Compare 7 min read Frederick Written by Frederick
comparison alternatives live365 streaming licensing

Live365 Alternatives in 2026: What Changed and Where to Go

Disclosure: RadioSiteMaker and RadioHost Studio are our own products. Method: prices checked on each vendor's own page on 5 November 2026; we list where competitors are the better fit.

The best Live365 alternative depends on one question: do you need the music licensing bundled, or just the streaming? Live365's 2026 pricing took effect on 2026-09-01 (applies at first renewal on or after that date)[1]: Broadcast 1 is now $65[2] a month with ads or $89[3] with Ad Control, for 1,500 hours/month[4]. Its licensing covers listeners in US, Canada, Mexico[5]. If you need that licensing, few alternatives replace it. If you license music yourself, or play none, several hosts cost less per listening hour.

What Are You Replacing?

Live365 bundles four things: licensing, the stream, playout, and directory distribution. Most alternatives replace only the stream and playout, and hand licensing back to you.

  • The licensing — only another bundled-licensing service replaces it; everyone else expects you to hold your own licences.
  • The stream and automation — any host below can do this, if you license separately or play original content.
  • The website — Live365 is not a website builder. RadioSiteMaker reads Live365 now-playing data, so you can keep Live365 and add a full station site.
  • Nothing — see when staying is the better choice.

Live365's 2026 Plans

From Live365's 2026 pricing update:

Plan With ads (monthly) Ad Control (monthly) Total listening hours Storage
Broadcast 1 $65 $89 1,500 hours/month 50 GB[6]
Broadcast 2 $109[7] $149[8] 3,500 hours/month[9] 75 GB[10]
Broadcast 3 $219[11] $299[12] 7,000 hours/month[13] 150 GB[14]

Yearly billing on Broadcast 1 with ads is $650[15]. Higher tiers run to $1,099[16] a month (Broadcast 5, with ads). Hours beyond your allowance cost 0.07 USD per listening hour[17]. Mobile apps are included from Broadcast 3 and otherwise an add-on at $49[18] a month.

Why People Look for Live365 Alternatives

Listeners outside the covered territories. Live365's licensing covers webcasts to the US, Canada and Mexico. UK coverage is an optional add-on from $17.99[19] a month, priced by UK listening hours. If much of your audience is elsewhere, read Live365's licensing page for how it treats those listeners before you decide.

Cost per listening hour. Broadcast 1 includes 1,500 hours/month. That is an average of about two listeners around the clock for a 30-day month (our calculation: 1,500 ÷ 720 hours). Beyond it you pay the overage rate or move up a tier.

Platform lock-in. The licensing covers streams delivered through Live365. It does not travel with you to another host.

What Live365 Still Does Well

For a music station whose audience is in the covered territories and that does not want to deal with licensing, Live365 remains one of the simplest legal paths to broadcasting. Its coverage spans ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR and SoundExchange in the US, SOCAN and Re:Sound in Canada, and the Mexican societies. Replicating that yourself means separate licences and reporting; our internet radio licensing guide walks through what is involved.

Quick Comparison

Platform Entry price Licensing included? Allowance to check
Live365 $65/mo with ads US, CA, MX (UK add-on) Total listening hours
Radio.co $35[20]/mo No Concurrent listeners and bandwidth
RadioKing $19 / 14€ / £14[21]/mo No Listening hours
Caster.fm Free plan No Listener slots; no AutoDJ on Free
Zeno.FM $60[22]/mo (Prime) No Listening hours
RadioCult Check vendor Varies by plan and region Check vendor
AzuraCast Free software + your server No Your server

The key trade: every alternative here except RadioCult hands licensing back to you. Factor that into any price comparison.

Alternative 1: Radio.co

Price: $35 a month on Lite (500 listeners[23], 1TB/month (~18,000 listening hours)[24]) up to $199[25] on Premium.

A polished cloud platform with browser playout, scheduling and analytics; apps and an Alexa skill are included on Plus. Radio.co also sells a Weebly-powered Website Builder add-on at $12[26] a month. No licensing included.

Best for: stations leaving Live365 that will manage their own licensing and want a professional cloud platform. See our Radio.co alternatives guide.

Alternative 2: RadioKing

Price: from $19 / 14€ / £14 (Discover: 50 listeners[27], 150 hours/month[28]) to $119 / 99€ / £99[29] (Business). Pro is $64 / 54€ / £54[30] with 150,000 hours/month[31].

Cloud playout and scheduling, with unlimited simultaneous listeners from Start but a listening-hour allowance on every plan. RadioKing sells a Radio Website add-on at $44 / 39€ / £34[32] a month. No licensing included.

Best for: budget-conscious stations, especially in Europe.

Alternative 3: Caster.fm and Zeno.FM

Caster.fm has a free plan with 400 listeners[33] slots, supported by ads on your public page and without AutoDJ. Paid Cloud Plus starts at $34[34] a month. Zeno.FM ended free broadcasting (Discontinued January 2025[35]); Prime is $60 a month with Unlimited[36] listeners.

Best for: talk and original-content formats that don't need music licences, and stations testing an idea.

Alternative 4: RadioCult

RadioCult markets itself to Live365 switchers, with licensing options that vary by plan and region. We have not verified its current prices or coverage, so read its terms for your territory before migrating.

Best for: stations that specifically want a bundled-licensing model with different territorial coverage.

Alternative 5: AzuraCast (self-hosted)

Price: free software; you pay for a server and your own licensing.

Streaming server, web-based AutoDJ, scheduling and analytics in one self-hosted package. Full control and no lock-in, at the cost of Linux/Docker work and every legal and technical responsibility. See our broadcasting software roundup.

Alternative 6: RadioHost Studio (our product)

Browser-based automation with the stream included: $199 a year + tax or $25 a month. The Station plan has 500 concurrent listeners and 30,000 listening hours a month — twenty times Broadcast 1's 1,500 hours/month — and 10 GB storage. It does not include music licensing. It gives you the play logs and a SoundExchange CSV export to report your own. If bundled licensing is why you chose Live365, Studio is not a substitute for that part.

When Staying on Live365 Is the Better Choice

  • Your audience is in the US, Canada and Mexico and you play commercial music. The bundled licensing is the product; replacing it costs money and paperwork.
  • You need Live365's distribution and apps. Apps are included from Broadcast 3.
  • Your listening hours fit the tier you are on. If you are not paying overage, the bill is predictable.

You can stay on Live365 and still give the station a full website: RadioSiteMaker detects Live365 now-playing metadata, so the player and track display work with your existing stream. Test the stream with the radio stream tester, and see the integrations list for other hosts.

Where These Prices and Terms Come From

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Live365 change in 2026?

Prices across all tiers changed from 2026-09-01 (applies at first renewal on or after that date). Broadcast 1 is now $65 a month with ads or $89 with Ad Control, and its storage is 50 GB. Check Live365's update article for how existing annual subscribers are treated.

Which countries does Live365's licensing cover?

Live365 covers webcasts to listeners in US, Canada, Mexico. UK coverage through PPL and PRS for Music is an optional add-on starting at $17.99 a month.

Do Live365 alternatives include music licensing?

Mostly no. Radio.co, RadioKing, Caster.fm, Zeno.FM, RadioHost Studio and self-hosted AzuraCast leave licensing to you. RadioCult offers licensing options in some regions; verify current coverage before switching.

Can I keep my website if I leave Live365?

If your website is independent of your stream host, yes: you point the player at the new stream URL. RadioSiteMaker sites work with any stream host, so a provider switch is a settings change rather than a rebuild.

Is there a free Live365 alternative?

Caster.fm has a free plan (no AutoDJ, ad-supported), and AzuraCast is free self-hosted software. Zeno.FM no longer has a free plan. "Free" covers hosting, not music licensing.

Sources and verification

Competitor prices and limits change often. Each figure above was checked on the date shown against the vendor's own page. Prices exclude tax unless stated.

  1. Live365 · All: 2026 pricing effective date — 2026-09-01 (applies at first renewal on or after that date). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Article 'Modified on: Fri, Jul 31, 2026'. Annual subscribers who switched before Aug 31 keep legacy price for their 12-month term.
  2. Live365 · Broadcast 1: Broadcast 1 monthly (With Ads) — $65 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Also shown on https://live365.com/broadcaster/pricing ('Broadcast 1 $ 65 / mo'). Effective at first renewal on/after September 1 (2026).
  3. Live365 · Broadcast 1: Broadcast 1 monthly (Ad Control, formerly 'No Ads') — $89 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Ad Control yearly $890. Ad Control packages are ad-free by default with a Dashboard Ad Toggle.
  4. Live365 · Broadcast 1: Broadcast 1 total listening hours — 1,500 hours/month (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  5. Live365 · All Broadcast: Licensing territories included — US, Canada, Mexico. Source, checked 2026-11-05. US via ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR, SoundExchange, AllTrack, Word Collections; Canada via SOCAN and Re:Sound; Mexico via EMMAC/SACM and SOMEXFON. Coverage depends on real-time metadata.
  6. Live365 · Broadcast 1: Broadcast 1 media storage — 50 GB. Source, checked 2026-11-05. Was 30 GB before the 2026 change; legacy annual subscribers keep old limits until renewal.
  7. Live365 · Broadcast 2: Broadcast 2 monthly (With Ads) — $109 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Yearly with ads $1,090.
  8. Live365 · Broadcast 2: Broadcast 2 monthly (Ad Control) — $149 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Ad Control yearly $1,490.
  9. Live365 · Broadcast 2: Broadcast 2 total listening hours — 3,500 hours/month (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  10. Live365 · Broadcast 2: Broadcast 2 media storage — 75 GB. Source, checked 2026-11-05
  11. Live365 · Broadcast 3: Broadcast 3 monthly (With Ads) — $219 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Yearly with ads $2,190.
  12. Live365 · Broadcast 3: Broadcast 3 monthly (Ad Control) — $299 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Ad Control yearly $2,990.
  13. Live365 · Broadcast 3: Broadcast 3 total listening hours — 7,000 hours/month (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  14. Live365 · Broadcast 3: Broadcast 3 media storage — 150 GB. Source, checked 2026-11-05
  15. Live365 · Broadcast 1: Broadcast 1 yearly (With Ads) — $650 (annual). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Yearly = '2 months free'.
  16. Live365 · Broadcast 5: Broadcast 5 monthly (With Ads) — $1,099 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Ad Control $1,459/mo, $14,590/yr. 20,000 TLH, 750 GB.
  17. Live365 · All Broadcast: TLH overage rate — 0.07 USD per listening hour (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  18. Live365 · Broadcast 3+: Mobile apps included from Broadcast 3; $49/mo add-on otherwise — $49 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  19. Live365 · Lite / Starter / Scale / Pro: Optional UK licensing add-on (PPL & PRS) price from — $17.99 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Tiers: Lite $17.99 (150 UK TLH), Starter $29.99 (500), Scale $169.99 (1,800), Pro $329.99 (5,000). 'Legal coverage via our local PPL and PRS for Music agreements.' Article modified May 5, 2026.
  20. Radio.co · Lite: Lite plan monthly price — $35 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Page also offers GBP 31 / EUR 35 (from embedded pricingData).
  21. RadioKing · Discover: Discover monthly price — $19 / 14€ / £14 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  22. Zeno.FM · Prime: Prime monthly price (monthly billing, regular) — $60 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. From the page's Nuxt payload (/pricing/_payload.json): Prime monthly-billing price 60.00. Yearly billing: 50.00/mo = $600/yr regular. Page on 2026-11-05 still displayed a 'Spooky Sale 40%' yearly price of $30.00/month ($360/yr) although the banner says 'until November 1'. 'Prices may vary by country' (localized).
  23. Radio.co · Lite: Lite concurrent listeners — 500 listeners. Source, checked 2026-11-05
  24. Radio.co · Lite: Lite monthly bandwidth / listening hours — 1TB/month (~18,000 listening hours) (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  25. Radio.co · Premium: Premium plan monthly price — $199 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  26. Radio.co · All plans: Website Builder add-on price — $12 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Shown as +$12/month on all four plans.
  27. RadioKing · Discover: Discover simultaneous listeners — 50 listeners. Source, checked 2026-11-05
  28. RadioKing · Discover: Discover listening hours — 150 hours/month (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  29. RadioKing · Business: Business monthly price — $119 / 99€ / £99 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  30. RadioKing · Pro: Pro monthly price — $64 / 54€ / £54 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  31. RadioKing · Pro: Pro listening hours — 150,000 hours/month (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  32. RadioKing · Add-on (all plans): Radio Website add-on monthly price — $44 / 39€ / £34 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05. Same figures on /pricing comparison table ('Radio Website Add-on available Additional €39/month $44/month £34/month'). Page footer: 'Pricing in effect on 10/03/2023.'
  33. Caster.fm · Free: Free plan listener slots — 400 listeners. Source, checked 2026-11-05
  34. Caster.fm · Cloud Plus: Cloud Plus monthly price — $34 (monthly). Source, checked 2026-11-05
  35. Zeno.FM · Free: Free broadcasting plan — Discontinued January 2025. Source, checked 2026-11-05
  36. Zeno.FM · Prime: Prime concurrent listeners — Unlimited. Source, checked 2026-11-05
Frederick
Written by
Frederick
Founder, RadioSiteMaker

Founder of RadioSiteMaker. Passionate about making professional radio station websites accessible to every broadcaster. Builds and runs the RadioSiteMaker website platform and RadioHost Studio, the browser-based 24/7 automation suite, and writes these guides from that day-to-day work with independent stations.

Frederick → LinkedIn

Get radio station tips in your inbox

Free guides on growing your audience, building your website, and running a better station. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Related Articles

compare 9 min read

Radio.co Alternatives & Pricing in 2026: Honest Comparison for Every Budget

Radio.co pricing in 2026, plan by plan, with listener, bandwidth and storage limits from Radio.co's own page. Compare RadioKing, Live365, AzuraCast, Caster.fm and Zeno.FM, and see when staying is the better choice.

· comparison alternatives
compare 7 min read

RadioKing Alternatives in 2026: Compared With Real Prices

Comparing the best RadioKing alternatives for 2026: Radio.co, Live365, AzuraCast, Caster.fm and Zeno.FM. Prices, listening-hour and storage limits from each vendor's page, and when staying on RadioKing is the better choice.

· comparison alternatives
Legal documents and microphone representing radio licensing
radio 101 13 min read

Internet Radio Licensing Guide 2026: SoundExchange, PROs & Real Costs

What internet radio licensing really costs in 2026: SoundExchange's $1,000-per-channel minimum, ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR, PPL and PRS in the UK — every fee cited to its source.

· licensing legal