10 Best Video Live Streaming APIs for 2025

In an era where live streaming has seamlessly integrated into our daily routines, its popularity is undeniably on the rise. As we continue to redefine content consumption and real-time interactions, the development of live-streaming apps plays a pivotal role. Choosing the perfect live-streaming SDK is crucial for those embarking on this journey.

In this comprehensive article, we explore the top live-streaming APIs & SDK providers that are shaping the industry. We delve into solutions that range from basic live video streaming services APIs that cater to large audiences, to specialized live streaming APIs designed for interactive experiences. Additionally, we cover live video streaming APIs that support high-definition content and robust video broadcasting APIs for broader distribution needs. Each provider is evaluated to help you find the most reliable and scalable live stream API for your project.

What is Video Live Streaming API?

In the world of software development, a Software Development Kit (SDK) is a collection of tools and resources that developers can use to create mobile applications with finesse. This comprehensive toolkit includes a variety of helper libraries, precompiled modules, extensive documentation, code samples, well-designed processes, and informative guides. An SDK is customized to specific platforms or programming languages and helps to streamline the development process, making it easier to implement digital advertising for SaaS solutions. Among the various tools available, the live-streaming SDK is particularly beneficial. It saves developers from the hassle of creating thousands of lines of code from scratch, offering a shortcut to implement live streaming features in their mobile apps. This SDK not only enhances the efficiency of the app development process but also boosts the overall capabilities of the mobile apps with features like analytics, advertising integration, and push notifications handling.

However, standing shoulder to shoulder with SDKs in the developer's toolkit is the mighty API – the Application Programming Interface. A veritable software intermediary, APIs orchestrate harmonious communication between two applications. Within this expansive landscape, the live streaming API for websites and mobile apps shines, offering a suite of harmonious APIs curated for the world of video interactions. These include the streaming video API, which facilitates seamless video streaming across various platforms, and the video broadcasting API, designed to enhance video distribution and quality across diverse media channels.

10+ Video Live Streaming APIs in 2024

The Top 10 Live Streaming APIs & SDKs are VideoSDK, MirrorFly, Agora, api.video, AWS IVS, 100ms, DaCast, Wowza, Vonage, and Dolby.io. You may choose your provider based on their features, pricing, and more.

1. VideoSDK: Real-time video infra for every developer

Enter the realm of VideoSDK, a premier solution tailored for the bustling tech markets of the USA and India. The remarkable integration powerhouse is renowned for its lightning-fast prowess in seamlessly weaving live streaming capabilities into applications within a mere 10 minutes. This platform redefines efficiency, offering a harmonious synergy that caters to both end-users and developers. Dive into an expansive array of Software Development Kit (SDK) functionalities, elegantly curated within its repository.

Noteworthy is VideoSDK's versatility, embracing cross-platform compatibility like a true virtuoso. It effortlessly spans an array of programming languages and frameworks, encompassing the likes of JavaScript, React JS, React Native, Android, Flutter, and iOS, ensuring a universal canvas for your innovative creations. This cross-platform adaptability makes VideoSDK a universal toolkit for digital creators across the USA and India, empowering them to craft cutting-edge applications with ease.

Features offered by VideoSDK

• Unite with 25 co-streamers in a seamless symphony of live content.
• Transition fluidly from viewer to co-host, amplifying interactive engagement.
• Elevate video quality with adaptive bitrate technology for an unmatched experience, even at scale.
• Tailor your experience by selecting from an array of resolution options.
• Immerse viewers with orientation-based adaptive live streams.
• Infuse personal flair with customizable components like logos, overlays, and backgrounds.
• Unleash your content across 20+ concurrent platforms, broadening your reach.
• Embrace versatility with compatibility for custom RTMP outputs.
• Embrace browser freedom – go live effortlessly from any browser.

VideoSDK Pricing

• Experience a pricing model as dynamic as your content – tailored to active participants in your live stream app.
• Choose your streaming quality for a personalized experience that meets your viewers' expectations.
• Enjoy the flexibility of pricing that aligns with your usage, ensuring cost-effectiveness and optimal value.
• With transparency and control, Video SDK's pricing adapts to your streaming needs

2. Cloudinary

Cloudinary offers a comprehensive video live streaming solution designed for developers seeking to integrate real-time video capabilities into their applications. This platform supports both RTMP and WebRTC protocols, enabling seamless live streaming experiences across various devices and network conditions. Developers can leverage Cloudinary's APIs and SDKs to create, manage, and deliver live video content efficiently.

Features Offered by Cloudinary

• RTMP Input Streaming: Initiate live streams using RTMP input, compatible with popular streaming software like OBS.
• WebRTC Support: Utilize WebRTC for low-latency, peer-to-peer video communication, ideal for interactive applications.
• Adaptive Bitrate Streaming: Deliver high-quality video experiences by automatically adjusting the stream quality based on the viewer's network conditions.
• Simulcasting: Broadcast live streams simultaneously to multiple platforms, such as YouTube and Twitch, by configuring additional output destinations via the API.
• Video Archiving: Automatically archive live streams for on-demand viewing, providing viewers with access to past content.
• Real-Time Monitoring: Monitor live stream health and performance metrics, including viewer count and stream status, through the Cloudinary Console.

Cloudinary Pricing

Cloudinary offers a tiered pricing model to accommodate different usage needs:

• Free Plan: Provides limited storage, transformations, and bandwidth, suitable for testing and small-scale applications.
• Plus Plan: Priced at $89 per month, this plan includes increased storage, bandwidth, and additional features for growing businesses.
• Advanced Plan: At $224 per month, this plan offers advanced features, dedicated support, and higher usage limits for enterprises.
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for large organizations with specific requirements and higher usage needs.

Each plan includes access to Cloudinary's video APIs, SDKs, and media management tools, with pricing based on usage metrics such as storage, bandwidth, and transformations.

3. Mux: Video Streaming Api

• Seamlessly integrate live streaming into your app with Mux's powerful tools and APIs.
• Deliver captivating real-time video content to your users with ease.
• Mux's SDK streamlines the live streaming process, handling encoding, transcoding, adaptive bitrate streaming, and delivery.
• Empower your app with Mux's expertise in video streaming and analytics, creating a dynamic and engaging user experience.

Mux pricing

• Choose from a range of Starter Plans, perfect for small businesses and newcomers to live streaming.
• Explore Pro Plans with advanced features and increased capacity, catering to businesses with larger audiences and higher demands.
• Tailored Custom Enterprise Plans are available for larger organizations with specific and unique requirements.

4. Agora: Real-time Audio/Video Engagement

• Seamlessly integrate voice and video chat, real-time recording, live streaming, and instant messaging features into your application.
• Enhance user engagement with premium add-ons like AR facial masks, sound effects, and whiteboards (additional cost).
• Keep in mind that Agora's pricing structure may be detailed, which could be a consideration for businesses with budget constraints.
• Users seeking direct support from Agora should be aware that response times may vary.

Agora pricing

• Agora presents a choice between two pricing plans, Premium and Standard, allowing users to choose based on their service needs.
• The pricing model is based on the monthly duration of audio and video calls, providing a cost-effective approach.
• To enhance flexibility, Agora offers four pricing categories, each aligned with different video resolutions, ensuring precise fit to users' needs.
• Audio calls are priced at $0.99 per 1,000 participant minutes.
• HD Video calls are available at $3.99 per 1,000 participant minutes, and Full HD Video calls come in at $8.99 per 1,000 participant minutes.

See how Agora compares with its competitors

5. api.video

• api.video serves as a powerful platform with a comprehensive API toolkit, empowering developers to seamlessly integrate live streaming and video hosting functionalities into their applications and websites.
• Developers can effortlessly infuse their projects with video streaming, hosting, and playback capabilities using api.video's offerings.
• The platform encompasses a range of features, including live streaming, video recording, video encoding, and efficient content delivery, enhancing the multimedia experience for users.

api.video pricing

• api.video presents a diverse range of pricing plans that align with your usage patterns and specific requirements.
• These plans encompass a variety of features, including live streaming, video recording, transcoding, and efficient content delivery.
• The cost structure takes into account factors such as the duration of streamed minutes, the quality of the streams, and your storage needs.
• With api.video's flexible pricing, you can select a plan that perfectly matches your project's demands and budget, ensuring a cost-effective solution tailored to your goals.

6. AWS IVS

• Amazon Interactive Video Service (IVS) emerges as a dynamic offering within Amazon Web Services (AWS), delivering a fully managed live video streaming solution.
• This service empowers developers with the seamless integration of interactive live video content into their applications or websites through a suite of Software Development Kits (SDKs) and APIs.
• Amazon IVS streamlines the process of enriching your platform with live video capabilities, enabling real-time engagement and interaction with your audience.
• By harnessing the power of Amazon IVS, developers can create captivating live-streaming experiences that resonate with their users, driving engagement and growth.

AWS IVS pricing

• AWS IVS presents a versatile pricing structure, rooted in the pay-as-you-go model. Your costs are intricately tied to the volume of video input and output associated with your streams.
• This model ensures that you are billed in proportion to factors like stream quality, duration, and the concurrent viewers engaging with your content.
• AWS IVS extends an alternative avenue known as reserved pricing. By opting for reserved pricing, you commit to a predetermined usage level, consequently unlocking discounted rates that align with your long-term engagement plans.

7. 100ms

• Step into the realm of 100ms, a cloud platform tailored to empower developers in seamlessly integrating video and audio conferencing functionalities into a spectrum of applications encompassing Web, Android, and iOS domains.
• Within its arsenal lies a suite of meticulously designed tools. REST APIs and SDKs join forces with a user-friendly dashboard to elevate the process of capturing, distributing, recording, and showcasing live interactive audio and video content.
• This platform stands as a testament to the fusion of convenience and capability, opening up avenues for creating immersive and dynamic user experiences in the realm of real-time communication.

8. DaCast

• While DaCast promises ad-free streaming and monetization options, the actual implementation of these features might require a thorough exploration of their APIs and SDKs.
• The integration process, despite the provided tools, could potentially demand substantial technical expertise and time investment to align with your desired outcomes.
• The availability of various SDKs and APIs sounds promising, yet navigating their intricacies might not be entirely hassle-free, particularly for those less familiar with technical integrations.
• While ongoing technical support is highlighted, the responsiveness and effectiveness of this support could vary, impacting your ability to swiftly resolve challenges you encounter during integration or usage.
• DaCast offers a subscription-based pricing model.

9. Wowza: Embedded Video Platform for Solution Builders

• While Wowza Live Streaming SDK boasts versatility, integrating it into your application might not be as straightforward as expected.
• The wide range of supported streaming protocols and formats could potentially lead to complexities in configuration and optimization, demanding extra development efforts.
• Despite its rich feature set, the SDK's learning curve could pose challenges, especially for developers who are new to the intricacies of live video streaming.
• The abundance of options might not always translate into a streamlined experience, potentially requiring more time and resources to fine-tune the integration according to your specific requirements.

10. Vonage

• However, while the inclusion of live video, voice, messaging, and screen-sharing functionalities seems comprehensive, the depth of customization and integration ease might not align with all developers' expectations.
• While customization options exist, they might not be as intuitive or robust as desired, potentially requiring more manual code development than initially anticipated.
• The availability of performance analysis tools is valuable, but their usability and effectiveness might vary based on your familiarity with the provided metrics and insights.
• The mention of paramount security and compliance measures is reassuring, yet the precise extent of these measures and how they align with your project's specific requirements may warrant further exploration.
• Scalability sounds promising, but the actual capacity to smoothly accommodate varying participant needs under real-world usage conditions could vary.
• The note about edge case management being user responsibility might indicate that certain complex scenarios or troubleshooting might not be fully supported through the platform's native features.

Vonage pricing

• Starting at $9.99 per month might appear to be an appealing entry point; however, it's important to carefully assess your expected usage against this plan's allowances to determine its true value for your needs.
• The allocation of 2,000 free minutes across plans could be enticing, but evaluating how these minutes align with your typical usage patterns is essential to assess their actual significance.
• While the incremental charge of $0.00395 per minute per participant after consuming the free minutes seems reasonable, projecting your anticipated participant counts and usage frequency can help determine if this rate is competitive for your expected activity.
• The noted cost of $0.10 per minute for recording services might appear affordable at first glance, but it's crucial to map out your recording needs and their potential impact on costs over time.
• Similarly, the HLS streaming cost of $0.15 per minute should be evaluated alongside your streaming requirements and long-term streaming plans to gauge its feasibility.

Elevate Your Live Video Streaming App with the Ideal Live Streaming API Integration Today

As you navigate the landscape of live streaming APIs, a realm rich with potential reveals itself, and the ten exceptional options we've uncovered here present their unique merits. Yet, it's vital to acknowledge that the digital universe stretches endlessly before you, beckoning you to explore further and unveil a myriad of opportunities that extend far beyond your current view.

No matter which API you decide to embrace, make certain it resonates with the constellation of features and advantages we've brought to light for your live-streaming app. As you traverse this terrain, keep pricing in your field of vision, as it holds a significant role. With these insights as your compass, set forth on your implementation journey with a spirit of boundless enthusiasm and unshakable confidence.

Happy Implementing & Celebrating Your Success!