Alternative to LiveU for Live Broadcast Online Streaming: Use Speedify, No Dedicated Hardware Needed

Speedify: Cost Effective Software Alternative to LiveU

The LiveU series of live video transmission and video streaming solutions are very popular within the live streaming industry. Whether we’re talking about video professionals, event companies or media outlets, LiveU is almost always on the comparison matrix when choosing such a service, along with Teradek, Peplink, Mushroom Networks, etc.

If you have the money and resources, you can definitely go for a LiveU hardware unit  plus the subscription for live video. You can also rent one for your event or live broadcast. However, there is a more cost-effective software application alternative to LiveU that can help you get the fastest, most reliable and secure Internet for your live streaming broadcasts: Speedify. Learn more about it in this article.

LiveU vs. Speedify – Which is Better

Looking for a software alternative to LiveU? Here’s how Speedify compares from the point of view of fast, reliable and secure Internet:

 

LiveU

Speedify

Typical equipment – what you get for what you pay

Dedicated hardware bonding device + streaming service subscription

Software subscription to run directly on supported hardware devices

Portability – can be used on the go 

Some solutions only – e.g. LiveU Solo

Yes, depending on the device it’s running on: laptop, mobile device

Supported connection types

Wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular

Wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular

Supported operating systems

All

All major ones – Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux

Technology

LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT)

Channel bonding, Speedify protocol

Maximum bitrate

20 Mbps for streaming / 60 Mbps for file transfer (LU600 HEVC)

1 Gbps (Speedify with dedicated server)

Cost

Starting at $995 for the LiveU solo + $450 / year for the LRT service

$108 / year

Both solutions work very well for use cases such as:

Why Choose Speedify as a Software Alternative to LiveU

As you can see above, there are three main differentiators when it comes to LiveU vs. Speedify:

  • hardware vs. software-only – LiveU claims at least some of their solutions are “one touch, wireless live streaming”, given you get that preconfigured dedicated hardware.  Speedify’s solution defaults prioritize live streaming while running on any supported device. Being a software-only service, Speedify is much more versatile and portable. It’s not limited to specific bandwidths and you don’t need additional power or equipment to get great results when live streaming or transferring files.
  • Cost – LiveU has an initial investment of at least $995 for their Solo, as well as a monthly or yearly subscription cost for their LRT technology. With Speedify, you only pay for the monthly or yearly subscription, which is more affordable on its own than the one from LiveU.
  • Flexibility – with LiveU you are commited to their dedicated bonding hardware. Speedify allows you to turn any supported device, including OpenWrt routers, into a bonded streaming machine. If you want, you can even create your own bonded Internet router and use it in a similar way to a LiveU hardware device.

Looking for a real world use case? Read about Doug Piper’s decision to live stream beer tasting using Speedify after considering a LiveU setup.

Speedify Is Used on Millions of Devices Worldwide

Speedify has powered stronger Internet for millions of consumers since 2014

15M

Millions of Speedify downloads worldwide, and growing every day

5⭐️

More than 75,000 5-star reviews for Speedify in the iOS and Android app stores

82

Points of Speedify presence in datacenters around the globe

500TB

Hundreds of terabytes of fast, secure data streamed every week via Speedify

Speedify Partners

Speedify partners with these amazing organizations to deliver better internet and next-generation networking technology to their customers and employees.

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Need a Hardware Solution? Introducing the Miri Bonding Router – the Best Hardware Alternative to LiveU

Watch now

How Speedify's channel bonding technology works on any hardware

Walk through the protocol, the per-packet distribution model, the failover logic, and the encryption layer in one detailed explainer. The architecture and the engineering tradeoffs that make Speedify different from a load-balancer or a regular VPN.

Get started with Speedify for your business

Speedify offers three commercial paths. They're not exclusive — most enterprise customers combine two or more.

01

Speedify Teams

Bonded internet for everyone in your business, managed from one dashboard.

Speedify on every supported OS for every team member


Centralized dashboard for billing, user provisioning, and usage analytics


CSV import/export and a RESTful management API

View plans →

02

Speedify for Routers

Run Speedify on hardware you already own, or buy a Powered by Speedify router with it preinstalled.

License for supported OpenWrt routers


Powered by Speedify hardware lineup ready to deploy out of the box


Miri, GL.iNET, and other partner models


Whole-LAN bonding without per-device install

View plans →

03

Embed Speedify into your product

Build channel bonding into your own product. For OEMs, software vendors, and hardware manufacturers shipping connectivity as a feature of their own product line.

A · DIY

Build it yourself with the Speedify SDK.

Integrate Speedify into your iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, or Linux product. Full developer documentation, sample code, and supported integration paths. You own the build, we provide the bonding stack.
Developer Docs →

B · CUSTOM ENGINEERING

Have us build it for you.

Engage our engineering team to deliver custom integration work, deployment architecture, and protocol-level customization. Done by the team that built Speedify, against your spec and your timeline.
Contact Us →

Speedify Business Solutions

Speedify Teams

Get faster uploads and downloads and a more reliable internet connection for all the people and devices in your business.

Speedify for Routers

Power your OpenWRT, GL.iNET, or Miri router with Speedify and combine Wi-Fi, Ethernet, 4G, 5G, Starlink and other satellite internet connections together.

Speedify Embedded Solutions and Integrations

Embed Speedify software into your app or hardware products and leverage the core channel bonding technology of Speedify in new and interesting ways.