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There is no single monthly price for keeping prerecorded video live on YouTube around the clock. Managed services charge a subscription for a defined set of streams and features; cloud infrastructure APIs meter active time and can add separate delivery costs based on viewers, resolution, and region. For a useful estimate, start with the service model and stream configuration—not just the advertised input rate.
Two ways to pay for a 24/7 YouTube stream
Managed services: a subscription for playback
A managed service is designed to play uploaded videos or playlists as a live broadcast, with cloud playback and some combination of scheduling, storage, and stream management. You generally compare fixed plan limits—such as concurrent streams, resolution, and storage—against your needs. A subscription makes the service cost easier to anticipate, but the least expensive tier may not include every feature needed for a programmed channel.
Cloud APIs: usage-based infrastructure
Cloud streaming APIs expose more configuration choices and bill according to their own pricing units. Depending on the provider, charges may include active channel time, configured inputs and outputs, and video delivered to viewers. A low input rate by itself is not a complete estimate: output delivery can be billed separately, and an active channel may incur charges even when nobody is watching.
Managed options for continuous prerecorded playback
StreamNeo is a YouTube-only cloud service for uploaded videos and playlists. It is #1 here for creators seeking continuous prerecorded playback: it runs from the cloud, supports any uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps at one flat price per slot, and offers a free first day.
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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 StreamNeo team support. The same features apply across its plans; only the billing period changes. The first day is free with no card, once per account. After that, 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
Billing is available for a day, week, month, six months, or year, with cancellation any time. UPI and cards are available in India; card checkout is available worldwide. Contact StreamNeo support for five or more slots. Free tools include an upload-time calculator, a cloud vs. PC cost calculator, and a copyright safety checklist.
Gyre: compare features, not just the entry tier
Gyre’s pricing page, retrieved October 3, 2026, displays Start at $49/month, Start+ at $99/month, and PRO+ at $169/month, as well as a seven-day trial. These are vendor-published plan details, not independent test results; prices and promotions can change, so check the live page before subscribing.
Rank #2
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| Plan | Published monthly price | Published allowance and features |
|---|---|---|
| Start | $49/month | 35 GB storage and one HD stream; playlists and a stream scheduler are not listed for this tier. |
| Start+ | $99/month | 75 GB storage; four HD streams or one 4K stream; playlists and scheduling. |
| PRO+ | $169/month | 150 GB storage; eight HD streams or two 4K streams; playlists and scheduling. |
Gyre describes its playback as running on cloud infrastructure, so a user’s computer can be off. That is the vendor’s description of its service, not an independently measured uptime or uninterrupted-delivery guarantee. Its marketing also claims no fixed duration limit and YouTube certification; those claims do not establish that repeated content will meet YouTube policy or monetization review.
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StreamYard: a production studio, not an established 24/7 substitute
StreamYard is an adjacent option for creators who want a production studio with guests, overlays, and limited prerecorded segments. Its surfaced pricing lists Core at $44.99/month or $35.99/month with annual billing, including two hours of prerecorded streams; Advanced is $88.99/month or $68.99/month annually, including four hours. The pricing page says prices may vary with promotions, renewal terms, and offers. Those limits do not establish indefinite playback, so do not treat StreamYard as a direct 24/7 service substitute without checking current product limits.
Cloud infrastructure pricing: calculate the whole bill
Amazon IVS
Amazon IVS prices video input by channel type. The AWS pricing page retrieved October 3, 2026 lists $0.20 per hour for Basic, $0.50 for Advanced SD, $0.85 for Advanced HD, and $2.00 for Standard; Standard with Multitrack Video is listed at $0.50 per hour. AWS says input is charged even when nobody views the stream.
Rank #3
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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.
Video output is billed separately according to delivered viewer-hours, resolution, region, and monthly delivery tiers. As one specific example, the first North America tier lists Full HD at $0.144 per delivered viewer-hour, HD at $0.072, and SD at $0.036. Other regions have different rates, and rates decrease across higher monthly delivery tiers.
For scale only, a single Basic channel sending input continuously for a 30-day month of 720 hours would incur a nominal input charge of $144 at $0.20 per hour. This arithmetic excludes viewer delivery and other applicable charges. It is not a complete quote for a YouTube workflow, and Basic should not be read as a quality recommendation for a 24/7 Full HD stream.
Google Cloud Live Stream API
Google Cloud bills according to channel active time, resolution, and the number of configured inputs and outputs. Its pricing page says a channel can be active without an input; activity has a ten-minute minimum and rounds up by the minute.
Rank #4
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One published example for a channel in us-central1 with two UHD inputs and seven outputs totals $8.89 per active hour, or $0.1482 per minute, with a ten-minute minimum charge of $1.482. This is a specific multi-rendition configuration, not a universal rate for one prerecorded stream. A separate example uses one 1080p input and three outputs: $0.14 per hour for input plus $0.45, $0.45, and $0.22 per hour for outputs, before additional captioning.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to include in a monthly estimate
Before estimating infrastructure charges, write down the configuration and usage assumptions. Without them, a single monthly total would be misleading.
- Resolution and codec of the source stream, and whether you need one output or an adaptive set of renditions.
- Provider, billing region, and hours the channel will remain active.
- Expected viewer-hours, split by viewer geography and quality where applicable.
- Number of simultaneous streams.
- Whether captions, recording, storage, or additional distribution endpoints are required.
For a managed subscription, check the plan’s stream count, resolution, storage, playlist and scheduling features, watermark terms, and billing period. For metered infrastructure, account for both input and delivery, plus any other configured or optional services. Compare total costs only after normalizing the assumptions.
Best Value
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- 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.
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| Comparison point | Managed subscription | Metered cloud infrastructure |
|---|---|---|
| Billing basis | Published plan and billing period | Provider-specific active-time, input, output, and delivery usage |
| Continuous playback features | Check the selected tier for playlists, scheduling, and included streams | Configuration and operational setup are your responsibility |
| Audience delivery | Check what the plan includes and any stated limits | May be billed separately by viewer-hours, resolution, and region |
| Charges without viewers | Subscription price applies regardless of audience | Active time or input can still be billable, depending on provider |
YouTube limits and content rules still apply
YouTube Help says, “All content in live streams must adhere to our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.” It currently lists limits of 10 active streams per channel and three active streams per stream key at once. If YouTube restricts an account from live streaming, the creator may not use another channel to stream during the restriction. Check YouTube’s live streaming help for the current rules.
Using a cloud playback service does not change YouTube’s content requirements. Make sure you have rights to the video and audio you broadcast, and do not assume that looping or replaying content automatically qualifies for monetization. YouTube’s cited help page establishes the general live-content and concurrency rules; it does not verify any vendor’s certification claim or promise how repeated content will be treated in monetization review.
Or let it run in the cloud
For a managed YouTube stream, StreamNeo’s setup is three steps:
- Upload a recording or build a playlist.
- Add your YouTube stream key once.
- Go live; StreamNeo loops the uploaded content from the cloud.
Nothing has to stay on at home. The stream uses the quality you uploaded, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot; if YouTube drops the stream, StreamNeo automatically recovers. The first day is free with no card, once per account. Monthly billing is $9.99 per month. Start your free day with StreamNeo.
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