Replace / Restream
Best free Restream alternatives (open source, self-hosted) 2026
The best open-source alternative to Restream is Owncast (or PeerTube) with Jitsi Meet, self-hosted on Railway. Live video you host. Owncast is MIT — Twitch and StreamYard without the hosted studio seat.
Estimated save $1,200 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How Restream compares
| Restream | Owncast | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- Owncast
MIT live stream and chat you run
- PeerTube
AGPL-3.0 VOD library if the job is not live
- Jitsi Meet
A meeting room, not a broadcast
FAQ
- What is the best free open-source Restream alternative?
- The best open-source alternative to Restream is Owncast (or PeerTube) with Jitsi Meet, self-hosted on Railway. Live video you host. Owncast is MIT — Twitch and StreamYard without the hosted studio seat.
- Is it free?
- The Owncast licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no Restream seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from Restream?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The Owncast stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old Restream links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the Owncast stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: Owncast plus a volume for the stream config and optional recordings. RTMP ingest wants a public port. Bandwidth is the bill. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. VOD stays on /stacks/peertube-video.
- What does this replace?
- Twitch / StreamYard / Restream. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $1,200 a year.
Related pages
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