The best live streaming platform for a creator depends on one question: who is allowed to watch, and who takes the payment? Zoom and Restream stream well but do not sell access. YouTube can limit a stream to paying channel members once you qualify. Kajabi, Uscreen and Circle put live video behind a paywall at a higher monthly price. WithMe Go Live streams from your browser into a membership post, a digital product or a course lesson, with live chat and an automatic recording.
WithMe is $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply. Rival prices below were read on each platform's own pricing page or help centre on 11 November 2026.
What should you check before choosing a live platform?
- Access: can you limit the stream to people who paid, and to which tier?
- Payments and fees: does the platform take payment, and what share or transaction fee does it keep?
- Recording: is the session recorded, and where does the replay live afterwards?
- Broadcast or meeting: do viewers watch you, or do they join on camera?
- Limits: live hours a month, attendees, and the length of a single session.
How do the main live streaming platforms compare?
Zoom
Zoom Workplace Basic is free with meetings of up to 40 minutes and 100 participants. Pro is $14.16 per user per month billed annually ($16.99 monthly), with meetings of up to 30 hours and 100 participants. Workplace is a meeting tool: you take payment somewhere else and send the link. Zoom's Webinars and Events products add ticketing and start at $66.67 a month billed annually ($89 monthly).
YouTube Live (members-only)
Streaming on YouTube is free, and members-only live streams are a channel membership perk. To turn memberships on, YouTube asks for 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and 3,000 watch hours on long videos in the last 365 days or 3 million Shorts views in the last 90 days, among other rules. Creators get 70% of membership revenue after applicable taxes and fees. Members join and pay through YouTube, so the relationship stays on YouTube.
Vimeo
Live streaming is on the Advanced plan, at $75 per month billed annually, and on Enterprise. Advanced can stream to several destinations. Selling access to videos is a separate product: Vimeo On Demand to sell videos, or Vimeo OTT to run a subscription service.
Restream
Restream sends one stream to many platforms at once. There is a free plan, Standard is $19 a month and Professional $49 a month billed monthly, with 20% off billed yearly. Standard keeps recordings of up to 6 hours per stream for 15 days, Professional 10 hours for 30 days. The pricing page lists no way to charge viewers, so paid access has to come from somewhere else.
Kajabi (Events and Live Rooms)
Kajabi Events handle the date: registration, reminder and follow-up emails around a webinar, launch or meetup. The live video itself happens in a Community Live Room, for up to 200 people, with recording, screen sharing and breakout rooms, or at an outside link such as Zoom. Kajabi Basic is $143 per month billed annually ($179 monthly).
Uscreen
Uscreen is a video membership platform with native live streaming on every plan and one live hour a month included, then $15 per extra hour. Starter is $49 a month with a limit of 100 subscribers. Growth is $149 a month billed annually plus $1.99 per subscriber. It suits creators whose whole business is a video library.
Circle
Circle is a community platform with live streams and live rooms built in. Professional is $89 a month billed annually with a 2% transaction fee, live streams for up to 100 attendees, live rooms for up to 15 people, and 10 live hours a month. Business is $199 a month billed annually, with 200 attendees and 15 hours. Recordings, when turned on, can be posted into a space.
WithMe Go Live
Go Live streams from your browser camera and microphone inside a membership post, a digital product or a course lesson. Only people with access can watch, live chat opens when you start, and the recording is saved automatically in the same place. You set who can watch live and who can watch the recording separately. WithMe takes 0% commission on the sale, and Stripe and PayPal fees still apply.
What does paid live access cost on each platform?
- Zoom Workplace: free or $14.16 per user per month billed annually, but it does not take payment. Zoom's Webinars with ticketing start at $66.67 a month billed annually.
- YouTube: free to stream; members-only streams need channel memberships, and YouTube keeps 30% of membership revenue.
- Vimeo: $75 a month billed annually for live on Advanced, with selling handled by On Demand or OTT.
- Kajabi: from $143 a month billed annually. Uscreen: from $49 a month, with one live hour a month included. Circle: from $89 a month billed annually plus a 2% transaction fee.
- WithMe: $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with Go Live included and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply.
Which platform is best for paid live access?
- You already sell courses or a membership and want live sessions in the same place, with the replay kept: WithMe Go Live, or Kajabi and Circle at a higher price.
- Your business is a large on-demand video library or a TV app: Uscreen, or Vimeo OTT.
- You want reach on several social platforms at once and do not need a paywall: Restream.
- You already have a big YouTube channel: members-only live streams, accepting the 30% share and that the audience stays on YouTube.
- You need everyone on camera, such as tutoring or small-group coaching: a Zoom or Google Meet meeting, sold through a booking or webinar product.
How do you sell a live stream on WithMe?
- Create a membership tier, a digital product or a course for the stream to sit in.
- Add a post, product or lesson with Go Live as the media type and a thumbnail.
- For a membership post or a digital product, set Live Tier type and Post Recording Tier type, or choose Don't include in membership.
- Open the stream page, allow your camera and microphone, and press Start transmission. Live chat becomes active as soon as the broadcast begins.
- Press Stop transmission. The recording is saved automatically and plays in the same place.
- For a session where everyone joins on camera, sell a Webinar on Google Meet or Zoom instead. WithMe does not record those meetings.
What is not included?
WithMe Go Live streams one camera and one microphone from your browser. There is no stream key for OBS or other streaming software, no screen sharing, no streaming to YouTube or other platforms at the same time, and no guests on screen with you. You can run one live stream at a time, there is no automatic going-live alert, and Go Live is not available inside a community. If you need multi-platform streaming or a produced show, a tool like Restream or Vimeo fits better.
How much does WithMe cost?
WithMe is $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply. Free migration of up to 10 GB of your courses and members comes with the yearly plan. One plan covers courses, memberships, community, coaching, webinars and digital products, including Go Live.
Live streaming platform questions
What is the best live streaming platform for paid members?
One that limits the stream to people who paid and keeps the replay in the same place. WithMe Go Live does both inside a membership post, digital product or course lesson at $25 per month billed annually. Kajabi, Uscreen and Circle also do it at higher prices.
Can I charge for a YouTube live stream?
Through channel memberships, once your channel qualifies: 500 subscribers plus YouTube's upload and watch-time rules. Creators get 70% of membership revenue after applicable taxes and fees.
Can I use OBS or Restream with WithMe?
No. Go Live streams from your browser camera and microphone. There is no stream key and no simulcasting to other platforms.
Is Zoom good for paid classes?
Zoom is a good meeting room, but Workplace plans do not take payment. Sell the place elsewhere and send the link, for example with a WithMe Webinar product, which gives each time a Google Meet room, or a Zoom room where Zoom is available on your account.
What does WithMe cost?
$25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial. WithMe takes 0% commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply.
Start your 14-day trial at https://www.withme.so/become-a-creator.
