Free software for live production: OBS, Companion, CasparCG

By James Jones, founder of Granary Digital · Updated 5 November 2026

The free tools worth having for live production are OBS Studio for switching and streaming, Bitfocus Companion for control, CasparCG for graphics and playout, Ontime for timings, QPrompt for the autocue and Wireshark for network faults. All are free to download and use. "Free" here means no licence fee. It does not mean no cost: you pay in setup time, testing and the lack of a helpdesk when something breaks in the middle of a show.

The list below is a short one on purpose. Every tool on it does one job and does it well enough to use on a paid event, provided you have tested it on the machine and network you will use on the day.

At a glance

Switching and streaming

OBS Studio is where most people start, and for one camera and a laptop it is hard to beat. It describes itself as free and open source software for video recording and live streaming. You build scenes from sources such as cameras, capture cards, windows, images and browser pages, switch between them, and send the result to a streaming service or a file. It also has an audio mixer, a Studio Mode for lining up the next scene before it goes out, and plugins.

DistroAV, formerly called OBS-NDI, is the plugin that lets OBS receive and send video over a network using NDI. It needs a recent version of OBS and the NDI Runtime installed separately, so read its page before the day. If your cameras or a second computer already send NDI, this is how OBS picks them up. Our short guide to NDI, SDI or HDMI explains when that connection makes sense.

Where OBS gets stretched is in how many jobs one operator can do at once. Graphics, remote guests and replays all mean more plugins or more software, and each one is another thing to test. When the list grows, that is the point to look at vMix and ATEM. One ATEM detail worth knowing: its control software, ATEM Software Control, is free for Mac and Windows, but it only controls ATEM hardware, so it is not a replacement for OBS.

Control

Bitfocus Companion turns a Stream Deck, or a web page on a tablet, into a control surface for a wide range of equipment. Its makers say it will always stay free, open source and community driven. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, includes a Stream Deck emulator, and can be triggered over OSC, HTTP, WebSocket and other protocols. Before you build a show around it, check that a module exists for the exact gear you use. A well set up Companion page gives a nervous operator a row of big, labelled buttons instead of a menu.

Graphics and playout

CasparCG is broadcast playout software that has run in 24/7 production since 2006. It is a layer based compositor that sends graphics, audio and video to several outputs, and all the code is available under the GPL with no licence fees. It runs on Windows and Linux. Honestly, it is a tool for people who are comfortable with a command line and a separate operator interface. If you need lower thirds and a clock and you have an afternoon to learn it, it is capable. If you have to build a graphics package tomorrow, you will move faster with something with a screen of buttons.

Timing

Ontime is a free, open source rundown and event timing tool. The rundown is the single plan, and the stage timers, backstage displays and countdown views are all generated from it, so one change updates every screen. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Docker, and it has a Companion module. Paid cloud plans exist, which help fund the project, but the self-hosted version is free. Pair it with a live event run sheet and everybody in the building looks at the same time.

Autocue

QPrompt is a free, open source teleprompter app for Linux, macOS and Windows. It prompts to more than one screen, and you can map shortcuts to a presentation clicker for hands-free scrolling. For a speaker who reads, it is enough for a small event. For anything with a camera-mounted prompter and a dedicated operator, you will want proper hardware.

Network faults

Wireshark is an open source network protocol analyser, free under the GPL, for Windows, macOS, Linux and others. It shows you what is on the wire, which is the fastest way to find out why a device cannot see another one on the same network. It is not a tool for beginners, but a good engineer will thank you for having it installed.

When to stop using free software

Free is a good place to start and a good place to learn. It stops being the right answer when:

• the show earns money or reputation, and a failure costs more than a licence
• you need support from a person at the other end of the phone
• the setup depends on one volunteer who understands it
• you cannot rehearse on the real machine and the real network

A sensible plan for any paid job is one free tool in the chain that you know inside out and one fallback that does not depend on it. If you would rather hand the whole chain to a crew, our event AV production page covers live events and streaming. The five things that actually go wrong are the same whether the software is free or paid.

Sources

• OBS Project, OBS Studio, read 5 November 2026
• Bitfocus, Companion, read 5 November 2026
• CasparCG, read 5 November 2026
• Ontime, read 5 November 2026
• QPrompt, read 5 November 2026
• Wireshark, read 5 November 2026
• DistroAV, NDI integration for OBS Studio (GitHub), read 5 November 2026
• Blackmagic Design, ATEM Constellation and the ATEM family, read 5 November 2026

Related guides

• Vision mixing basics: ATEM and vMix
• Streaming bitrate and bandwidth calculator
• Live event run sheet template, and how to fill it
• Latency and sync test file: how to use it
• NDI, SDI or HDMI: which to use and when
• All guides and tools

The picture at the top of this page is an illustration, not a photograph of a client or a real job.