Owncast vs Restreamer
Self-host pick — both replace Twitch (Live streaming + chat).
Both Owncast and Restreamer self-host as a replacement for Twitch (Live streaming + chat). Pick Owncast if you want a MIT-licensed codebase (MIT); pick Restreamer for Apache (Apache-2.0). Both run in roughly the same cost bracket — $10-20/mo vps; outbound bandwidth scales with concurrent viewers (~1 vs $5-10/mo vps; bandwidth-bound for viewer count.
| Owncastopen-source | Restreameropen-source | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Setup time | 10min single-binary or docker run | 15min docker run |
| Monthly cost | $10-20/mo VPS; outbound bandwidth scales with concurrent viewers (~1.5GB/hr per HD viewer). | $5-10/mo VPS; bandwidth-bound for viewer count. |
| GitHub | owncast/owncast | datarhei/restreamer |
| Replaces | Twitch + 1 other | Twitch |
Good fit for
Owncast
Streamers who want a Twitch-like single-channel experience under their own domain with no platform cut.
Weak at:No multi-channel directory or discovery; chat is single-room (no IRC-style rooms or Twitch's emote economy).
Restreamer
Streamers who want to keep Twitch as one of N destinations and gain a self-hosted viewer surface in parallel.
Weak at:Light on community / chat features — it's a media router, not a community platform.
In a terminal? npx -y github:SolvoHQ/os-alt-cli twitch prints Twitch's self-host options including both —
how the CLI works →
FAQ
Which is easier to self-host, Owncast or Restreamer?
Owncast: 10min single-binary or docker run. Restreamer: 15min docker run.
What does each cost to run?
Owncast: $10-20/mo VPS; outbound bandwidth scales with concurrent viewers (~1.5GB/hr per HD viewer).. Restreamer: $5-10/mo VPS; bandwidth-bound for viewer count.. Both projects are free and open source.
Do Owncast and Restreamer replace the same SaaS?
Yes — both are open-source alternatives to Twitch.