Live Streaming
In 1969, 650 million people used an analog TV to watch this moment in unison.
In 2009, Apple launched HLS...
And we took one giant leap backwards.
HLS streams are not synchronized across viewers
HLS is a read-only protocol and non-interactive
HLS has up to 60s of latency from streamer to viewer
With LiveKit's WebRTC stack, you get internet-scale live streaming with none of the downsides.
Every user is synchronized
Streamers, viewers, speakers, listeners. Every user in a LiveKit session is at most 250ms apart. They all see and hear the same things, at the same time.
Connections are full duplex
LiveKit’s WebRTC connections can simultaneously send and receive data, which means any viewer on a stream can become a streamer or interact in realtime with others.
Unlimited viewers
LiveKit Cloud is a new type of WebRTC CDN, supporting the same scale as HLS — millions of simultaneous viewers on a single stream.
A WebRTC stack built for live streaming.
Compose. Capture. Record. Replay.
Record any live session with LiveKit’s Chrome-based compositor using prebuilt templates or a custom webpage.
Stream from any source.
Import streams from studio software, standalone cameras and mics, static files, or anywhere on the internet.
Process streams in realtime.
Run streams through AI models for tasks like voice and video filters, noise reduction, or transcription.
Integrated chat and data messages.
Out of the box support for live chat and sending arbitrary data messages between users.
Turnkey multistreaming.
Transcode sessions to RTMP at the edge and send them out to services like Twitch, Kick, YouTube, or TikTok.
Cost competitive
with HLS.
At scale, LiveKit Cloud is price competitive with traditional CDNs like Akamai, Amazon IVS, and Cloudflare.
| LiveKit Cloud | CloudFlare | Amazon IVS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | WebRTC | HLS | HLS |
| Unit cost | $0.12/GB* | $1 per 1000 minutes | $0.075 per hour |
| Total cost | $642** | $600 | $750 |
Whatnot
Whatnot is a social marketplace where users can discover their favorite products through live auctions.
Build your live streaming app for free
LiveKit Cloud is a cloud realtime platform and the fastest way to prototype and ship to production.