The best boxcast alternative for small churches is a cloud streaming platform that costs significantly less than BoxCast’s $119/month starting price while still covering the core features congregations actually use: multistreaming to YouTube and Facebook, video-on-demand archives, and private password-protected streams. YoloCast starts at $29/month ($19/month billed annually) and includes all three. This guide compares BoxCast against the top alternatives so your church leadership can make an informed decision before the next budget cycle.
| Platform | Starting Price | Multistreaming | Website Embed | Password Protection | Annual Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BoxCast | $119/month | Yes | Yes | Yes | Monthly or annual |
| YoloCast | From $29/month ($19/mo annual) | Yes | Exclusive ($39/mo annual) | Yes | No |
| Restream | Free / paid plans | Yes | Paid plans | Paid plans | No |
| Castr | Paid plans from ~$12/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Note: Castr pricing is approximate and should be verified at castr.com before purchase. All YoloCast and BoxCast pricing is confirmed as of May 2026.
Why Small Churches Look for a BoxCast Alternative
BoxCast Starts at $119 Per Month – Available on Monthly or Annual Billing
BoxCast’s Standard plan starts at $119/month and, according to the BoxCast pricing page, plans are available on both monthly and annual billing cycles. For a small congregation with a limited technology budget, with annual billing that means committing to at least $1,428 per year before you have confirmed the platform fits your workflow. A 30-day money-back guarantee is included, but this is a meaningful financial risk for a volunteer-run media team.
BoxCast is an excellent product – it was built specifically for houses of worship and includes features like automated captions on recorded broadcasts, an integrated website builder for church pages, and 10,000+ viewer hours per plan. These are real advantages. But they are enterprise-level advantages that come at an enterprise-level price. A congregation streaming a 45-minute Sunday service to 150 viewers does not need the same infrastructure as a broadcast network.
The Real Cost of BoxCast for a Small Congregation
Annual cost at BoxCast Standard: $119 x 12 = $1,428 per year. That money could fund a volunteer appreciation dinner, new microphones for the worship team, or mission trip support. For churches where the streaming ministry is run by volunteers on a Tuesday evening, paying enterprise pricing is hard to justify when affordable alternatives exist that cover the same weekly use case.
This does not mean BoxCast is a bad value for what it provides. Larger churches with dedicated media staff, multiple services per week, and thousands of online viewers will find BoxCast’s feature depth and support structure worth the investment. But for a congregation streaming one service per week to a few hundred viewers, the math on a lower-cost boxcast alternative for small churches changes significantly.
YoloCast: The Best BoxCast Alternative for Small Churches
YoloCast is a cloud-based live streaming platform made by YoloLiv, a hardware and software company known for the YoloBox all-in-one streaming device. Unlike BoxCast, YoloCast is designed to work with any RTMP encoder: OBS Studio on a laptop, vMix on a production PC, Wirecast, or a YoloBox hardware device. You are not locked into a proprietary encoder. If your church already streams using OBS, you can connect to YoloCast in minutes without changing your existing workflow.
YoloCast Pricing for Small Churches
YoloCast offers four paid tiers (all pricing verified at yololiv.com/compare-plans as of May 2026):
- Starter – $29/month (or $19/month billed annually): Multistreaming to YouTube, Facebook, and up to several platforms simultaneously. Includes 100GB of free bandwidth. Best for churches just getting started with live streaming.
- Exclusive – $49/month (or $39/month billed annually): Adds website embed – stream your service directly on your church website using an HTML5 player, so your congregation stays on your site rather than being redirected to YouTube. Also includes the built-in donation button. This is the most affordable YoloCast plan that includes website embed and giving tools.
- Professional – $89/month (or $69/month billed annually): Adds password-protected private streams and Simulated Live – pre-record a service and schedule it to broadcast as a live event, ideal for holiday services or weeks when the pastor is traveling.
- Business – $119/month (or $99/month billed annually): Adds AI-generated live subtitles, higher bandwidth allocation, and expanded storage. Best for larger congregations that need accessibility compliance and longer VOD archives.
All plans come with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. YoloCast has no annual commitment required – you can subscribe month-to-month and cancel any time. BoxCast also offers monthly billing, but its Standard plan starts at $119/month regardless of billing cycle.
Five Features Small Churches Actually Use in YoloCast
Based on the most common church streaming workflows, here are the five YoloCast features that matter most for a weekly service stream:
- Multistreaming to YouTube and Facebook simultaneously: One stream, two platforms. Your congregation can watch on whichever platform they already use, without your volunteer team managing two separate broadcasts.
- Password-protected private streams: For midweek Bible study, elder meetings, or congregational business meetings, you can require a password to access the stream. Only available on the Professional plan ($89/month, or $69/month billed annually) and above.
- Website embed: Embed your live service directly on your church website using an HTML5 player. Viewers stay on your site rather than being redirected to YouTube. Available on the Exclusive plan ($39/month annual) and above – the most affordable entry point for website embed among major church streaming platforms. Read more in our guide on how to embed a live stream on your website.
- Simulated Live (scheduled streaming): Pre-record a service and schedule it to broadcast at a specific time. Useful for Christmas Eve and Easter services where the team wants to prepare content in advance.
- Connection bonding support: If your church has unreliable internet, a YoloBox hardware device can bond multiple connections (cellular + venue Wi-Fi) for a stable stream. Learn more about how bonding helps churches stream without drops.
- Built-in donation button: YoloCast displays a yellow Donate button and custom message banner directly on the viewer watch page throughout your entire live stream. Viewers click once and are directed to your PayPal, Ko-fi, GoFundMe, Stripe, or any other donation link. YoloCast charges zero platform fees on donations — your church keeps 100% of every gift. Available on Exclusive ($49/month, $39/month annual) and above. Read more in our guide on live streaming platforms with donation integration.
BoxCast vs YoloCast: Full Feature Comparison
| Feature | BoxCast Standard ($119/mo) | YoloCast (plan noted) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $119/month | From $29/month ($19/mo annual) |
| Billing options | Monthly or annual | Month-to-month or annual |
| Free trial | 14-day | 14-day, no credit card required |
| Multistreaming | Yes | Yes (all plans) |
| Website embed | Yes | Yes (Exclusive $39/mo annual and above) |
| Password protection | Yes | Yes (Professional $69/mo and above) |
| Video on demand (VOD) | Yes | Yes |
| Automated captions | Yes (recorded broadcasts) | AI Live Subtitles (Business plan) |
| Simulated Live / Scheduled | Yes | Yes (Professional $69/mo and above) |
| Works with OBS | Yes (RTMP) | Yes (RTMP) |
| Works with vMix | Yes (RTMP) | Yes (RTMP) |
| Hardware integration | BoxCast encoder (proprietary) | YoloBox (optional, not required) |
| Viewer hours per month | 10,000+ | Based on bandwidth (100GB free on Starter) |
| Built-in donation button | No native button (separate embed needed) | Yes (Exclusive $39/mo annual and above, zero platform fees) |
Both platforms accept any RTMP-compatible encoder. If your church currently uses OBS Studio with BoxCast, switching to YoloCast requires only updating the stream URL and stream key in OBS settings – no new software or hardware purchase is needed.
How to Choose the Right Platform Based on Congregation Size
The best church streaming platform depends less on features lists and more on how many people attend your services and how much your media team can manage week to week. Here is a practical framework based on congregation size.
Small Congregations: Under 100 Regular Attendees
For a congregation of under 100 people, the priority is simplicity and low cost. Your volunteers likely wear multiple hats and do not have time to troubleshoot complex streaming configurations on a Sunday morning. The right setup is one person, one laptop, and one platform that works reliably every week.
Recommended plan: YoloCast Starter at $29/month (or $19/month billed annually). This covers multistreaming to YouTube and Facebook simultaneously. Your 40 or 80 regular online viewers can watch on whichever platform they already use, and your volunteer does not need any special training beyond starting a stream in OBS or clicking Go Live in a browser. BoxCast Standard at $119/month delivers more than a small congregation needs and costs six times as much.
Mid-Size Congregations: 100 to 500 Attendees
Mid-size churches increasingly want their stream to live on the church website rather than redirecting viewers to YouTube. A branded embed player keeps your congregation on your domain and lets you control the viewing experience. At this size, you likely also have midweek programs — Bible study, youth group, elder meetings — that benefit from private, password-protected access.
Recommended plan: YoloCast Exclusive at $49/month ($39/month annual) for website embed and donation tools, or YoloCast Professional at $89/month ($69/month annual) if you also need password-protected private streams. Both cost significantly less than BoxCast’s $119/month entry price. At 200 to 500 regular viewers, neither YoloCast nor BoxCast will hit bandwidth limits under normal weekly streaming conditions.
Large and Multi-Campus Congregations: 500+ Attendees
At 500 or more regular attendees, your online ministry is likely a significant part of how your congregation participates. You may have multiple services per weekend, a dedicated media staff member, and accessibility requirements for your online viewers.
YoloCast Business at $119/month ($99/month annual) covers this tier: AI-generated live subtitles for accessibility compliance, higher bandwidth allocation, and expanded VOD storage. If your church runs multiple campuses that each stream independently, cloud streaming for multi-location organizations works well with YoloCast’s multi-event dashboard. BoxCast Standard at $119/month is also a viable option at this scale, particularly if your team values BoxCast’s church-specific customer support history.
| Congregation Size | Recommended Plan | Monthly Cost | Key Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 100 | YoloCast Starter | $29/month ($19/mo annual) | Simple multistream to YouTube + Facebook |
| 100-500 (embed needed) | YoloCast Exclusive | $49/month ($39/mo annual) | Website embed + donation button |
| 100-500 (private streams) | YoloCast Professional | $89/month ($69/mo annual) | Password protection for restricted events |
| 500+ or multi-campus | YoloCast Business | $119/month ($99/mo annual) | AI subtitles, expanded storage, higher bandwidth |
How to Switch from BoxCast to YoloCast in Three Steps
Switching streaming platforms does not require a full technical overhaul. Here is the process for a church that currently uses OBS with BoxCast:
- Sign up for a YoloCast free trial at yololiv.com – no credit card required. Log into the YoloCast dashboard and create a new live event. The dashboard will generate an RTMP URL and stream key for your event.
- Update your OBS settings – in OBS, go to Settings > Stream. Change the Service to “Custom” and paste the YoloCast RTMP URL and stream key. This replaces your BoxCast stream details. Your existing scenes, sources, and overlays in OBS remain exactly as they are – only the stream destination changes.
- Run a test stream before your first Sunday service. Start OBS, click Start Streaming, and verify the stream appears in your YoloCast dashboard. Check that your YouTube and Facebook destinations are connected and receiving the multistream. The entire setup typically takes under 30 minutes.
For churches that use a hardware encoder instead of OBS, the process is the same: update the RTMP URL and stream key on the encoder, and the stream will route to YoloCast instead. If you are new to cloud streaming entirely, our guide on how to live stream church service without a hardware encoder covers the full setup from scratch.
Other BoxCast Alternatives Worth Considering
YoloCast is our top recommendation for a boxcast alternative for small churches, but two other platforms are worth knowing about depending on your specific requirements:
Restream
Restream offers a free plan that allows multistreaming to a limited number of destinations. Paid plans add more destinations, higher quality, and private streaming options. Restream is a good fit if your primary need is multistreaming and your budget is very limited. However, Restream does not include the same depth of church-specific features as BoxCast or YoloCast, and its video hosting and VOD capabilities are more limited. For churches that want an all-in-one platform rather than a multistreaming relay, YoloCast offers more complete functionality at a comparable price.
Castr
Castr is a cloud streaming platform with competitive pricing. It supports RTMP ingest from OBS and other encoders, multistreaming, and private streams. If you are comparing options, it is worth requesting a trial from Castr directly and verifying their current pricing before committing. As of this writing, Castr pricing starts below BoxCast’s entry point, which makes it worth evaluating alongside YoloCast. The key differentiator for YoloCast is its integration with YoloBox hardware for churches that want an all-in-one production and streaming device.
For a deeper look at how to choose between cloud streaming platforms, read our guide on setting up secure private live streaming with YoloCast.
Church-Dedicated Streaming Platforms: How They Compare
Beyond BoxCast and general-purpose platforms like YoloCast, several services are built exclusively for houses of worship. These are worth knowing about if your church has requirements that go beyond standard streaming — particularly integrated online giving or specialized sermon archives.
SermonCast
SermonCast is a streaming platform built specifically for churches, with live streaming plans starting at $49/month and video-on-demand (sermon archive) plans at $29/month. It is positioned as a lower-cost church streaming solution with a strong focus on reliability and ease of use for volunteer teams. SermonCast does not offer the same level of encoder flexibility as YoloCast — it is designed for simpler setups rather than productions using vMix or multi-camera hardware. For small churches that primarily need a dependable VOD archive of recorded sermons, it is worth evaluating.
StreamSpot
StreamSpot is a live streaming platform focused on churches and religious organizations, with plans starting from $79/month with annual discounts available. StreamSpot is known among larger congregations with dedicated tech staff for its reliability and church-focused customer support. The higher starting price versus YoloCast reflects its church-specific positioning and support model. For a small volunteer-run congregation, the cost is hard to justify when YoloCast covers the same core streaming workflow at a fraction of the price.
Built-In Donation Integration for Church Giving
YoloCast includes a built-in donation tool available on the Exclusive plan ($39/month annual) and above. During any live stream, a Donate button and a custom message banner appear directly on the viewer watch page at view.yololiv.com. Viewers click the button and are taken to whichever payment link your church sets up — PayPal, Ko-fi, GoFundMe, Stripe, or any donation URL you choose. YoloCast charges zero platform fees, so your church keeps 100% of every gift received.
This matters for small churches because the Donate button stays visible throughout the entire broadcast without anyone on your team needing to repeatedly post links in chat. Setup takes three steps: choose a compatible plan, generate a shareable link from your payment provider, and paste it into your YoloCast event settings with a short message about the donation purpose. For a full walkthrough, read our guide on live streaming platforms with donation integration.
BoxCast does not include a native donation button on its viewer pages. Churches using BoxCast who want in-stream giving typically embed a separate giving widget on their church website page alongside the BoxCast player — which works, but requires more configuration. YoloCast’s built-in approach is simpler for volunteer-run media teams.
For a complete breakdown of how live streaming fits into digital church ministry, read our guide on live streaming church services without a hardware encoder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Try the Best BoxCast Alternative for Small Churches?
If your congregation is ready to move to a more affordable cloud streaming platform, start with a 14-day free trial of YoloCast – no credit card required. The Starter plan is $29/month (or $19/month billed annually) and covers multistreaming to YouTube and Facebook. The Exclusive plan at $49/month ($39/month annual) adds website embed and the built-in donation button. The Professional plan at $89/month ($69/month annual) adds password-protected private streams. The Business plan at $119/month ($99/month annual) adds AI live subtitles and expanded storage.
Compare all plan features at yololiv.com/compare-plans. If you have questions about how YoloCast fits your church’s specific streaming setup, the YoloLiv support team can walk you through the configuration before you commit to a subscription.
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Betty,As a Customer Success Specialist at YoloLiv, she is passionate about helping users understand YoloCast’s features and resolve day-to-day usage challenges. In addition to hands-on support, she creates practical articles that share tips, troubleshooting guidance, and best practices to help users get more value from YoloCast.
