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Live streaming.
It’s more than just a fad.
It’s here to stay.
The use of video is growing rapidly as the internet becomes more advanced and more people around the world get access to high-speed internet.
With the technology available now, anyone can run a successful live stream.
Live streaming is perfect for events or YouTubers who want to get more personal and engaged with their fan base. And if you’re one of these people, I’ve got some good news for you…
In this post, you’ll find five of the best WordPress plugins for live streams.
The plugins listed here work with every streaming service, have responsive designs that look awesome on mobile devices, and loads of additional cool features.
Scroll further to find the top picks.
If you don’t have a beautiful design for your site yet, visit our collection of the top live streaming WordPress themes before you go. And check out our guide on creating your first live streaming site if you don’t have a website already.
Live streaming plugins
Only plugins with excellent customer reviews have been posted here. You’ll find a combination of both free and paid options, so you can pick out whichever one matches your needs and budget best.
Here are my top picks for the best WordPress live streaming plugins.
1. bzplayer Pro
Plugin Description
bzplayer Pro is one of the best video plugins on the market. It will add a responsive HTML5 video player to your site that works wonderfully across all screens and devices.
This live streaming plugin works with all the popular streaming services. Embed a stream from Youtube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, or Google Drive. Better still, you can self-host the feed on your WordPress site. Both video and audio-only streams can be embedded.
bzplayer Pro was initially made to work with the classic WordPress editor but has since been updated to work with Gutenberg too. You’ll have no trouble adding a live stream into any post or page on your site.
If you want to monetize your site, you’ll love the built-in advertising options. You can include them over top of the video in a variety of different positions. Other features include watermarks, social sharing buttons, and playback speed settings.
2. Livestream Social for WordPress
Plugin Description
This plugin makes it simple to embed streams from social networks on your WordPress site. Add a live stream from Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Hitbox, Azubu, Mizer, or Twitch in just moments. All you need is the stream URL.
You’ll love the scheduling tools that come included. You can publish your prior and upcoming broadcast times in a neat table below the video. The plugin automatically matches the schedule for you.
Livestream Social for WordPress is an excellent choice for gamers, freelance reporters, and vloggers. The main benefit is that you can get your fans on your site instead of the social network which gives you more opportunity to monetize your audience.
3. Modern Audio Player
Plugin Description
For an audio stream, check out the Modern Audio Player plugin. It has outstanding reviews from its customers and comes with a reasonable price tag.
Podcasters and radio jockeys who want to broadcast a live audio stream will find everything they need in this premium plugin. It comes with an HTML5 audio embed which works great for podcasts and SoundCloud embeds too. The responsive design ensures it looks perfect on desktop computers, tablets, and mobile devices.
Modern Audio Player keeps track of your analytics when using a self-hosted stream. You can view the likes, plays, and downloads for every stream. You can also run multiple streams on your site at once; even multiple streams on the same page! Social sharing buttons are included too to help your stream reach a wider audience.
4. WpStream
Plugin Description
WpStream is a novel plugin for building a business from live streams and video broadcasts. In order to use this plugin, you need to create a (free) account over at wpstream.net and here’s what you’ll get…
In addition to the live broadcasting features, you get some sweet monetization tools. For instance, you can broadcast in pay-per-view. In other words, you can sell tickets to a live stream on your site just like you would for an in-person event. You can also charge a weekly or monthly subscription that will give members access to view any broadcasts that take place while they’re subscribed.
The WpStream player works well across different screens and devices. Since it’s built specifically for streams that they host on their platform, you don’t have to worry about platform-specific bugs. Furthermore, your viewers can’t find the streams on YouTube or anywhere else for free.
5. WP Video Enhanced
Plugin Description
WP Video Enhanced essentially takes the built-in video embed features found in WordPress and extends them to be way more powerful. Let’s cover some of these features now.
First, you can add custom branding to the video player. Overlaying your logo on every video is an awesome way to up the profile of your site and appear more professional. There’s also a GDPR privacy checkbox to ensure you stay compliant with the new EU regulation while streaming on your site. While WP Video Enhanced works perfectly well for live streams, you might like it for posting past streams and other archived videos too.
This streaming plugin uses a shortcode system for video embeds. Adding shortcodes is as simple as copying and pasting and allows you to include streams in any post or page on your site.
Which live streaming plugin is best?
bzplayer Pro stands out as the best because it integrates with every live streaming platform and also supports self-hosted streams. It has some other neat features like built-in social sharing buttons too.
If you want to host your stream yourself, WP Video Enhanced might be the best choice.
If you only want to live stream audio then Modern Audio Player is just what you’re looking for.
WpStream is likely the best option for creating a business out of live broadcasts.
Have any questions about these live streaming plugins for WordPress? Post in the comments section.
