There are dozens of live streaming platforms on the market. Some are designed for gamers, some for enterprises, and some for community organisations. Choosing the wrong one costs you time, money, and viewers. This guide helps you pick the right one for your needs.
Start with your goal
If your goal is reach, you might choose a social platform like YouTube or Facebook. But if your goal is revenue, you need a platform with built-in pay-per-view ticketing and a reliable payment processor.
Most community organisations want both: enough reach to attract an audience, and a way to charge for access. The sweet spot is a platform that handles ticketing and payments while giving you tools to promote your events.
Monetisation features
Look for built-in paywall support, flexible pricing (live and replay options), and direct payouts via Stripe or similar. Avoid platforms that hold your money for weeks or take more than 20% of your ticket revenue.
The best platforms let the money flow directly to your own account, not through the platform first. This is called "direct payout" or "Stripe Connect" and it is much better for cash flow.
Branding and customisation
Your stream should look like your brand, not the platform brand. Look for custom domains, logo placement, brand colours on the viewer page, and the ability to remove or minimise platform branding.
White-label platforms give you full control over the viewer experience. Your viewers see your logo, your colours, and your domain name, and never know which platform is running behind the scenes.
Reliability and support
A platform that goes down during your event is worse than no platform at all. Look for enterprise-grade CDN infrastructure, a published uptime record, and responsive customer support. If they do not offer live support during your event hours, that is a red flag.
The platform built for your events
PassCast is purpose-built for community events, sports, schools, and live broadcasts. White-label branding, Stripe Connect payouts, and no monthly fees on the Community tier.
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