Dacast Pricing (2026): Plans, Costs, and What You Actually Pay

What does Dacast cost per month?

Dacast’s current plan cards show Starter at $39 per month, Event at $63, and Scale at $165, each described as billed annually. Custom is not publicly priced. These figures were fetched from the official live-streaming pricing page on September 3, 2026. They replace the older $29, $99, and $199 figures previously displayed elsewhere on that page and in this site’s earlier table.

Dacast does not offer a permanent free tier. It advertises a 14-day trial without a credit card. A trial can validate an encoder, player, stream, replay, and analytics workflow, but a real broadcast needs a paid plan with enough delivery and storage.

The billing model is mixed because a plan contains allowances while bandwidth, storage, extra users, add-ons, and overages can vary. The monthly-looking headline is tied to annual billing on the current cards. Confirm the full term and charge before purchase.

What does each Dacast plan include?

Starter is positioned for smaller audiences. The current card shows 2.4 TB of annual bandwidth and 500 GB of storage, with live channels, transcoding, browser or mobile streaming, simulcasting, video hosting, Google Drive bulk upload, restrictions, analytics, and support. The card says multi-CDN and China live or on-demand delivery are not supported there.

Event is positioned for occasional broadcasts. Its card shows 6 TB upfront and 250 GB storage. It adds live monitoring, availability scheduling, a countdown, paywall capability, and advertising positions. Multi-CDN and China delivery are described as paid add-ons, so neither should be assumed inside $63.

Scale is positioned for business and organizational video. Its card shows 24 TB per year and 2,000 GB storage, plus unlimited channels, chapter markers, DRM and AES positions for on-demand video, library management, three team members, player CNAME, and phone support. Custom adds negotiated scale, support, service levels, migrations, integrations, events, and five users in the displayed description.

Which Dacast pricing plan fits whom?

Starter fits a modest recurring stream or on-demand library when its delivery allowance and regional limitations are acceptable. Event fits a business running one-time or occasional ticketed, sponsored, or scheduled productions. Scale fits an ongoing broadcaster that needs more channels, storage, management, protection, and support.

Custom is the correct route when a forecast exceeds the public packages or when contract requirements matter. Large events, special regions, integrations, migration work, formal service levels, or unusual monetization can all justify negotiation.

Plan names do not replace capacity math. Estimate total viewer hours, average delivered bitrate, replay viewing, stored masters, recordings, and operational users. Then compare the result with the current allowance and overage policy.

What hidden and variable Dacast costs should you model?

Bandwidth is the central variable. The current page’s calculator explains that viewing frequency, people, minutes, storage, and average bitrate determine data needs. It also displays overage references of $0.30 per GB for data and $0.15 per GB for storage. Confirm those rates in the actual checkout or agreement because page components and account terms can differ.

Add-ons matter. The plan cards state that multi-CDN and China live or on-demand service can require an additional charge on applicable plans. Extra team users are referenced at $10 per user per month in the fetched page. Paywall transactions, advertising implementation, support needs, encoding, production, and integrations can add business costs even when they are not line items on the hosting invoice.

Annual commitment is another cost. The current headline amounts are billed annually. Event bandwidth expiration, monthly versus prepaid use, cancellation timing, and overage protection should be confirmed before a date-specific production.

What would a realistic Dacast month cost?

Assume a business runs one two-hour webinar replay package, expects approximately 2,000 viewers, and keeps 20 on-demand recordings. Event is the page’s occasional-event position, so $63 per month billed annually is the visible subscription starting point. That does not establish the final cost. Two thousand viewers watching different portions at different bitrates can consume very different delivery totals.

For a smaller recurring stream, Starter begins at $39 per month billed annually. If the operator needs one additional working user beyond the included arrangement, the fetched page references $10 monthly for an added user. A simple starting calculation could therefore be $49 before overages, add-ons, tax, or production costs.

These scenarios state assumptions rather than predicting an invoice. Use Dacast’s calculator with the actual viewing duration, bitrate, storage, and frequency, then save the result alongside the contract.

Is Dacast worth the price?

Dacast is worth considering when live streaming, OTT delivery, paywalls, or advertising are the main job. Its 8.5/10 score reflects specialist capability and a visible self-serve path. The platform is not automatically inexpensive at scale because delivery economics remain workload-dependent.

The decision rule is to select from capacity and operational features, not the lowest headline. Choose Event for an occasional-event workflow, Scale for a recurring larger operation, and Custom when the forecast or contract goes beyond the public boxes.

Which cheaper and comparable Dacast alternatives should you consider?

Vimeo offers Advanced at $75 per seat for hosted events inside a creative workflow. JW Player is a developer and publisher platform whose paid pricing is not exposed. Brightcove is an enterprise video option with flexible custom pricing. Bunny Stream begins from a small usage-based minimum but does not replace Dacast’s packaged event and paywall workflow.

Read Dacast vs Vimeo for the live-versus-creative decision and the full Dacast review for the broader verdict.