Castr

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Castr

A curated collection of the 2 best self hosted alternatives to Castr.

Castr is a cloud live‑streaming platform that ingests RTMP and other live inputs, restreams/simulcasts to multiple destinations, hosts 24/7 channels, offers cloud transcoding, recording, embeddable players and basic viewer analytics.

Alternatives List

#1
Owncast

Owncast

Owncast is a self-hosted live streaming server that supports RTMP ingest, HLS playback, and built-in web chat, with optional Fediverse (ActivityPub) integration.

Owncast screenshot

Owncast is a free and open source live video streaming and web chat server that you run on your own infrastructure. It is designed for single-channel creators and works with common broadcasting tools by ingesting RTMP and delivering streams to viewers via the web.

Key Features

  • RTMP ingest compatibility with popular broadcasters (for example, OBS and similar tools)
  • HLS-based web playback with an integrated viewer page
  • Built-in live chat, including support for custom emotes and community interaction
  • Admin interface for stream configuration, moderation, and managing the viewer experience
  • Optional Fediverse integration via ActivityPub so people can follow and share streams across compatible networks
  • Embeddable player and chat components for integrating into other sites

Use Cases

  • Run an independent live stream for a community, club, or small organization
  • Host creator live streams without relying on centralized streaming platforms
  • Add live video and chat to an existing website using embeds

Limitations and Considerations

  • Primarily designed for a single streamer/channel rather than multi-tenant streaming platforms
  • Does not natively support running as a Windows server (typically run on Linux; WSL2 may be used on Windows)

Owncast provides a straightforward way to control your live content, audience experience, and chat community from a server you manage. It is well-suited for creators who want a lightweight, independent alternative with familiar broadcasting workflows.

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#2
datarhei Restreamer

datarhei Restreamer

Self-hosted live streaming server to ingest RTMP/SRT/RTSP, transcode with FFmpeg, and restream to platforms like YouTube Live and Twitch with an easy web UI.

datarhei Restreamer screenshot

datarhei Restreamer is a self-hosted live streaming server that ingests video from sources like OBS or IP cameras, processes streams via FFmpeg, and publishes them to your website and/or external platforms. It combines a browser-based UI with streaming protocols and a documented API to manage inputs, outputs, and monitoring.

Key Features

  • Ingest and publish using common streaming protocols (including RTMP, SRT, and HLS)
  • Restream a single input to multiple outputs (e.g., social platforms or other streaming servers)
  • Web-based setup wizard and streamlined administration interface
  • Built-in embeddable web player and optional publication page
  • FFmpeg-based transcoding and processing, including muxing separate audio
  • Hardware-accelerated encoding support (e.g., NVIDIA CUDA), depending on deployment
  • Bandwidth/viewer monitoring and optional limiting
  • REST API with OpenAPI/Swagger documentation
  • TLS automation with Let’s Encrypt for HTTPS (deployment-dependent)

Use Cases

  • Publish a live stream to your own website while simultaneously restreaming to major platforms
  • Centralize ingest from OBS and distribute to multiple RTMP/SRT endpoints
  • Create a lightweight streaming gateway for events using commodity hardware (including SBCs)

Limitations and Considerations

  • Reliable transcoding and multi-output restreaming can require significant CPU/GPU resources
  • External publishing depends on the capabilities and limits of the destination platforms

Restreamer is a practical choice for organizations and creators that want to control their streaming stack while keeping setup approachable. Its UI-driven configuration, multi-protocol support, and API make it suitable for both simple live embeds and more advanced distribution workflows.

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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running