As a church webmaster, it’s not easy to find best software for church broadcasting services. There are various church broadcast software out there. I will discuss about some of them. It may be an unfamiliar word for a lot of people. But if you are in the world of online radio, then you probably know what it is. In addition to providing the best software for radio stations and more streaming tools, they have something special to offer to churches – live stream which can help churches reach out to their congregations, friends and community quickly and easily.
Church is a special place, a sanctuary of sorts. An organization that aims to connect people with God. You may be part of one now or want to start one of your own someday. So what does your church need? You’re in luck! This article will help you learn about the best software for church broadcasting services. Depending on what you want to accomplish as a church, this list can help steer you in the right direction.
Propresenter
“Whether you’re a Photoshop expert or technology isn’t your friend, we’ve got you covered. Create beautiful graphics with our built-in editor.” This is how the developers of Propresenter market their software.
Among the several features, you’ll find on Propresenter is the ability to record your screen for further editing, switch video outputs, and capture and output audio. The service also presents live streaming tutorials on its website.
Propresenter has a free version, which is not designed to be used in front of an audience. The HoW (House of Worship) plan starts at $399 per year for a new account or $275 per year when renewing.
vMix
vMix is a software video switcher and mixer that also functions as a live streaming software that works on Windows. Some of the software’s features include “LIVE mixing, switching, recording and LIVE streaming of SD, full HD and 4K video sources including cameras, video files, DVDs, images, [and] Powerpoint.”
The vMix software is customizable, based on the user’s production needs. All these features can be enjoyed on a free 60-day trial. Paid plans start with the Basic HD, which costs $60, and go all the way to the Pro plan that costs $1200. The software’s developers say that “Each purchase does not expire and includes Free Version Updates for one year from the date of purchase.”
Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
If your church is still new and wants to use free live stream software, the best place to find this is at Open Broadcast Software (OBS). Even though OBS is free, it compares well to other church streaming software out there. For example, it doesn’t restrict the number of scenes you can seamlessly switch between using custom transitions.
The OBS project is sponsored by several tech giants, including Facebook and YouTube.
DaCast
This is a fully equipped online streaming service which is set up with do-it-yourself approach. You can sign up easily and begin sharing of live videos in few seconds. You can also create archives of these videos so that viewers can view, skim or pause at their convenience. You can create your own channel at DaCast and theme them with your design before embedding it to your URL. There is no start-up fees but following are the monthly plans which it offers:
- Starter plan @ $19 per month with a bandwidth of 100GB;
- Pro plan @ $165 per month with 2000 GB (billed at $149 per month if purchased annually);
- Premium plan @ $390 per month with 5000GB bandwidth (billed at $350 in annual plan)
DaCast is a fairly good option but is slightly expensive but is not Ad-free and also it doesn’t provide real0-time monitoring.
Livestream
As the name suggests Livestream has brought exclusive live video solutions for every industry- varying from local communities to global brands. It helps in broadcasting worship events and retreats which members and parishioners can watch on any device. It provides end-to-end production solutions with following plans:
- Basic plan @ $99 per month (billed at $42 per month if purchased annually);
- Premium @ $449/month ((billed at $249 per month if purchased annually);
- Enterprise plan @ $799/month;
- Custom plan @ $1199/month
LiveStream overcomes the shortcomings of Dacast and is ad-free with real time support round the clock but its price tag and limited features in basic plans don’t turn out the best
Streamingchurch.TV
Overview:
StreamingChurch.TV is a church streaming service designed for church-related streaming alone.
This platform offers many “church-specific” features, including sermon notes, a map of church attendees simulating a live service, and more.
The map feature shows everyone in attendance and also groups them into a moderated chat, where individuals can discuss aspects of the live stream church service sermon. The Integrated Sermon Notes let you follow along as the sermon takes place, ensuring you don’t miss a moment.
StreamingChurch.TV does offer both live and VOD streaming, but only on Premium plans and above. In addition, this OVP offers embedding options to stream live video.
One significant drawback for some congregations is that StreamingChurch.tv does not stream content over a CDN. This can lead to poor video quality when there is a large congregation of viewers watching your broadcast.
Features:
- Live streaming support
- Ad-free streaming
- Facebook and Twitter compatible
- Mobile device and Roku compatible
- Moderated Chat
- Interactive map of attendance
- Integrated sermon notes
Note that VOD, Ultra HD streaming, adaptive bitrate, and simulated live service features are available only on the Premium plan.
Pricing:
- Basic Unlimited Plan: $79/month
- Premium Unlimited Plan: $127/month
- Platinum Unlimited Plan: $179/month
After accessing the one-month free trial, all plans include a one-time $79 activation fee and unlimited bandwidth (except for 24/7 broadcast ministries).
BoxCast (Previously SundayStreams)
Overview:
BoxCast is a live streaming solution that was built upon SundayStreams, which was devoted to churches and sermons. SundayStreams was acquired by Boxcast, which expanded its set of features to include a fully adaptive player and Google Analytics integration to access real-time analytics.
BoxCast has a good reputation for responding within 24 hours of a customer reaching out for support via email. However, if you want the guarantee of 24/7 customer support, you’ll want to consider other live streaming platforms for live streaming of church services.
This option does offer a 90-day money-back guarantee, which you can learn more about here.
The greatest strength of BoxCast is its simplicity and ability to reach novice broadcasters.
Features:
- Ad-free streaming
- Easy embedding (stream from your website)
- Phone and email support
- Facebook and Twitter compatible
- Broadcast 24/7
- Mobile compatibility and customizable phone apps
- Analytics dashboards
Price:
- Essential Plan: $99/month
- Growth Plan: $149/month
- Experience Plan: $199/month
Please check out the BoxCast pricing page for an in-depth comparison of the plans.
ChristianWorldMedia
Overview:
ChristianWorldMedia offers affordable pricing and a lot of flexibility, making it a good option to consider for churches and congregations. With three different pricing options, even small religious communities can afford live streaming of church services with this platform. The online Bible integration feature can be very useful as well.
However, one setback of this platform is support for a limited number of viewers and abnormally low video quality. Before you commit to this platform, make sure that this won’t be an issue for your live stream church service.
Features:
- 24/7 streaming
- 50 simultaneous viewers per live event
- 2 re-streaming channels (minimum)
- Roku compatible
- Online Bible integration
- Social media integration
- Live Recording (Pro Plan only)
- Phone and email support (Pro Plan only)
- Unlimited archiving (Pro Plan only)
- Adaptive live transcoding (Pro Plan only)
Pricing:
- Basic plan: $35/month for 50 simultaneous viewers per live event and 2 re-streaming channels
- Basic+ plan: $59/month for 200 simultaneous viewers per live event and 3 re-streaming channels
- Pro plan: $89/month for 500 simultaneous viewers per live event and 4 re-streaming channels
Please check out the ChristianWorldMedia pricing page for additional information.
TruthCasting
Overview:
In terms of live streaming solutions for churches, TruthCasting offers many features for broadcasting all of your church-related events. The pricing stems from how many members you have on-site, rather than the features you need. No matter how many members, as long as you do not exceed your number limit, you have access to all of TruthCasting’s available features.
Unfortunately, TruthCasting only supports churches with less than 2000 members.
However, this OVP does offer good quality support. In addition, they host their services with Amazon’s Web Services. If you have questions about their CDN, check out our live streaming CDN comparison.
Features:
- Ad-free streaming
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage
- Embed code to stream live video on your website
- Reliable content delivery
- Phone support
- Live recording
- Compatible with all platforms, including iPhones and iPads
Pricing:
TruthCasting has a very simple all-inclusive pricing plan for $39.95 per month, which includes:
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited viewers
- Phone and email support
- Unlimited streaming
There is an option to add Facebook Live or YouTube Live for $10 per month.
MyChurchWebsite.com
Overview:
In reality, MyChurchWebsite is a high-end website design company for churches. For example, one of their specialties is offering a full website design & setup based on whatever your needs may be. This is available for a one-time cost of $3,500.
This platform offers a separate live streaming solution for churches.
MyChurchWebsite does not offer any partnership with a top-tier CDN or 24/7 support. These are important factors to consider, as you’ll have no ability to reach out for support outside of business hours in the case of buffering or other issues.
Features:
- Ad-free
- Mobile compatibility
- Social network integration
- Live Recording
- Analytics
Pricing:
- First tier: $30/month paid annually or $36/month paid monthly; 100 GB of storage/bandwidth
- Second tier: $60/month paid annually or $75/month paid monthly; 300 GB of storage/bandwidth
- Third tier: $100/month paid annually or $140/month paid monthly; 700 GB storage/bandwidth
Each of these plans includes the same features. The primary difference between them is the amount of storage and bandwidth they come with. Additional fees apply for bandwidth overages.
Conclusion:
Church Broadcasting Services, sometimes known as the Church Streaming Service. It is that part of the live services in which a church televises its services to their website and/or the internet with the aim of helping them spread the gospel message far and wide. A church streaming service or webcast is a key element in being able to reach out to a church’s whole community (local and further afield) by taking sermons and other church events and showing them on the Web for all to view.