Restream vs Castr: creator studio or broadcast platform
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Restream Reviews · Updated October 5, 2026
Disclosure: this site reviews Restream and earns a commission if you sign up for it through our links. Restream is one option below, and we say where it isn't the right fix.
These two overlap on multistreaming and differ on everything around it. Restream gives creators and small teams a browser studio with guests, overlays, and one chat window for every platform, starting free. Castr is a video platform for broadcasters: more destinations per dollar (6 on its $19.99 plan), a player for your own website on every plan, video hosting, and paywalls, but no browser studio.
Pick Restream if you host the show in a browser, bring on guests, or want to start free. Pick Castr if you already produce in OBS or a hardware switcher and need many destinations, an embedded player, or pay-per-view.
Restream vs Castr at a glance
| Compared on | Restream | Castr |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes: 2 channels | No; 7-day trial on Starter |
| Entry paid plan | $19/mo: 3 channels | $19.99/mo: 6 destinations |
| Next tier | $49/mo: 5 channels, 1080p in Studio | $49.99/mo: 10 destinations |
| Top published plan | $239/mo: 8 channels | $349.99/mo: 30 destinations |
| Annual discount | 20% | 2 months free |
| Browser studio with guests | Yes, up to 10 on screen | No (Castr's own comparison) |
| Player for your own website | Business plan ($239) | Every plan, with metered bandwidth |
| Unified chat | Yes, all connected platforms | YouTube, Facebook Pages, Twitch overlay |
| Refunds | 7 days, first purchase | 7 days, only for a system issue support can't fix |
| Trustpilot overall | 4.6 (504 reviews) | 3.3 (57 reviews, castr.io) |
| Trustpilot invited / unprompted (latest 50) | 5.0 (45) / 3.0 (5) | 4.93 (41) / 2.56 (9) |
| G2 | 4.5 (83 reviews) | 4.8 (243 reviews) |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of 2026-10-05. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
Prices from restream.io/pricing and castr.com/pricing, monthly billing, checked October 5, 2026. Trustpilot splits use each company's 50 most recent reviews, pulled the same day; unprompted samples are small.
Studio or encoder: the first question
If you build the show in your browser, inviting guests from a link and adding logos and comments on screen, Castr doesn't do that and Restream does. If the show already comes out of OBS, vMix, or an ATEM switcher, both work as the relay, and Castr's destination counts are higher at every price.
Castr's bandwidth fine print
Castr meters the bandwidth its player uses. Monthly plans get a monthly allowance (200 GB on Starter, 3 TB on Premium); annual plans get a larger pool up front (2.4 TB and 36 TB). One recent Trustpilot reviewer read the annual figure as the monthly one:
“I signed up for the Premium plan specifically because the website stated it included 36 TB of bandwidth. What was not made clear is that this number is annualized, meaning the monthly plan only provides 3 TB.”Steven Ritchie, Trustpilot, April 2026
Restream doesn't meter multistreaming bandwidth; you send one feed and it relays it. Its website player, on Business, is capped at 1,000 viewers instead.
Cancelling and refunds
Both companies' terms ask you to cancel through chat or email, and both limit refunds. Castr refunds within 7 days only when there's a system problem its support can't solve. Restream refunds first purchases cancelled within 7 days, and not renewals, which is where most of its billing complaints come from. See how to cancel Restream.
Where Castr wins
- More destinations per dollar: 6 for $19.99, 10 for $49.99
- A website player, video hosting, and paywalls on every plan
- Higher G2 score: 4.8 from 243 reviews
- Built for broadcasters: SRT ingest from the entry plan, TV playout on every plan, a white-label OTT web app on Events
Restream vs Castr FAQ
Is Restream or Castr cheaper?+
It depends on what you need. Restream has a free plan (2 channels) and a $19 plan for 3. Castr has no free plan; its Starter plan is $19.99 a month for 6 destinations, so per destination Castr is cheaper. Castr's plans also meter player bandwidth, which matters if you embed video on your own site.
Does Castr have a browser studio like Restream Studio?+
No. Castr's own comparison page says a browser studio is not a native feature: you produce the show in your encoder or switcher (OBS, vMix) and send it to Castr. Restream Studio runs in the browser with guests joining from a link.
How do their reviews compare?+
In each company's 50 most recent Trustpilot reviews (pulled October 5, 2026), Restream's 45 invited reviews average 5.0 and Castr's 41 average 4.93; Restream's 5 unprompted average 3.0 and Castr's 9 average 2.56. Castr's 50 span 2023 to 2026, Restream's only March to October 2026. On G2, Castr rates 4.8 from 243 reviews and Restream 4.5 from 83.
Can I try Castr or Restream without paying?+
Restream's Free plan has no time limit. Castr offers a 7-day trial on its Starter plan, with no credit card according to Castr's site.