The 7 Best Live Streaming SDKs & APIs for 2024
Ever wondered how your favorite YouTuber manages to chat with thousands of fans in real time? Or how does a popular fitness app let you join live classes from your living room? It’s all thanks to live-streaming Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Software Development Kits (SDKs).
These aren’t just random words – they’re the secret ingredients that help you spice up your apps, websites, or platforms with live-streaming goodness.
But here’s the catch – you’ve to pick the right live streaming solution to create the perfect real-time communication experience.
To help you make this choice, this article explores live-streaming as a solution, the key factors to consider when choosing a provider, and the top seven solutions in the market.
What is a Live Streaming Solution?
Picture this: you’re building an app and want to add live video chat. Sounds tricky, right?
Enter the live streaming solution – your new best friend. These offer tools to bake real-time communication right into your solution or even create a custom live video app.
At its core, you will find two core players: The API and SDK.
- An API for video streaming is like a universal language for software. It helps different programs communicate with each other and ensure everything is in sync.
- The SDK is more like a fully stocked toolbox. It’s crammed with ready to ready-to-use tools, code libraries, and how-to guides to build apps.
With these power tools in your hand, you can quickly create custom live video capabilities for your apps.
How Do You Pick the Right Service?
Choosing the right live video streaming SDK can make or break your project’s success and performance. A well-suited SDK doesn’t just ensure top-notch video delivery – it also shapes user experience, scalability, and how smoothly your development process goes.
As you weigh your options, keep these key points in mind:
- Plays nice with platforms: Go for an SDK that runs smoothly across different devices and operating systems. This way, everyone gets the same streaming experience.
- Crystal-clear quality: Invest in an SDK that serves up high-quality video and audio with barely a hiccup, even when the network is acting up.
- Room to grow: Make sure your SDK can keep things running as more viewers stream in without breaking a sweat.
- High-level security: Pick an SDK that’s got your back with solid encryption and access controls to keep your content and user info safe from prying eyes.
- A helping hand: Look out for SDKs with clear documentation, an active developer community, and support staff that supports easy integration and ongoing maintenance.
- Feature-rich: Keep an eye out for extra goodies like DVR features, smart streaming that adapts to different internet speeds, analytics, and support for all sorts of video formats. These add-ons can level up the viewing experience.
Top 7 Live-Streaming API and SDK Providers
Whether you’re new to live-streaming or looking to upgrade your current setup, you’ll find below the best live-streaming API and SDK options in the market.
- MirrorFly
MirrorFly is a highly trusted live streaming API provider for building custom streaming solutions. It comes with a secure SDK which provides end-to-end live stream features in a single platform.
Through clear and comprehensive documentation with tutorials and code samples, MirrorFly makes it easy for you to launch live encoding and streaming across any device.
You get unlimited source code access and full data ownership, which leads to extensive customization and control over security.
Key Features:
- Host on-premise/ on-cloud
- DVR functionality and low-latency streaming
- Available for iOS, Android, and Web platforms
- Polls, Q&A, and live comments abilities
- White label your live streaming app
Pros and Cons:
Pros | Cons |
· Secure live streaming with SSL encryption across all platforms
· Built with RTMP (real-time messaging protocol) for seamless integration · Dedicated support for your live stream solution · High-definition and 4K video quality for a premium viewing experience |
· High-resolution streaming (e.g., 4K) demands significant server and network resources |
- VideoSDK
VideoSDK allows you to effortlessly add live streaming and audio-video conferencing to your web and mobile apps. Its SDK functionality is developer-friendly, allowing you to use prebuild integrations or even customize your solutions.
You can build a comprehensive video streaming solution with analytics, on-demand playback, screen-sharing, and unlimited rooms.
Key Features:
- Compatible with all custom RTMP outputs
- 150ms worldwide latency and 99.9% uptime
- Live stream on over 20+ concurrent platforms and any browser
- Adaptive bitrate technology
- Multiple-resolution video stream options
Pros and Cons:
Pros | Cons |
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· Users can’t redesign the prebuilt SDK
· Limited scalability for very large applications
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- ZEGOCLOUD
Embed scalable live streaming into your platforms with ZEGOCLOUD’s customizable and user-friendly SDK. Simultaneously, it offers prebuilt UIKits to create engaging live-streaming apps in the shortest possible time without starting from scratch.
It features various UI components packaged into different samples that you can refer to, run, and use for various scenarios.
Key Features:
- Access video streaming with a latency of 600ms
- RTMP to forward live streams to various platforms
- Compatible with various platforms, including iOS, Android, and Web
- Live polling, Q&A, and real-time comments to increase audience engagement
- Facilitates monetization through in-app purchases, subscriptions, and more during live streams
Pros and Cons:
Pros | Cons |
· Ultra-low latency ensures real-time interaction between broadcasters and viewers
· Streams can be accessed on various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktops · End-to-end encryption and access control, ensuring data privacy and security · Supports the integration of advertisements into live streams for additional revenue |
· Pricing will be higher for large-scale applications
· A learning curve for developers new to live streaming technologies |
- GetStream
Build enterprise-level live streaming solutions customized to your unique needs with GetStream. It offers adaptable video and audio components to create live streams for your application across its global edge network without spending months on development.
Whether you want to go live from your mobile device or through RTMP, GetStream provides the scalability to accommodate millions of participants.
Key Features:
- Multi-participant broadcasts
- Real-time multi-language call transcription
- Backstage mode and multi-region support
- Threaded conversations and reactions
- AI-driven (artificial intelligence) image moderation
Pros and Cons:
Pros | Cons |
· Ultra-low latency live streaming (under 500ms) powered by WebRTC
· User-friendly live stream API that is easy to integrate into existing applications · Fast to implement due to well-documented SDKs and API · Versatile recording templates and support for custom designs |
· Pricing can be high for startups or small businesses, especially as usage scales
· Advanced features such as monetization options may not be as extensive |
- 100ms
100ms stands out as the most straightforward solution, allowing you to integrate interactive live streaming with just a single API call. The platform boasts impressively low latency, keeping delays under seven seconds while also scaling effortlessly to support millions of users.
100ms offers flexible customization options for layouts, aspect ratios, and video resolutions.
Key Features:
- Integrates with existing media systems and content delivery networks (CDNs)
- Build utilities like heads-up display, call-to-action buttons, and live widgets on top of the video
- A global network of servers
- Record live streams
- WebRTC for real-time communication
Pros and Cons:
Pros | Cons |
· Flexible APIs to build custom workflows and integrate third-party tools or services
· Adjusts the video quality based on the viewer’s network conditions · Low-code and no-code options for easy integration of live streaming functionalities · Detailed analytics on live streams to optimize content |
· Costly for small businesses or startups with limited budgets
· The implementation document needs to be better, as some information is lagging |
- Agora
Agora is a popular live-streaming SDK that handles an impressive 50 billion minutes of voice and video content each month. Its video streaming API supports cross-platform development, allowing you to integrate it into your apps for various platforms, including web, Android, and iOS
As your application grows, Agora’s auto-scaling features ensure zero system-wide downtime and provide the hyper-scalability needed to accommodate increasing needs.
Key Features:
- Automatically captions and subtitles the video
- Streams simultaneously on multiple platforms
- Add-ons like AR (augmented reality) facial masks, live chat, and whiteboards at no additional costs
- Low latency and adaptive bitrate
- Real-time quality monitoring
Pros and Cons:
Pros | Cons |
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- Vonage
Vonage offers a robust and user-friendly live streaming API that delivers high-quality real-time streaming experiences. Its API offers extensive customization options, allowing you to fine-tune video resolution, frame rate, and streaming experience to meet specific needs.
The SDK is compatible with Android, iOS, and the web, allowing you to build apps that work seamlessly across devices and platforms.
Key Features:
- Multi-party streaming and cloud recording
- Real-time streaming quality monitoring
- Scalable infrastructure
- Real-time chat and Q&A
- Low-latency streaming
Pros and Cons:
Pros | Cons |
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· High-quality streams require strong internet connections
· Implementing security features may add to the development complexity and costs |
The Bottom Line on Live Streaming SDK and API
Are you ready to create your live streaming app? By picking the best live streaming SDK and API, you’re just a few steps away from success.
All you have to do is integrate the best live streaming SDK into your app, set up authentication, and configure streaming settings. With live stream API, you can capture video and audio while managing encoding and transmission. Remember to rigorously test your app across various devices and network conditions to ensure flawless performance.
Whether you’re targeting mobile or web, the right live stream SDK and API will help you build a streaming powerhouse that keeps viewers hooked.