Short answer: Castr Starter costs $19.99 per month, or $16.67 per month equivalent when billed annually; Restream has a free tier and its Standard plan is listed at $19 per month. Both say streams can run without a fixed duration cap, but the practical limits differ: Castr ties its claim to an active subscription and available bandwidth, while Restream warns that maintenance may restart a stream running continuously for more than 24 hours. If you want a cloud service built specifically to keep uploaded videos looping on YouTube, StreamNeo is another option: one flat price per slot for any uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps, with the first day free.
Which service fits a continuous YouTube stream?
Choose based on more than the displayed monthly price. For Castr, check the plan’s bandwidth pool and what happens when it runs out. For Restream, account for the possibility of a maintenance interruption after 24 hours and decide whether you need its multichannel features. In either case, YouTube’s replay archive behavior is separate from how long a live broadcast can run.
- Castr: Its Help Center says duration is unlimited while the subscription is active and has sufficient streaming bandwidth. Starter includes 200 GB per month on monthly billing, or a 2.4 TB pool with annual billing.
- Restream: Its duration guidance says it does not impose a stream-duration limit, but a server restart for maintenance may affect a stream after more than 24 continuous hours. It recommends restarting daily.
- StreamNeo: For a prerecorded-video loop on YouTube, it runs in the cloud, so your computer can be off. It offers any uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps at one flat price per slot, and the first day is free.
These are vendor-published prices and policies, not results of independent service testing. Because pricing and policies can change, confirm the plan and billing interval on each provider’s current page before subscribing.
How the published prices compare
The figures below reflect prices displayed on the providers’ pages retrieved on October 3, 2026. Castr’s annual equivalents require an upfront annual payment; Restream’s captured prices are monthly, and its pricing page indicates a 20% annual-billing saving without establishing the selected annual checkout amounts here.
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| Service and plan | Displayed price | Published limits relevant to a continuous stream |
|---|---|---|
| Castr Starter | $19.99/month; $16.67/month equivalent with annual billing ($199.99 billed yearly) | 2 concurrent streams monthly or 3 annually; 6 destinations; 200 GB/month or a 2.4 TB annual pool; 100 GB hosted-video storage |
| Castr Standard | $49.99/month; $41.67/month equivalent with annual billing ($499.99 billed yearly) | 2 concurrent streams monthly or 3 annually; 10 destinations; 500 GB/month or a 6 TB annual pool; 200 GB storage |
| Castr Premium | $199.99/month; $166.67/month equivalent with annual billing ($1,999.99 billed yearly) | 5 concurrent streams monthly or 10 annually; 20 destinations; 3 TB/month or a 36 TB annual pool; 2 TB storage |
| Castr Ultra | $349.99/month; $291.67/month equivalent with annual billing ($3,499.99 billed yearly) | 10 concurrent streams monthly or 15 annually; 30 destinations; 5 TB/month or a 60 TB annual pool; 3 TB storage |
| Castr Events | $749.99/month; $624.99/month equivalent with annual billing ($7,499.99 billed yearly) | 15 concurrent streams; 30 destinations; 10 TB/month or a 150 TB annual pool; 3 TB storage |
| Restream Free | $0 | 2 simultaneous channels |
| Restream Standard | $19/month | 3 simultaneous channels |
| Restream Professional | $49/month | 5 simultaneous channels |
| Restream Business | $239/month | 8 simultaneous channels |
| Restream Enterprise | Contact Restream | Custom channels and enterprise package |
Sources: Castr pricing and Restream pricing. Castr says annual billing is optional and provides two months free, with a larger upfront bandwidth pool. Restream’s displayed tiers are organized in part around the number of channels you can stream to at once.
What unlimited duration means in practice
Castr: duration depends on subscription and bandwidth
Castr’s Help Center says it supports unlimited live-stream duration while the subscription remains active and has enough streaming bandwidth. That duration statement does not mean every plan can deliver viewers indefinitely at no additional cost: the included player-bandwidth allowance is finite. Castr identifies bitrate, viewership, and stream duration as factors that can increase bandwidth use. A lightly watched stream may consume less viewer-delivery bandwidth than a popular one, so a reliable monthly estimate requires your bitrate, audience size, and delivery workflow.
Starter’s monthly plan shows 200 GB per month; annual billing shows a 2.4 TB upfront pool. These are different billing arrangements, not interchangeable monthly allowances. Castr’s pricing page links a calculator for estimating bandwidth use.
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- 90W Pass-Through Charging: Achieve optimal charging with 90W pass-through power to your laptop, supported by a total input of 100W, with the hub reserving 10W for operational efficiency. (Note: Wall charger not included.)
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- What You Get: Anker USB-C Hub (5-in-1, 4K HDMI), welcome guide, 18-month warranty, and our friendly customer service.
Restream: plan for a daily restart
Restream says it does not limit stream duration, but its Help Center warns that server maintenance may restart a stream after more than 24 hours of continuous operation. It recommends restarting every 24 hours to prevent potential issues. Treat a continuous broadcast as potentially interruptible, rather than as a guaranteed uninterrupted feed.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteRestream also says multistreaming does not require extra broadcaster bandwidth for additional destinations and that Restream itself does not set a bitrate limit. Destination platforms may set their own limits. These points do not remove the maintenance-restart consideration for a stream that remains live continuously.
Sources: Castr’s 24/7 streaming guidance, dated December 1, 2022, and Restream’s duration guidance. Castr’s duration page is older than its current pricing page, so verify the current policy before relying on it for a long-running channel.
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- Flawless 4K@60Hz Video with HDMI: Delivers exceptional clarity and smoothness with its 4K@60Hz HDMI port, making it ideal for high-definition presentations and entertainment. (Note: Only the HDMI port supports video projection; the USB-C port is for data transfer only.)
- Double Up on Efficiency: The two USB-A 3.0 ports and a USB-C port support a fast 5Gbps data rate, significantly boosting your transfer speeds and improving productivity.
- Fast and Reliable 85W Charging: Offers high-capacity, speedy charging for laptops up to 85W, so you spend less time tethered to an outlet and more time being productive.
- What You Get: Anker USB-C Hub (7-in-1), welcome guide, 18-month warranty, and our friendly customer service.
Bandwidth exhaustion and possible extra costs on Castr
Castr’s published guidance distinguishes lower tiers from Premium and above. The policy page, published March 18, 2026, says Starter and Standard streams are disabled when their allocated bandwidth runs out. Premium and higher have overage protection at $0.10 per GB after included and rollover bandwidth are exhausted; Castr says this overage is billed per 1 TB and automatically charged to the selected payment method.
Do not treat the overage policy as applying to every Castr plan. For your expected viewers and bitrate, confirm both the bandwidth pool for your selected billing cadence and the plan-specific response to exhaustion. Source: Castr bandwidth overage guidance.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesContinuous broadcast is not the same as a full YouTube replay
Restream’s duration guidance says YouTube has no duration limit for a live stream, but it archives only streams shorter than 12 hours. A service’s ability to keep a broadcast going therefore does not establish that YouTube will preserve the entire continuous run as a replay. If replay availability matters, check YouTube’s current archive behavior separately and plan around the shorter-than-12-hours condition reported by Restream.
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- Next-Level 10Gbps & 3A Charging: No more slow 480Mbps, this usb to usb c adapter has a transfer speed of up to 10Gbps, allowing you to do more transferring in less time. This usb adapter fits both USB A and USB C charger, supporting up to 3A fast charging
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- Please Note: To reach 10Gbps speed, keep the cable under 3.3 ft. For USB A Male to USB C adapters, try flipping the USB C connector. USB C Male to USB A adapters support bidirectional 10Gbps transfer within 3.3 ft
Source: Restream Help Center: “How long can I stream for?”.
How to choose between Castr and Restream
- For one YouTube destination: Restream’s free tier lists two simultaneous channels, so channel count alone may not require a paid plan. Compare paid features you actually need before upgrading.
- For Castr: Match the plan’s monthly or annual bandwidth pool to expected viewer delivery. The annual option has a larger upfront pool and changes concurrent-stream allocation.
- For either provider: Estimate expected bitrate, viewers, and operating duration; check the exact billing interval; and decide how you will handle interruptions.
- If a complete replay archive matters: Treat YouTube’s archive behavior as a separate requirement from the service’s live-duration policy.
For the relevant published prices and plan limits, see Castr’s pricing page and Restream’s pricing page.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is a 24/7 YouTube channel playing uploaded videos, StreamNeo is the first alternative to consider: it keeps the loop running from the cloud, at any uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps for one flat price per slot, with the first day free and no card required.
Best Value
- 5-in-1 Connectivity: Equipped with a 4K HDMI port, a 5 Gbps USB-C data port, two 5 Gbps USB-A ports, and a USB C 100W PD-IN port. Note: The USB C 100W PD-IN port supports only charging and does not support data transfer devices such as headphones or speakers.
- Powerful Pass-Through Charging: Supports up to 85W pass-through charging so you can power up your laptop while you use the hub. Note: Pass-through charging requires a charger (not included). Note: To achieve full power for iPad, we recommend using a 45W wall charger.
- Transfer Files in Seconds: Move files to and from your laptop at speeds of up to 5 Gbps via the USB-C and USB-A data ports. Note: The USB C 5Gbps Data port does not support video output.
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- What You Get: Anker 332 USB-C Hub (5-in-1), welcome guide, our worry-free 18-month warranty, and friendly customer service.
- Upload a recording or build a playlist.
- Add your YouTube stream key once.
- Go live; StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud, so your computer and home connection do not have to stay on.
Each slot includes one always-on stream, 10 GB of storage per slot (pooled across active slots), 24/7 looping and playlists, automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream, and support from the StreamNeo team. The product is for uploaded videos streaming to YouTube, not a live camera feed.
StreamNeo’s published prices are: Daily $0.99 per day · Weekly $2.99 per week · Monthly $9.99 per month · 6 months $49.99 for 6 months · Yearly $89.99 a year. The page displays the applicable currency by location; UPI and cards are accepted in India, and card checkout is available worldwide. For five or more slots, contact support. Learn more at StreamNeo, or start the free first day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Restream require a paid plan just to stream to one YouTube channel?
Its published Free tier includes two simultaneous channels; whether you need a paid tier depends on the features you want.
Can I count on YouTube keeping a 24-hour stream as one replay?
No. Restream’s guidance says YouTube archives streams shorter than 12 hours, so verify YouTube’s current archive behavior and treat replay retention separately.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
