Best 6 Live Streaming Chat Tools for Broadcasting in 2024

With virtual events becoming more popular and necessary for the modern working environment, live streaming chat tools are increasingly ubiquitous. Broadcasters, event organizers and organizations of all kinds need fresh, innovative ways to engage their audience. Website chat tools and live chat offer the perfect solution.

Integrating services that support chat tools and features for live streaming is a fantastic way to connect with viewers. Using the right chat tool, you can easily integrate a chat window into the same page as your HTML video player. 

Whatever the cause, having the right live chat platform can increase live chat conversations, customer engagement and customer satisfaction. Consequently, it’s good for business.

Table of Contents

• Why Use a Live Stream Chat?
• Top 6 Live Streaming Chat Tools
• How to Implement Chat for Live Streaming 
• FAQs
• Conclusion

In this article, we’ll discuss why broadcasters in any sphere should incorporate a quality chat platform. Afterward, we’ll review six of the best live streaming chat tools available for professional broadcasters. 

Furthermore, we’ll compare and contrast the different chat features and functionalities of the live streaming chat tools for broadcasting and chat apps available on the market. 

Finally, we’ll run through a brief and actionable tutorial on how to implement these live streaming chat tools into your broadcasts and use them to boost user engagement and ultimately increase user retention.

Why Use a Live Stream Chat?

Live streaming chat tools make it easy to engage with your viewers.

When you implement live streaming chat tools alongside your video content, you can enjoy many perks, especially if you’re a professional broadcaster.

The first, and possibly most important, is user engagement. Live streaming video is already highly engaging, but live chat allows user interactions in real-time. 

Consequently, chat messages on your live streams can boost user retention and increase website visitors over time.

Having a chat functionality also gives you the opportunity to respond to questions and comments, which facilitates bi directional communication. When you use high-quality live chat software solutions, you can also host live video Q&As.

Using live streaming chat tools creates a virtual meeting place where viewers can feel like they are part of a community. Your website visitors can use screen sharing and the live chat tool together to feel more a part of your stream.

Another important reason for live chat is to gather user feedback. Since the live chat functionality allows you to interact with your audience in real-time, it gives you some insight into how they’re responding to your video content. This keeps users engaged, improves customer satisfaction and gives you the opportunity to continuously improve your live streams.

This can be very valuable when refining video strategies. Paired with customer data based on quantitative analytics from clicks and viewers, this real user feedback can be a powerful resource. This is the qualitative data storage that helps flesh out the understandings that number-based analytics can’t give you.

Top 6 Live Streaming Chat Tools

Different live streaming chat tools are equipped with different functionalities. Let’s take a look at a few of the best text-based chat apps that you can integrate alongside your HTML5 video player.

1.  RumbleTalk

The first option we’ll look at here is RumbleTalk. This chat application includes private messages and voice/video calls via WebRTC. 

RumbleTalk supports file sharing, banning via IP address, and allows multiple users to be made moderators in a group chat. User logins are protected via SSL. A nice feature allows for floating chat windows.

Chats are hosted on the RumbleTalk servers, so there is no need to install anything to use this tool.

RumbleTalk works so well as one of the best live streaming chat tools because it allows you to keep your audience more engaged by hosting moderated Q&A sessions and polls. As the moderator, you can control the number of live chat messages sent at a time. 

There are three versions of RumbleTalk: Free, Professional, Business, and Enterprise.

The free version of RumbleTalk is somewhat basic, supporting only five users and one admin. However, it is one of the live streaming chat tools that supports unlimited messaging and 1-on-1 meetings.

• Free – $0
• Professionnal: $49/month
• Business: $104/month
• Enterprise:  Customized

Custom-priced enterprise plans are available for broadcasters that host more than 800 participants in live events.

Dacast has recently formed a partnership with RumbleTalk which means that Dacast users can access this live streaming chat tool right from the Dacast live streaming platform.

RumbleTalk’s additional features include tools for both side-by-side video and chat and stacked video and chat, so broadcasters can choose their preferred streaming layout.

2. Chatango

Another chat application option is Chatango. This is one of the chat apps that makes it possible to host public chat groups. This means that messages stay in the group history. Chatango includes the ability to block users, delete messages, and ban certain words in a group chat. 

With Chatango, administrators can also make other people moderators and can decide if users need to sign up to the chat platform or not. The optional anonymity gives visitors the flexibility to quickly access the live chat platform even if they’re not registered users.

This chat platform also allows broadcasters to opt for a ticker or tab as the default chat message display. All of this is presented as a clean-looking user interface that can be customized for your site to match your HTML5 video player.

The in app chat functionality also features audio settings that can be turned on or off, so noises can be made to notify other users of a new post using push notifications (although this might interfere with your audio-visual content). The embed is light on branding and puts more focus on your own site in bold if needed.

This live chat application is designed to work with a variety of live streaming platforms, devices, and operating systems. It is also fast on larger websites, which means that it can handle rapid spikes in traffic.

Chatango is one of the live streaming chat tools that is absolutely free to use. However, you pay for upgrades if you want to use a premium background or “smileys.”

3. Dead Simple Chat

Looking for a more basic option? Dead Simple Chat is a qualified solution. It is one of the open-source live streaming chat tools that allows you to set up live stream chat rooms in seconds via embed codes.

Dead Simple Chat is a highly customizable chat app that has a clean, simple look, and it supports real time communication with chat moderation.

This chat app supports integrations with cross platform apps, white-label streaming tools and advanced customizations for a highly professional live streaming chat experience.

By default, the chats are hosted by Dead Simple Chat on their own servers. However, if you choose, you can host the code on your own server. They are also working to add advanced features such as end-to-end encryption.

Dead Simple Chat is one of the most scalable chat apps, with capabilities that support real time messaging for up to 10 million participants in a single chat room. 

Q&A tools and private chat functions are some of the most useful chat features of Dead Simple Chat. Its new features support language translation, which helps to create a more enjoyable chat experience for your target audience. 

There are five plans for this chat platform, ranging from free to large, custom-priced enterprise options. These plans include:

• Free – Free to use
• Basic – $19/month
• Plus – $79/month
• Pro –  $295/month
• Custom – These plans are custom priced to meet your live stream chat needs.

4. Mibbit

The next live chat app option is Mibbit, which is based on a unique chat widget structure. Mibbit is one of the messaging apps that is designed to work with multiple platforms and third party apps. It supports in app purchases, ITC, social login, YouTube videos, and Google Translate. It’s also easy to install.

In addition to a free version, there are five versions of this live streaming chat tool. The premium versions add support for content filters, custom branding, and SSL support. It also removes advertising.

Pricing plans for this chat platform range from $9.99 for a basic 25-user chat and go up to $99.99 per month for 1000+ users on multiple domains. The pricing is broken down as follows:

• $9.99/month for 25 users
• $24.99/month for 100 users
• $49.99/month for 250 users
• $69.99/month for 500 users
• $99.99/month for 1000+ users

Every plan is securely hosted on the Mibbit servers.

5. Cbox

Cbox doesn’t have the bells and whistles that the others do but, is very easy to integrate into your existing tech stack, other apps, or any website with minimal customization. It also has a unique chat feature that allows users to interact with each other.

One way that Cbox varies from the other live streaming chat tools is its ability to pop out the chat into its own window. This might be useful depending on your video application. Additionally, this chat app has very little branding which minimizes distractions on and around your video player.

As one of the best live streaming chat tools, it is compatible with multiple platforms devices including mobile devices which is great for streaming with the all-device HTML5 video player. Like other chat apps, the chat has a system to boot out spam and unwanted posters as well.

There are five plans available on the Cbox chat platform. The Free plan offers basic features, while the paid plans are equipped with extensible messaging functionalities and presence protocol.

• Cbox Free – This plan is free forever.
• Cbox Premium- $1.67/month
• Cbox Pro – $7.50/month
• Cbox Pro+ – $15.00+/month

6. Wisechat

If your website runs on WordPress, another good chat platform you can use is Wisechat. This free WordPress plugin is recommended by several Dacast broadcasters for use alongside our HTML5 video player. 

One advantage of using a native WordPress plugin with live streaming platforms is that there is no need for another server to run the chat module before you can access the chat app features.

The free version of this messaging app includes three customizable themes and other core features. New users can register and choose a custom name on the free plan. Password-protected chats are possible, and the chat can be made read-only for non-registered users.

There is also a Pro version available via a one-time purchase. This version adds support for private chats, avatars, Pro themes, custom emoticons, multisite support, and social login.

How to Implement Chat for Live Streaming 

Learn how to implement a live streaming chat tools.

There are many methods that you can use to implement live streaming chat tools alongside your Dacast video player.

If you are new to custom chat app development, the easiest way is through a simple table interface. This is not the preferred method, but rather the easiest to achieve a streaming setup that includes the chat and video player in the same area.

Below is an example code set to a fixed size of 890 pixels, although dimensions can be changed based on your site. You would have to replace the parts in brackets with your Dacast and chat embed codes:

<table border=”0″ width=”890″ cellspacing=”0″ cellpadding=”0″>

<tbody>

<tr>

<td align=”center” width=”640″>[Dacast Embed Code Here]</td>

<td align=”center” width=”250″>[Chat Client Embed Code Here]</td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>

FAQs

1. Can You Chat on a Live Stream?

A. Yes, you can chat on a live stream. Viewers who are connected to a live stream can interact with each other in a group chat or chat room. However, the chat feature will differ based on the type of live streaming software and chat application you use. 

2. Which App is Best for Live Streaming Chat Services?

A. Some of the best live streaming chat tools include:

• RumbleTalk
• Chatango
• Dead Simple Chat
• Mibbit
• Cbox
• Wisechat

3. What are Live Streaming Chat Tools?

A. Live streaming chat tools are integrated into websites to enable real time communication. It boosts user engagement and allows you to establish a connection with your intended audience by interacting with them. 

Conclusion

Thankfully, there are many powerful live streaming chat tools available that offer business tools, exceptional customer service and other advanced features for broadcasters. On top of a high-quality chat tool, you may also need to host and deliver your live streaming with on-demand video content.

If this is the case, consider Dacast. With Dacast, you get the benefit of video and chat tools on one live streaming platform. What’s more, Dacast has a solid reputation for providing fantastic customer experience with a hands-on support team.

Consider trying Dacast for free today. We offer a 14-day risk-free trial so you can test all of its features for yourself.

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If you are using a different chat platform that you like, please feel free to mention it below. We will test it out and add it to the list.

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