Dacast vs Opencast
Dacast
dacast.com
Opencast
opencast.orgSide by side
| Figure | Dacast | Opencast |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $29/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 2 |
| Spec score · Video Hosting Platforms | 8.5 (#12) | 8.7 (#4) |
| Spec score · Video CMS Software | 8.6 (#3) | 8.7 (#2) |
| Founded | 2008 | 2007 |
| Security | Dacast describes HTTPS delivery, AES encryption, tokenized security, password protection, and domain, geographic, and IP restrictions. | Opencast supports access control and signed media URLs that expire after a configured period, usually one hour depending on server configuration. |
Plans
Dacast
- Starter$29 a month
- Event$99 a month
- Scale$199 a month
- Starter$468 a year
- Event$756 a year
- Scale$1,980 a year
- CustomPriced on request
In their own words
Dacast
Dacast is a paid platform for live streaming, on-demand video hosting, and video monetization. It runs on Android, iOS, the web, and through an API. Plans provide live streaming, RTMP and HLS channels, live transcoding, and an embeddable HTML5 player that supports customization and mobile devices. The Event plan adds a paywall and pre-, mid-, and post-roll advertising. Dacast lists integrations for OBS Studio, Wirecast, vMix, StreamYard, and RTMP/SRT-compatible encoders. RESTful JSON API access on Scale and Custom covers live channels, VOD, playlists, uploads, embed codes, and analytics. iOS and Android SDKs support player embedding in mobile apps, while PHP and Node.js SDKs support server integrations. Security controls include HTTPS delivery, AES encryption, tokenized security, password protection, and domain, geographic, and IP restrictions. Pricing starts at $29/mo with a 14-day trial; there is no free plan.
Opencast
Opencast is a free, open-source video management system for academic institutions, designed to capture and distribute video at scale. Administrators can schedule recordings and live streams, with classroom recording also possible depending on hardware. Opencast Studio captures video in a browser without requiring an Opencast installation. Configurable workflows can generate captions, add branding and thumbnails, and deliver media at chosen resolutions and bitrates. The integrated editor handles multiple streams, subtitles, and cover thumbnails. Fine-grained permissions control viewing and editing; learning platform integrations can provide single sign-on and video delivery. Opencast uses the Paella Player by default, while the separate Tobira portal can keep videos online during Opencast maintenance. Integrations include Brightspace, Canvas, ILIAS, Moodle, Sakai, Stud.IP, BigBlueButton, Zoom recording, Matomo, WordPress, Whisper, and YouTube. It runs on one Linux server or can scale across distributed Linux servers. Demo instances are available to explore the administrative interface and portal.