Castr’s published plans range from $19.99 per month to $749.99 per month when billed monthly, as listed on Castr’s site in October 2026. The annual options show a lower monthly equivalent, but the full annual charge is paid upfront rather than month by month.
For a 24/7 YouTube live stream, price is only one part of the decision. You also need to check the plan’s player-bandwidth allowance, destinations, concurrent streams and hosted-video storage against the way you expect to operate.
Published Castr prices checked in October 2026
The figures below are from Castr’s official pricing page, checked on 3 October 2026. They are shown in US dollars because that is how Castr publishes the plan table. No currency conversion is applied here.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing, monthly equivalent | Annual charge | Player bandwidth | Destinations | Concurrent streams | Hosted video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19.99/mo | $16.67/mo | $199.99/yr | 200 GB/mo | 6 | 2 monthly / 3 annual | 100 GB |
| Standard | $49.99/mo | $41.67/mo | $499.99/yr | 500 GB/mo | 10 | 2 monthly / 3 annual | 200 GB |
| Premium | $199.99/mo | $166.67/mo | $1,999.99/yr | 3 TB/mo | 20 | 5 monthly / 10 annual | 2 TB |
| Ultra | $349.99/mo | $291.67/mo | $3,499.99/yr | 5 TB/mo | 30 | 10 monthly / 15 annual | 3 TB |
| Events | $749.99/mo | $624.99/mo | $7,499.99/yr | 10 TB/mo | 30 | 15 | 3 TB |
The annual bandwidth figures are larger pools: 2.4 TB for Starter, 6 TB for Standard, 36 TB for Premium, 60 TB for Ultra and 150 TB for Events. The annual monthly-equivalent figures in the table are not monthly instalments. They describe the effective monthly cost when the stated annual charge is paid upfront.
Castr describes its monthly plans as month to month and advertises annual billing as two months free. That wording and the allocations can change, so check the selected billing interval and checkout total before buying. The current pricing page also lists a seven-day trial for Starter and says that no credit card is required.
These are published plan allocations, not a promise that any plan will suit every channel. A devotional channel with one YouTube destination has a different requirement from a media operator sending several programmes to several destinations.
Monthly and annual billing are different decisions
Monthly billing gives you more flexibility to test a 24/7 workflow before committing to a year. The trade-off is the higher listed monthly price and the smaller monthly bandwidth allocation shown in the plan table.
Annual billing lowers the displayed monthly equivalent, but it requires the annual charge at the start. It also gives you a larger bandwidth pool for the year. For example, the annual Starter allocation is 2.4 TB, while the monthly table shows 200 GB per month. That does not mean you can automatically use the full annual pool in any pattern you choose. Confirm how Castr applies the allowance to your account and expected usage before relying on it.
The practical question is not simply whether annual billing is cheaper on paper. Ask whether you already understand your audience delivery, whether the channel will operate throughout the year, and whether the upfront payment is acceptable if the project changes.
A sensible test can include one complete day and a review of the usage information afterwards. Look at the actual player bandwidth consumed, not only the time that the stream was live. If your content is still being prepared, estimate first and treat the estimate as provisional.
You should also separate two types of cost in your notes:
- the subscription charge for the Castr plan
- any other costs involved in preparing, storing or licensing your videos and audio
Castr’s plan price does not answer questions about music rights, YouTube monetisation, editing software, internet access or a separate archive. For an Indian bhajan or devotional channel, for example, the streaming subscription is only one part of the operating budget. The music and visual rights still need their own checking. The article on copyright claims on a continuous church worship stream covers that separate risk in more detail.
What a 24/7 stream uses from a Castr plan
Castr’s help centre says that it supports unlimited live streaming duration for events while the subscription is active and has enough streaming bandwidth. This answers the duration question, but it does not make delivery bandwidth unlimited. The plan still has a finite player-bandwidth allowance.
That distinction matters because a continuous stream has two different workloads. First, Castr needs to keep the programme running. Second, viewers need to receive the live video. A stream can be technically active for a long period while its viewer delivery consumes the allowance that determines whether the plan remains suitable.
Castr’s 24/7 streaming guidance is therefore best read alongside the pricing table. “Unlimited” refers to the possible duration under the stated conditions, not to an unlimited number of viewers, destinations or delivered video bytes.
The plan table also includes resources that may matter even when YouTube is your only destination:
- Concurrent streams: how many streams can run at the same time under the plan’s published allocation.
- Hosted video: the amount of video you can keep in Castr’s hosted library.
- Destinations: the number of destinations available for delivery or multistreaming.
- Player bandwidth: the allowance used when viewers receive the stream through the player.
A single uploaded loop may need little hosted storage but still consume considerable player bandwidth if many people watch it. Conversely, a large library may require more hosted-video capacity even if the audience is small.
The feature differences can also affect your workflow. The pricing comparison lists RTMP and SRT pull links and in-stream advertising on Standard. Premium adds adaptive bitrate and custom transcoding, HLS live URLs, domain or geographic controls and API access. Ultra adds failover ingest, low-latency playback and additional playout controls. Events is aimed at branded OTT requirements as well as higher published capacity.
Do not pay for a feature only because its name sounds appropriate. Write down what your channel actually needs. A local news loop may need more than one destination and a fallback input. A quiet study stream may need a hosted library and one YouTube output. The plan with the highest price is not automatically the correct plan for either case.
Player bandwidth and audience delivery
Player bandwidth is the resource most easily missed in a 24/7 comparison. The duration of the broadcast does not tell you how much delivery capacity it will use. The important variables include the number of viewers, how long they watch and the delivered video quality.
A rough planning model is:
viewer delivery = video bitrate × viewing time × viewers
This is not a Castr quotation or a guaranteed calculator result. It is a way to organise your estimate. Use the bitrate of the actual output, convert the viewing time into the same units as your bandwidth allowance, and then add room for uncertainty. Castr points users to its own bandwidth calculator on the pricing page, which is the appropriate place to check the provider’s current method.
For a simple example, suppose a small channel expects a modest audience at a consistent quality for most of the day. You should calculate the expected delivery for that audience and compare it with 200 GB per month, 500 GB per month or the relevant plan allowance. Do not select Starter merely because the stream itself is only one programme. The viewers, rather than the number of uploaded files, may be the larger part of the resource requirement.
Audience behaviour can change the result. A channel that is quiet overnight but busy during a devotional morning programme may have a different monthly pattern from a lofi station with a steady audience. A local announcement can also create a short period of higher viewing without changing the stream’s scheduled duration.
Use your own YouTube Analytics once the channel has data. Until then, create a low, expected and high estimate. The high estimate is not a promise about future audience size; it is a check against choosing a plan with no practical margin.
Bandwidth should also be reviewed when you alter the output. Increasing quality may improve the picture but can raise delivery use. Adding another destination can change the delivery workload and the destination count at the same time. Adding a second channel may affect concurrent-stream capacity even if both channels share the same video library.
For guidance on the content side of a continuous channel, see how to make a 24/7 Shiv Bhajan stream for YouTube. The production decisions described there should feed into the bandwidth estimate rather than being treated as separate from pricing.
Destinations and concurrent streams
Castr lists destinations and concurrent streams as separate resources. A destination is where you send the programme, such as YouTube or another supported platform. Concurrent streams describe how many streams can be active at the same time under the plan’s allocation.
If you operate one 24/7 YouTube channel, the destination count may not be the deciding constraint. It becomes more important when you simulcast the same programme elsewhere, run several YouTube channels, or keep an event stream active while a regular channel continues.
The published concurrent-stream limits also differ between billing intervals on some plans:
| Plan | Monthly concurrent streams | Annual concurrent streams |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 2 | 3 |
| Standard | 2 | 3 |
| Premium | 5 | 10 |
| Ultra | 10 | 15 |
| Events | 15 | 15 |
These figures should be read together with the destination allocation. A plan may have enough destinations for your list but still be unsuitable if you need more simultaneous live outputs. The reverse can also happen: you may have spare concurrent capacity but no reason to pay for a larger destination allowance.
Consider the busiest moment in your schedule, not only the normal state. For example, you might normally run one YouTube devotional loop, but also need a second stream during a festival broadcast. If that second stream overlaps the regular channel, it belongs in the concurrent-stream calculation.
A multi-channel operator should count channels, tests and temporary broadcasts that overlap. A scheduled event that starts before the main stream has ended is still concurrent. Keep a short operating calendar showing which outputs will be live together.
The article on running three or more niche loop channels from one library is relevant if your plan is growing beyond one channel. It is better to count the actual overlap than to assume a shared video library reduces the number of streams Castr must run.
Hosted video and the shape of your library
Hosted video is a storage allowance, not a measure of viewer bandwidth. Starter lists 100 GB, Standard 200 GB, Premium 2 TB, Ultra 3 TB and Events 3 TB, as listed on Castr’s site in October 2026.
Estimate the size of the files you intend to upload and keep active. Include alternate versions, audio beds, intro segments and replacement files if they will remain in the hosted library. If you regularly remove old material, note that your working storage requirement may be lower than the size of your complete archive.
A single long file can be easy to manage but may be less flexible when you need to replace one section. A library of shorter files may make scheduling easier but can use more storage once several versions are retained. For a prerecorded channel, the best choice depends on the way you prepare and rotate content, not only on the monthly subscription.
Castr’s platform page describes cloud playout as scheduling uploaded videos, recordings and live streams into a continuous channel, and it lists YouTube among the destinations supported by its multistream delivery. Read the platform information for the current feature description, then confirm any workflow that is essential to your channel before purchase.
If you are comparing a cloud workflow with running your own computer, also consider what happens when the local machine restarts or loses its connection. A guide to making a YouTube podcast live stream resume after a server restart explains why recovery behaviour deserves a place in your operating plan. It does not replace checking Castr’s current limits, but it helps you identify the failure cases you need to ask about.
Estimate your fit before choosing a plan
Use this sequence before selecting monthly or annual billing.
1. Describe the actual channel
Write down whether you are running one YouTube channel or several, whether the programme is a loop or a scheduled library, and whether a second broadcast will overlap it. Include the expected output quality and the hours when you expect viewers to be present.
Do not use “24/7” as the only workload description. It describes the schedule, not the audience or resource use.
2. Measure the content library
Add the files you need to keep hosted, including alternate edits and replacement material. Compare the total with the hosted-video column. If you expect the library to grow, leave room for new files rather than choosing a plan that only fits the first upload.
3. Count outputs and overlaps
List YouTube and any other destinations. Then mark which streams are live at the same time. Compare both counts with the published destination and concurrent-stream limits.
4. Estimate player bandwidth
Use a low, expected and high viewer case. Include viewing time and the intended output bitrate. Compare the result with the monthly player-bandwidth allowance, or with the annual pool if you are assessing annual billing. Castr’s calculator may use details that differ from your own rough model, so check the provider’s current guidance as well.
5. Check features separately from capacity
If you need an RTMP or SRT pull link, adaptive bitrate, a custom transcode, API access, failover ingest or low-latency playback, check which published plan includes it. Capacity alone does not tell you whether the workflow is available.
6. Decide whether the billing commitment fits
Monthly billing may suit a project that is still being tested. Annual billing may suit an established channel that can accept the upfront charge and use the larger annual pool. Neither interval removes the need to monitor usage.
For operators who do not want to leave a home computer running overnight, StreamNeo removes the specific task of keeping the uploaded programme active on your own machine: you upload the file, add the YouTube stream key, and the cloud service runs and monitors the broadcast. It is YouTube-only, so it should be considered as a workflow choice rather than a substitute for a Castr feature-by-feature comparison.
Finally, check the current official plan page and ask Castr about custom allocations or migration if your estimate does not fit neatly into the published table. Do not assume that a plan will cover an audience size simply because the channel is technically able to start.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Can Castr run a 24/7 YouTube live stream?
Castr says it supports unlimited live streaming duration while the subscription is active and has enough streaming bandwidth. That does not mean unlimited viewer delivery, so compare expected player bandwidth with the selected plan’s allowance.
Is the annual Castr price paid monthly?
No. The annual monthly-equivalent figure is a way of displaying the effective monthly cost. The annual charge listed in the plan table is paid upfront, so check the checkout interval before confirming the purchase.
Which Castr plan is best for a 24/7 YouTube channel?
There is no universal answer without the channel’s viewer delivery, hosted-video size, destinations and overlapping streams. Starter and Standard are the lowest listed entry points, while higher plans add capacity and features, but your own workload estimate should decide the fit.
Will YouTube keep the complete 24/7 broadcast as an archive?
YouTube says that streams shorter than 12 hours can be automatically archived, while a stream exceeding 12 hours may not be captured in full. If a complete recording matters, keep a separate local or other recording workflow and check YouTube’s archive guidance for the current rules.