What is OBS Studio used for?

OBS Studio is a free, open-source program for recording video and streaming live on Windows, macOS and Linux, built around scenes made from multiple sources. It is a good fit for live streaming gameplay, recording tutorials and screencasts, and producing webinars and presentations.

Is OBS Studio open source?

Yes. OBS Studio is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at obsproject/obs-studio and is written mainly in C.

Yes. OBS Studio is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host OBS Studio?

Yes. OBS Studio can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is OBS Studio an alternative to?

OBS Studio is an open-source alternative to vMix, Streamlabs, Camtasia and Ecamm Live. Other open-source alternatives to Camtasia include Screenity and BetterShot.

Is OBS Studio actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to OBS Studio was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 32.2.2, published on 14 August 2026. The project has 77k stars on GitHub.

OBS Studio: open-source alternative to vMix, Streamlabs

About OBS Studio

OBS Studio, from the Open Broadcaster Software project, is a free, open-source application for recording video and streaming live. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, recent macOS versions and Linux, and it is written mainly in C and C++ under the GPL-2.0 license.

Content is composed as scenes built from multiple sources, such as window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams and capture cards. You can create as many scenes as you need and switch between them with customizable transitions. An audio mixer provides per-source filters like noise gate, noise suppression and gain, and VST plugins are supported. A modular dock-based interface can be rearranged, and individual docks can be popped out into separate windows.

OBS can stream to Twitch, YouTube and other providers, or record to local files using H.264 video and AAC audio. The project is funded through sponsors and backers. It suits streamers, educators, gamers and anyone producing tutorials or presentations who needs flexible capture and mixing without a license fee.

Key features

Real-time video and audio capture and mixing
Scenes combining windows, webcams, images and text
Custom transitions between scenes
Audio mixer with noise suppression and gain
VST plugin support
Streaming to Twitch, YouTube and other services
Recording with H.264 and AAC encoding

Good fit for

→Live streaming gameplay
→Recording tutorials and screencasts
→Producing webinars and presentations

Built with: C
Tags: streaming; screen-recording; live-streaming; video; broadcasting; capture; cpp; cross-platform

OBS Studio: questions and answers

What is OBS Studio used for?: OBS Studio is a free, open-source program for recording video and streaming live on Windows, macOS and Linux, built around scenes made from multiple sources. It is a good fit for live streaming gameplay, recording tutorials and screencasts, and producing webinars and presentations.
Is OBS Studio open source?: Yes. OBS Studio is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at obsproject/obs-studio and is written mainly in C.
Is OBS Studio free?: Yes. OBS Studio is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host OBS Studio?: Yes. OBS Studio can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is OBS Studio an alternative to?: OBS Studio is an open-source alternative to vMix, Streamlabs, Camtasia and Ecamm Live. Other open-source alternatives to Camtasia include Screenity and BetterShot.
Is OBS Studio actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to OBS Studio was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 32.2.2, published on 14 August 2026. The project has 77k stars on GitHub.