Dacast is a professional-grade live streaming platform popular with media companies and enterprise broadcasters. But for most creators, agencies, and small media teams, Dacast's pricing is hard to justify, especially when alternatives like Livepush offer Akamai CDN delivery at much lower price points. Prices below are as of October 2026; Dacast's listed figures are its annual-billing rates.
Dacast vs Livepush: Quick Comparison
| Feature | Dacast | Livepush |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | ❌ | ✅ (20 hrs/mo) |
| Entry Price | ~$39/mo billed annually (Starter) | $0 to $15/mo |
| CDN | Tier-1 CDN (Akamai-class) | Akamai |
| HLS Player | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multistreaming | Simulcast capped at 5 to 40 hours per plan | ✅ (40+ platforms) |
| Pre-recorded Live | ✅ (VOD to Live) | ✅ |
| 24/7 Streaming | Via VOD to Live playlists | ✅ (looping channels) |
| RTMP Ingest | ✅ | ✅ |
| SRT Ingest | ✅ (added Feb 2026) | ✅ |
| Paywall / PPV | Add-on on Starter, included from Event ($63/mo) | ✅ (Event Hosting) |
| API Access | ✅ (plan availability not published) | ✅ |
| Player Branding | ✅ | ✅ |
The Core Dacast Use Cases and How Livepush Covers Them
1. Live Event Hosting with HLS Player
Dacast's primary use case: host a live stream and deliver it via an embeddable HLS player with low latency to a global audience.
Livepush does this identically: RTMP or SRT ingest, delivery over the Akamai CDN, and an embeddable HLS player. The player supports custom branding, poster images, logo overlay, and access control.
Price difference: Dacast starts at ~$39/month billed annually for 2.4 TB of bandwidth per year and 500 GB of storage. Livepush's Event Hosting plan starts at $49/month (bandwidth allowance depends on your plan), and also includes multistreaming, pre-recorded live, and a more flexible feature set.
2. Multistreaming to Social Platforms
Dacast does include social simulcasting, but it is metered: Starter allows 5 hours of simulcast, Event 10 hours, and Scale 28 hours, so it is not built for weekly multi-platform streaming.
Livepush is purpose-built for multistreaming: one stream goes out to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, LinkedIn, and 40+ more simultaneously. This is a core differentiator.
3. Professional CDN Delivery
Livepush delivers over Akamai, the same class of tier-1 CDN that Dacast's professional tier is positioned on, with regional ingest points for your encoder.
Where Dacast Still Wins
Dacast has more mature enterprise tooling: detailed analytics, a larger ecosystem of integrations, and a longer track record with enterprise and media customers. If you're a broadcaster with strict SLAs and enterprise procurement requirements, Dacast's track record may justify the cost.
Pricing Reality Check
| Scenario | Dacast | Livepush |
|---|---|---|
| Basic live stream + player | ~$39/mo (Starter, annual) | Free to $15/mo |
| Live + multistream to 3 platforms | ~$39/mo (Starter, 5 simulcast hours) to ~$63/mo (Event, 10 hours) | $15/mo (Pro) |
| Pre-recorded live + 24/7 channel | ~$39/mo (VOD to Live, metered by bandwidth) | $39/mo (Editors) |
| Live event with paywall | ~$63/mo (Event plan, annual) | $49/mo (Event Hosting) |
For most users paying Dacast $39 to $165 per month on annual billing, Livepush covers the same live, player, and paywall jobs at $15 to $49 per month.
Migration from Dacast to Livepush
- Export your video assets from Dacast
- Set up a Livepush account and connect destinations
- Update your OBS/encoder RTMP URL to the Livepush ingest server
- Update any website embeds with the new Livepush player URL
- Test with a private stream before cutting over
The technical migration takes under an hour. The main work is updating embed codes on any websites using the Dacast player.
See for yourself: free for 20 hours/month
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