19 Most Popular Live Streaming Platforms For 2025 (Ranked By Data)

Want to know what the most popular live streaming platforms are this year? You’re in the right place.

We’ve poured through the latest industry reports to find out what the most-used livestream platforms in the world are, according to the data.

Below, you’ll find a list of the top 19 platforms ranked by annual watch hours. That’s the amount of time that viewers spent watching live content on each site/app last year.

Note: This ranking is based primarily on data from Streams Charts and Stream Hatchet. Data was not available for platforms that don’t share their usage figures publicly, including Instagram Live, TikTok Live, and WhatNot. As such, we’ve omitted these platforms from the ranking. However, we’ve included them as honorable mentions at the bottom of this post.

Overview of platforms

Live streaming platform	Best for
YouTube Live	Audience reach
Twitch	Gaming content
Kick	Edgier content (looser moderation)
SOOP Korea	Korean-language content
Rumble	Political content
Instagram Live	Influencers & lifestyle content
TikTok Live	Short-form creators
WhatNot	Live shopping

#1 – YouTube

YouTube—Google’s online video sharing platform—is the most popular live streaming platform in the world with a 65% market share.

Users watched over 49 billion hours of live content on the platform last year and 4.94 billion just last month. That’s significantly more than any other platform.

This huge audience reach makes it the ideal platform for creators who want to reach as many people as possible. It also has excellent search and discovery features, which make it easier for new creators to grow an audience from scratch.

YouTube Live creators can monetize their content through ads, YouTube Premium revenue shares, Super Chat (paid messages), sponsorships, channel memberships, and viewer donations.

In addition to being the number one live streaming platform, YouTube is also the most popular video hosting platform, the second most popular search engine, and the second most-visited website in the world after Google Search.

It was founded in 2005 by three former PayPal employees, but the first livestream on the platform didn’t occur until 2008. The YouTube Live feature was officially launched in 2011.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 49 billion
Watch hours over the last 30 days: 4.94 billion
Live streaming market share: 65%
Average concurrent live viewership: 6.91 million
Average number of live channels: 33,650
Most popular live content categories: News and Politics (20%), Entertainment (19%), Gaming (16%).
Total monthly active users: 2.7 billion

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts, YouTube

Related reading: 35 Top YouTube Shorts Statistics (Growth & Trends)

#2 – Twitch

Twitch is the second most popular livestreaming platform in the world with a 28% market share. It was launched in 2011 as a spin-off of its predecessor, Justin.tv, and is owned by parent company Amazon.

Twitch users watched over 21.1 billion hours of content on the platform last year, and over 1.6 billion hours in the last 30 days.

While its viewership isn’t quite as high as YouTube Live, Twitch is more specialized.

85% of its watch hours go to gaming content (compared to 16% on YouTube), which makes it the number one platform for gamers.

Twitch is also known for its strong engagement, community building, and monetization ecosystem. Creators can interact with viewers through live chat, and monetize through various features including subscriptions, Bits, ads, donations, sponsorships, and Hype Chat.

One particularly useful feature is Twitch Prime, which lets viewers with an active Amazon Prime Subscription subscribe to one Twitch channel every month for free. Streamers earn around $2.50 from each Prime sub.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 21.1 billion
Change year-over-year: Decreased by -3%
Watch hours over the last 30 days: 1.6 billion
Live streaming market share: 28%
Average concurrent live viewership: 2.3 million
Average number of live channels: 94,000
Total number of unique channels: 20.7 million
Most popular live content categories: Gaming (85%)

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#3 – Kick

Kick is the third most popular live streaming platform in the world, with a 2.6% market share and a total of 2 billion annual watch hours last year.

It was founded in 2022 as a competitor to rival Twitch and has grown quickly. It overtook Facebook and several Korean platforms to take the #3 spot soon after launch, and has continued to grow rapidly since then.

Watch hours were up a whopping +169% last year compared to the year prior. Despite that, its viewership is still a small fraction of its major rivals Twitch and YouTube.

Kick is known for offering looser moderation as well as higher revenue shares for streamers, allowing them to keep 95% of their earnings.

This generous revenue split has helped it to acquire some big-name creators, including Adin Ross and Nickmercs. It also invested heavily in signing deals with major streamers, including a notable $100 million two-year contract with xQc.

Kick’s lax approach to moderation has also made it a haven for edgier and more controversial content that creators might struggle to find an audience for on more mainstream sites.

For example, it’s particularly popular for gambling content, with 14% of its watch hours going to Slots & Casino streams.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 2 billion
Change year-over-year: Increased by +169%
Watch hours over the last 30 days: 303 million
Live streaming market share: 2.6%
Average concurrent live viewership: 438,600
Average number of live channels: 3,680
Total number of unique channels: 1.1 million
Most popular live content categories: Gaming (68%)

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#4 – SOOP Korea

SOOP Korea—previously known as AfreecaTV—is the fourth most popular streaming platform in the world with 1.2 billion annual watch hours and a market share of 1.6%.

As you might have guessed from its name, it caters primarily to a South Korean audience, and 99% of streams on SOOP are of Korean-language content.

Part of the reason for its domestic popularity is that Twitch exited the South Korean market in February 2024 due to high operational costs, which opened up the market for smaller platforms.

AfreecaTV was first launched in 2005 but only rebranded as SOOP in 2024. Upon the rebrand, the platform was split into two versions: SOOP Korea and SOOP Global.

The Global version has struggled to gain traction in the international market and is not nearly as popular as the Korean version. We’ll look more at SOOP Global later.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 1.2 billion
Change year-over-year: Increased by +12%
Watch hours over the last 30 days: 138.3 million
Live streaming market share: 1.6%
Average concurrent live viewership: 196,000
Average number of live channels: 3,000
Total number of unique channels: 134,000n
Live content languages: 99% Korean, <1% Vietnamese, <1% English

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#5 – CHZZK

CHZZK is the fifth most popular live streaming platform globally with 688 million annual watch hours and a 0.9% market share. It’s also the second top live streaming platform in South Korea.

Like SOOP, it’s another platform that caters almost exclusively to a domestic Korean audience, with 100% Korean-language content.

Chzzk is one of the newest livestreaming platforms to enter the market—it was launched by Naver just last year in April 2024 after Twitch shut down in the country, and has grown rapidly since then.

The user interface and functionality are very similar to Twitch, with features such as VOD playback, clips, and an innovative sponsorship system. They offer 1080p streaming with plans to increase the maximum resolution up to 4k.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 688 million
Watch hours over the last 30 days: 77.4 million
Live streaming market share: 0.9%
Average concurrent live viewership: 113,000
Average number of live channels: 2,000
Live content languages: 100% Korean

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#6 – Rumble

Rumble is currently the sixth most popular live streaming platform with around 489 million annual watch hours and a market share of 0.6%.

It caters to a very specific niche and has attempted to position itself as the only platform that is ‘immune to cancel culture’. Mostly comprised of conservative political streamers from the US, around a third of its watch hours last year went to political content.

It was founded in 2013 as an alternative to YouTube for smaller content creators, but was initially not very popular.

It got a boost in early 2020 following an endorsement by then-Republican politician Devin Nunes, who accused YouTube of censoring his channel and began posting content on Rumble instead.

He was followed by other prominent conservatives, including Sean Hannity, Jim Jordan, and—later—former president Donald Trump.

This significantly boosted Rumble’s popularity among American conservatives and far-right users, and its monthly visitors increased from 1.6 million to 31.9 million by 2021.

In 2023, it was granted exclusive rights to broadcast live videos of the Republican presidential primary debates. And in 2024, former Twitch streamer Dr Disrespect signed a deal with Rumble Gaming.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 489 million
Watch hours over the last 30 days: 51.8 million
Live streaming market share: 0.6%
Average concurrent live viewership: 75,000
Average number of live channels: 264
Live content languages: 100% English

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#7 – Steam

Steam was the seventh most popular platform for live streaming content last year with 439 million annual watch hours and a 0.4% market share.

Steam is best known as a digital storefront through which you can buy, install, and play PC games. However, their Broadcasting feature also allows users to directly stream their gameplay to their friends or the public through the platform.

As you’d expect from a PC gaming platform, the top games streamed on Steam are all PC games. Counter-Strike is the most popular, with 13.7 million hours watched.

While Steam TV initially looked like a promising live-streaming option for PC gamers, last year the platform’s total annual live content watch hours were down 8.4% compared to the year prior.

Plus, Steam no longer seems to be focusing on livestreaming as a core feature, so it seems unlikely it will grow to become a serious competitor to Twitch or YouTube.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 439 million
Change year-over-year: Decreased by -8.4%
Watch hours over the last 30 days: 20.3 million
Live streaming market share: 0.6%
Average concurrent live viewership: 30,000
Average number of live channels: 215

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#8 – Facebook Live

A few years ago, Facebook Live was the third most popular live streaming platform and hot on the heels of frontrunner Twitch and YouTube.

However, Meta seems to have ‘given up’ on livestreaming since then, shifting their focus away from live broadcasts towards other features, and Facebook Live’s viewership has fallen dramatically. It’s over 40x lower today than its peak in 2021.

Last year, Facebook Live’s total annual watch hours were just 316 million—down 64% from the year prior. That gives it a market share of just 0.4% and makes it only the eighth most popular live streaming platform globally.

Despite this, Facebook is still the most-used social media platform in the world, with over 3 billion monthly active users.

Some live streamers still see success on Facebook. It works particularly well for community-focused content, leveraging familiar audiences and group dynamics to help boost engagement.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 316 million
Change year-over-year: Decreased by -64%
Live streaming market share: 0.4%
Total live broadcasts made to date: 10 billion+
Average concurrent viewership: 30,000
Total Facebook MAUs (monthly active users): 3 billion

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#9 – BIGO

BIGO is a Singapore-based live streaming platform that was launched in 2014 by founders David Li and Jason Hu.

According to the latest data, it’s the ninth most popular live streaming platform globally with 242 million annual watch hours last year, and a market share of 0.3%.

The majority of BIGO users are from Asia, and it’s struggled to gain popularity in Europe and North America.

It’s been rocked by some major controversies, including accusations of child endangerment and money laundering.

The app was banned in Pakistan and was also temporarily removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store following a report from the New York Times in 2024, though it has now returned.

BIGO users can watch and participate in live streams and engage through live chat or voice chat. Streamers can monetize their live content through in-app gifts, as well as bonuses and commissions.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 242 million
Live streaming market share: 0.3%
Total MAUs (monthly active users): 400 million
Top game category by hours watched: Mobile Legends (38%)
Average concurrent viewers (last 7 days): 1,670
Average concurrent channels (last 7 days): 114

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts, Wikipedia

#10 – Trovo

Trovo is technology giant Tencent’s live streaming platform. It was launched back in 2020 as an alternative to Twitch, and while it hasn’t taken off globally, it’s found a surprising stronghold in Russia.

After Twitch suspended payouts to Russian streamers in 2022, thousands jumped ship—and Trovo became their new home. The number of Russian streamers on the platform increased almost fivefold in just a couple of months.

In 2024, Trovo pulled in 87 million watch hours, giving it a 0.1% share of the live streaming market. That’s small in the grand scheme of things, but with Russian-language streams now making up over 90% of all Trovo watch time, it’s clear the platform has carved out a niche.

For streamers outside that audience, discoverability might be a challenge—but if you speak Russian or are targeting Russian-speaking viewers, Trovo could be a goldmine.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 87 million
Change year-over-year: Decreased by +49%
Watch hours over the last 30 days: 4.5 million
Live streaming market share: 0.1%
Average concurrent live viewership: 8,000
Average number of live channels: 573

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#11 – OpenRec

Ope n Rec is a Japanese live streaming platform focused primarily on gaming content.

It reached 32 million annual watch hours last year—that’s a 24% decline year over year—and it currently holds a market share of less than 0.1%.

Despite its modest market share and lack of an international audience, OpenRec remains a popular choice among Japanese gamers and esports fans. The platform hosts a variety of live gaming broadcasts, from casual playthroughs to professional esports tournaments.

Streamers have several monetization options, including premium memberships, fan club subscriptions, and viewer gifts. There’s also a chat function and various community tools to help creators build their community.

OpenRec was developed by CyberZ and officially launched in 2014. Since then, it has established itself as a niche destination for gaming enthusiasts in Japan, competing with global giants like YouTube and Twitch in the local market.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 32 million
Change year-over-year: Decreased by -24%
Live streaming market share: <0.1%

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#12 – Rooter

Rooter is an Indian live streaming platform focused on gaming and esports content, with 19 million annual watch hours. That’s a sharp decline of -82% year over year, and it currently holds a market share of less than 0.1%.

It was founded in 2016 by Piyush Kumar and Dipesh Agarwal, initially as a sports fan engagement app before pivoting to focus on gaming content.

Rooter positioned itself as a homegrown alternative to global streaming giants, with content and features tailored to Indian gamers. Since then, it has become one of India’s most recognized streaming platforms, though it faces tough competition from larger international platforms like Twitch.

Some of the most watched streams on the platform are of popular mobile and PC games like BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India), Free Fire, and Call of Duty Mobile.

Streamers on Rooter can monetize their content through brand sponsorships, viewer donations, and in-app rewards, while community features like live chat, tournaments, and fan engagement tools help creators grow their audience.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 19 million
Change year-over-year: Decreased by -82%
Live streaming market share: <0.1%
Number of members: 40 million

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts, Akamai

#13 – Naver TV

Naver TV is a South Korean video streaming platform operated by internet giant Naver Corporation, launched in 2013 and rebranded in 2017.

It racked up 15 million annual watch hours last year, marking a steep decline of -90% year over year, and holds a market share of less than 0.1%.

Naver focuses mainly on entertainment content, including K-pop performances, drama highlights, variety shows, live TV channels, and regional sports networks. It’s a popular destination for fans of Korean pop culture, especially within South Korea’s domestic market.

While it does offer live video streaming, it’s better known for its on-demand video clips and web-based original series that appeal to South Korea’s digital audience.

Creators and broadcasters on Naver TV can monetize through ads, sponsorship deals, and content partnerships with major entertainment companies.

The platform is deeply integrated with Naver’s ecosystem, which includes South Korea’s most popular search engine and web portal, helping to drive traffic to its live streams and video content.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 15 million
Change year-over-year: Decreased by -90%
Live streaming market share: <0.1%

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#14 – VK Live

VK is Russia’s largest social media network, and its live streaming arm is quickly gaining traction due to growing demand for homegrown streaming platforms in Russia.

VK Live originally launched as a standalone app in 2016 but was later merged into the main VK platform to streamline the user experience.

Over 15 million hours of live content were streamed on VK last year—up an incredible +1900% year over year. Despite that, it still accounts for less than 0.1% of the global market.

VK users can post a range of content formats, including regular video uploads, music, messages, and of course, live streams.

Its streaming content covers a wide range of categories, including gaming, music, live events, talk shows, and sports, catering primarily to Russian-speaking audiences.

Monetization options for creators on VK include fan subscriptions, donations, brand sponsorships, and integrated ads.

Plus, its integration with VK’s broader social ecosystem (including VKontakte and Mail.ru services) gives creators powerful tools for community building and audience engagement.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 15 million
Change year-over-year: Increased by +1500%
Live streaming market share: <0.1%
VK total number of users: 656 million+

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts, Wikipedia²

#15 – SOOP Global

SOOP Global is the international arm of Korean livestreaming platform SOOP (our #4 spot). It reached 11 million watch hours last year, giving it a market share of <0.1%.

It was launched in 2024 following the rebrand of its parent company, AfreecaTV, at which point SOOP was split into two distinct services: SOOP Korea and SOOP Global.

The global version features a different user interface and design from the domestic platform, and exclusively features non-Korean-language content.

SOOP Global has struggled to compete with international platforms like Twitch and has not yet managed to gain a large audience internationally.

However, it has scored a few wins, including securing rights deals with major sporting events and becoming the exclusive streaming provider of the Valorant Challengers SEA tournament.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 11 million
Live streaming market share: <0.1%

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#16 – Nonolive

Nonolive is a lesser-known mobile streaming platform that racked up just 10 million watch hours over the last year, giving it a market share of less than 0.1%.

That’s a steep drop of 87% year-over-year—one of the biggest declines of any platform on this list.

Originally popular in parts of Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Nonolive focused on mobile-first live streaming, especially for gaming and casual chatting.

It offered real-time interaction features and monetization tools like virtual gifts, but struggled to scale globally or compete with better-funded rivals.

The platform’s sharp decline suggests it’s losing relevance fast in an increasingly competitive market.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 10 million
Change year-over-year: Decreased by -87%
Live streaming market share: <0.1%

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#17 – DLive

DLive accumulated 9 million watch hours last year—a remarkable 233% increase from the previous year. Despite this surge, it maintains a market share of less than 0.01%, underscoring its position as a niche platform.

Founded in December 2017 by Charles Wayn and Cole Chen, DLive set out to create a decentralized, blockchain-based live streaming service.

The platform initially operated on the Steem blockchain before transitioning to the Lino network in 2018 and later to the TRON network following its acquisition by BitTorrent (now Rainberry, Inc.) in 2019.

DLive attracted attention in April 2019 when prominent YouTuber PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) signed an exclusive live-streaming deal with the platform. This partnership significantly boosted DLive’s user base, increasing it by 67% within two months.

The platform’s minimal content moderation policies have drawn criticism for allowing the proliferation of extremist content. Reports indicate that DLive has become a haven for white supremacists, conspiracy theorists, and other far-right figures seeking less regulated spaces.

DLive’s unique approach to revenue sharing allows streamers to retain 90% of their earnings, with the remaining 10% allocated based on their performance on the site. This creator-friendly model, combined with its decentralized infrastructure, continues to attract a niche audience despite its modest market share.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 9 million
Change year-over-year: Increased by +233%
Live streaming market share: <0.01%

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#18 – KakaoTV

KakaoTV is a free live TV streaming service launched by South Korean internet conglomerate Kakao in 2015—best known for its popular messaging app, KakaoTalk.

It’s grown rapidly over the last couple of years, logging around 2 million watch hours in 2024—up 566% year-over-year.

Nonetheless, it still holds less than 0.01% of the global live streaming market, making it one of the smallest platforms by market share.

KakaoTV is another regional platform that focuses primarily on Korean audiences, with few international users. It integrates closely with KakaoTalk, allowing for easy content sharing and live stream discovery within the app’s ecosystem.

Though its global footprint is minimal, KakaoTV has seen rapid domestic growth by blending professional web dramas, variety content, and user-generated streams—all tailored to Korean viewing habits.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 2 million
Change year-over-year: Increased by +566%
Live streaming market share: <0.01%

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

#19 – Loco

Loco is an Indian livestreaming mobile app focused on mobile gaming and esports.

It saw just 1 million watch hours over the past year— a 98% drop year-over-year. Its market share has dwindled to under 0.001%, placing it at the very bottom of the rankings.

Based in India, Loco originally launched as a quiz and trivia app before pivoting into the game streaming space around 2020.

It quickly gained traction during the rise of mobile esports in India, particularly for titles like BGMI and Free Fire, but failed to become a serious competitor to mainstream platforms like Twitch.

Despite early momentum and backing from investors like Krafton, Loco struggled to maintain its viewership amid increased competition and regulatory challenges in the Indian gaming sector.

Key statistics

Total annual watch hours: 1 million
Change year-over-year: Decreased by -98%
Live streaming market share: <0.001%

Sources: Stream Hatchet, Streams Charts

Honorable mentions

There are a few popular live streaming platforms that we were unable to find accurate/reliable watch hour data for, and as such, had to omit them from the ranking.

We’ve included these as honorable mentions below. In each case, we’ve estimated the platform’s annual live watch hours based on the limited data that is available—just keep in mind these are very rough estimates and may not be accurate.

TikTok Live

TikTok Live wasn’t included in our main ranking due to the lack of official watch hour data, but it’s far too influential to ignore.

Based on available estimates, viewers may be spending over 400 million hours per week watching live content on TikTok, which would translate to 20 billion+ hours annually.

If accurate, that would make TikTok Live the third most popular live streaming platform in the world, behind only YouTube and Twitch.

These estimates are based on known figures from industry trackers. For example, TikTok’s Chats category alone reportedly draws 100–200 million weekly watch hours, far surpassing Twitch’s Just Chatting category (typically 55–65 million).

And non-gaming categories on TikTok reportedly pull in an estimated combined total of 250 million+ watch hours each week.

While the exact numbers are uncertain, one thing is clear: TikTok Live is now a major player in the vertical/mobile livestreaming space, and may be the best live streaming platform for creators focused on short-form, lifestyle, or interactive content.

Sources: Streams Charts²

Instagram Live

Instagram Live is another major platform excluded from the main ranking due to the lack of publicly available watch hour data.

However, based on our best usage estimates, viewers may be watching around ~15 billion hours of live content annually on the platform—placing it just behind TikTok Live, if accurate.

This estimate is based on reports suggesting 100 million people watch Instagram Live daily, combined with an average watch time of 24.41 minutes per session. While not officially confirmed, these figures offer a reasonable picture of the platform’s scale.

Instagram Live benefits from seamless integration with the broader Instagram ecosystem, making it ideal for influencers, brands, and creators looking to connect with their audience in real-time through casual, mobile-first broadcasts.

Sources: WebFX, TechJury

Related Reading: 32 Top Instagram Reels Statistics (Data And Trends)

Whatnot

Whatnot doesn’t publish global watch hour data, so it couldn’t be included in the main ranking—but it’s a key player in the livestream shopping space.

The platform specializes in live auctions and sales of collectibles, trading cards, sneakers, and more—blending entertainment and ecommerce in real time.

According to its European market report, its users in Europe alone watch around 340,000 hours of live content per week, which works out to 17.7 million hours annually. And that figure doesn’t even include viewership from the U.S. and other global markets, where its presence is even stronger.

In 2022, Whatnot was reportedly the #1 livestream shopping app in the U.S. by downloads, reflecting its rapid rise in popularity.

Sources: Whatnot, Whatnot², Ecommerce Bonsai

Final thoughts

That concludes our data-driven ranking of the most popular live streaming platforms.

As you can see, the live streaming sector continues to be dominated by a few key players: YouTube, Twitch, and Kick. Collectively, these platforms account for over 95% of the market (not accounting for Instagram Live and TikTok Live).

However, many smaller platforms continue to have a strong presence within specific niches or regions. For instance, SOOP and CHZZK dominate in South Korea.

Not sure which platform to stream on? You don’t have to limit yourself to one—multistreaming to multiple live streaming platforms can help to maximize your audience reach.

For more interesting insights, check out the latest live streaming statistics. You might also enjoy our data-driven ranking of the most popular messaging apps in the world.

Sources:

X Facebook LinkedIn

NAVIGATION

Legal

Projects