
HTML5 adaptive video player
Access to m3u8 manifest
Video-on-demand and live webhooks
Pros:
Easy to implement
Good customer service
Edge video infrastructure
Cons:
Poorly organized documentation
Pricing: From $0.00285/minute of video stored and $0.0017/minute of video delivered
Integrations: Contentful
Security and compliance: Uses TLS 1.2 and 1.3 encryption to protect data in transit, and is EU GDPR compliant
Free trials: Video encoding is free for unlimited minutes
Supported platforms: JavaScript, Python, node.js, PHP, Postman, Kotlin, Golang, React Native, iOS, C#
Accelerate Your App’s Build Time With Live-Streaming Components
It’s now easier than ever to quickly integrate real-time capabilities with an API or SDK. But to get the most out of these developer tools, ensure you pick the right provider and understand how to maximize their features. By getting to market faster, you can edge out the competition, capture new users, and gain a greater share of voice in your app’s respective niche while delivering a world-class video UX.
