Google Live Stream API
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
- Information technology and software
- Media and communications
- Public sector and nonprofit organizations
What is Google Live Stream API
Developer-first live streaming control
Cloud scalability and reliability
Integration with Google Cloud ecosystem
Not an end-user streaming studio
Engineering and DevOps required
Cost and complexity can vary
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go (hourly rates by resource, resolution, codec, and region)
Free tier/trial: No always-free product tier for Live Stream API; new Google Cloud accounts can start with $300 free credit (account-level) for initial evaluation.
Billing notes / minimums: 10-minute minimum charge per active channel (duration rounded up to the nearest minute beyond the 10-minute minimum). Distribution endpoints are charged hourly from StartDistribution to StopDistribution/StopChannel.
Core rates (example region: North America — Iowa/us-central1)
- Input pricing (per hour): H.264 SD $0.07; H.264 HD $0.14; H.264 UHD $0.85. H.265 SD $0.28; H.265 HD $0.42; H.265 UHD $1.70.
- Output pricing (per hour): H.264 SD $0.22; H.264 HD $0.45; H.264 UHD $1.50. H.265 SD $0.88; H.265 HD $1.35; H.265 UHD $3.00.
- Distribution endpoint: $0.75 per hour (hourly fee per endpoint).
- Auto-captioning and auto-translation: $0.75 per minute (per unique auto-generated text output language).
Regional variability: Rates vary by region (tables on the official pricing page list rates for North America, Asia, Australia, and more). Example: Los Angeles (us-west2) shows higher rates (e.g., input H.264 SD $0.10/hr, output H.264 UHD $2.10/hr) — consult region table.
Examples provided on official page: Several worked examples (per-hour and per-minute totals) and a sample 10-minute minimum calculation are provided on the official pricing page.
Discounts / commitments: Pay-as-you-go; contact sales for custom quotes. No on-page mention of committed-use discounts specific to Live Stream API (use general Google Cloud discounts/commitments where applicable).
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