How to Live Stream on YouTube: The Complete Guide

Whether you are hosting a charity stream, playing your favorite game, or sharing a live tutorial, streaming on YouTube Live allows creators much like yourself to interact with their viewers inreal-time and take community engagement to the next level. If you want to take full advantage of the opportunities live streaming on YouTube has to offer, there are a few things you need to be aware of. One major thing is the different options for live streaming on the platform.

Note: Before you can start live streaming on YouTube, you must verify your YouTube channel for live streaming. It’s a one-click action but can take 24 hours to be verified, so plan ahead.

Ways to Stream to YouTube

Below are the different options for live streaming on YouTube (feel free to click on which option best suits your needs to skip ahead.)

• Recommended: Desktop Streaming Software (allows you to customize your live stream with overlays, alerts, and more).
• Recommended: Browser-Based Streaming Software (allows you to apply custom themes, backgrounds, text, etc., to your live stream without having to download software).
• Recommended for on The Go: Using a Mobile Live Streaming App (similarly, it allows you to customize your live stream but from a mobile device).
• Directly From YouTube (on your Desktop or from the YouTube Mobile App—quick to get going but allows for little to no customization).

How to Live Stream to YouTube Using Streaming Software

By far, the best way to live stream to YouTube is by using streaming software like Streamlabs Desktop or a browser-based option like Talk Studio's live streaming app to customize your stream.

Both of these streaming services are integrated directly with YouTube. That means you can go live to YouTube from either without having to enter a stream key or URL. You can also enter the title and description of your stream from the software, choose which category you want to stream to, and much more. Below, we’ve broken down the steps for getting started streaming on each.

Using Streamlabs Desktop Streaming Software

Step 1: First, download Streamlabs Desktop on your computer.

Step 2: Once the installation is complete, Connect Your Account and sign in with your YouTube credentials when prompted.

Step 3: Next, click the plus sign (+) next to Sources in your Streamlabs Dashboard to add your microphone and camera as sources. Select Audio Capture Device to add your microphone and Video Capture Device for your camera.

You can also take this time to add additional sources that you want on stream, such as:

• Donation Goal widget to set a goal for viewers to help you reach
• Window Capture to display a specific window from your computer
• Display Capture to display your entire screen.
• Game Capture to display the game you are playing.

We recommend familiarizing yourself with the Source options so you can get a better idea of just how much you can customize your live stream using Streamlabs Desktop.

Step 4: Add an overlay theme from the Streamlabs Library. Whether you're looking for stream themes for VTubing or one suitable for a game of Dungeons and Dragons, there are tons of free themes and many premium themes made by top designers in the industry. Theme overlay packages make your stream stand out and add a professional touch, making your live stream look polished with just one click.

Step 5: Most themes come with multiple scenes that will populate once you’ve installed the theme. These scenes can include a starting soon, right back, ending screen, and more. From the Scenes panel in Streamlabs, select the scene you’d like to start your stream with.

Note: When you press Go Live, your audience will see whatever scene is currently selected.

• Use a “Starting Soon” scene to build up anticipation before deep-diving into your live stream.
• Use a “Be Right Back” scene if you need to take a quick break during your stream.
• Use your “Live Scene” when you are ready for your audience to see and hear you.

Step 6: Click Go Live and input your stream information. On this page, you can customize the title and description of your stream, pick the category you want to stream to, upload a custom thumbnail, and more.

Step 7: Once you’ve filled out all the details of your live stream, click Confirm & Go Live, and you’ll be streaming on YouTube!

Step 8: After you’ve finished your first live stream, you will want to check the stats.  Head to Streamlabs.com and log in to view the Streamlabs Dashboard. The dashboard is your one-stop shop for seeing your live streaming analytics, recent events, and the latest features.

Using Talk Studio Browser-Based Streaming Software

If you want to customize your live stream without downloading software to your computer, Talk Studio is the answer. Here’s how to get started.

Step 1: Log into Talk Studio. If this is your first time using Talk Studio, sign up using your Streamlabs ID, email address, or a social media account of your choice.

Step 2: Once you’re logged in, you may be prompted to allow your browser to access your microphone and camera; be sure to do so.

Step 3: In the middle of your browser window, you will see your live stream canvas, which shows you everything your viewers see. From the right navigation bar, you can make changes to the design, including overlay text and backgrounds.

Step 4: Add your camera to the live stream by hovering over your camera view and selecting Show on Stream. Directly above, you can add guests to show on stream by sending them an invite.

Step 5: Once everything is to your liking, hit the Go Live button. If you haven’t yet added YouTube as a destination, select Add Destination, then select YouTube to input your information.

Step 6: Once you’ve connected your YouTube account, select it as your live streaming destination, then click Next.

Step 7: Input the details of your live stream, then hit Go Live.

How to Stream from the Streamlabs Mobile App

Mobile live streaming allows everyone to easily broadcast whenever and wherever they want. We recommended going live directly from your phone using a broadcasting app like Streamlabs Mobile App to access customizable elements like scenes and overlays (similar to the desktop application).

For full directions, check out our in-depth guide on how to live stream to YouTube from your phone.

To summarize, below are the steps:

1. Download Streamlabs for your mobile device. The Streamlabs Mobile App is available for Android and iOS.
2. Open the app and log in with your credentials (Streamlabs ID, email address, or social platform).
3. Customize your stream using the Editor Mode. Set up your mobile scenes in the app (<-- our full guide will walk you through the process).
4. When you are ready to start broadcasting to YouTube, click on the Go Live button and choose whether you’d like to stream with your camera or screen share.
5. Next, select YouTube as the platform that you want to stream to.
6. Fill in the details of your live stream. When you’re done, click Go Live to begin streaming.

How to Stream from YouTube Studio

Of course, you have the option of live streaming straight from YouTube Studio. FYI, you can follow the same steps on YouTube’s main website. However, YouTube Studio is the destination for managing your content on the platform, including live streaming.

Step 1: Go to YouTube Studio and log in to your account

Step 2: Click the Create button (camera icon) in the top toolbar and select Go Live.

Step 3: Next, a window will appear that shows stream details, including settings, analytics, and stream health. From the left navigation window, head to the Webcam screen to begin setting up your live stream.

Step 4: From the Webcam screen, begin filling in the details of your live stream, starting with the Title, ending with Visibility (who is able to view the live stream). Fill in all details, then select Done.


Step 5: Once you’ve filled in all the details of your live stream, you’ll see a preview along with what you entered. If everything looks good to go, select the Go Live button to begin streaming,

Pro-Tip: If you prefer streaming from a mobile device, you can also use the YouTube Mobile app. Simply open the app, click the plus sign (+), fill in your stream details, and hit Go Live. Remember, the key difference between streaming from the Streamlabs Mobile app and YouTube’s mobile application is that the latter doesn’t offer the same customization options.

As you can see, there are quite a few ways to live stream to YouTube—the “right” way all depends on your needs. Now that you’re equipped with this knowledge, which method will you use to stream on YouTube?