Which is the Best Social Network for Live Video - Facebook, X, YouTube or Instagram?

It’s official: live video is everywhere on social media. First Youtube, then Facebook, then Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) - three of the biggest social networks on the planet now offer you fully-integrated options for broadcasting live!

‍But which network should you be using for YOUR live broadcasts? All of them? None of them? (Hey, it’s not for everyone!)

Going live is enough of an adventure without also having to figure out all of the differences between social networks - so we’re taking care of that part for you!‍

What makes live broadcasting different on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X?

‍Let’s take a closer look at the details!

Facebook

Details:

• Launched April 2016 (Wide release)
• Via mobile or desktop
• 4-hour limit
• Saves and posts videos automatically after broadcast (but Facebook may remove older live videos)

Pros:

With some users gaining access as early as 2015, Facebook live has been around the longest - and that means more time to work out the kinks and add new features.

(You can target specific types of people for your audience, for example - handy for making every view count.)

‍Facebook also explicitly encourages live broadcasts, going so far as to give them priority placement in the News Feed. Between 2015 and 2016, the average number of shares for Facebook videos doubled, so all those extra viewers can mean lots more visibility for your page!

The fact that Facebook automatically saves broadcasts to your page or profile after they end may also be a huge draw for marketers and businesses in particular - you’ll reach a much wider swath of your audience if you don’t limit your viewers to people who can watch during a live broadcast!

(Case in point: BuzzFeed’s infamous watermelon explosion video doubled its views in the three days after it initially broadcasted.)

Boom is right.

Cons:

While Facebook’s live broadcasting offers the most horsepower, its robust array of features may be intimidating for first-timers. While features like audience refining are optional, they represent a bit of a learning curve.

Facebook also doesn’t give you the same power to moderate comments as other social networks - though you can hide them to tidy up your broadcast. There are streaming studio options for desktops and advanced streaming (e.g., Facebook Live Producer).

Plus, you can also repurpose your live streams into short-form video Reels! However, despite automatically saving your live videos and giving you tools to repurpose, since 2025, Facebook is deleting live videos automatically after automatically deleted after 30 days. So don't forget to save your live videos before that!

Verdict:

Much like the rest of Facebook, this network’s live broadcasting feature is accessible enough for beginners, but a technical powerhouse for advanced users and marketers.

It may seem intimidating at first, and may even lack a few bits and bobs that would come in handy, but Facebook live’s head start and deep well of features make it tough to beat. The producres tool's such as convert live into Reels, is a great advantage and helps you maximize the lifespan and reach of your content.

‍That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the right fit for everyone, though - so let’s take a look at what makes others stand apart! (And what may make the latter even more appealing for certain marketers than Facebook…)

Instagram

Details:

• Launched November 2016
• Via mobile or desktop
• 1-hour limit
• Broadcast dedicated tab (IGTV) has been removed from profiles.
• Lives can be saved as Reels OR they may disappear if not shared.

Pros:

Instagram is kind of a divisive network when it comes to marketing. Ultimately, its usefulness depends on your type of business and your style of social media marketing - and this is especially true when it comes to live broadcasting.

‍Instagram’s biggest advantage here - and arguably, one of its biggest disadvantages - is that this network as a whole functions differently from Facebook and Twitter. (And that means marketing yourself here functions differently, too.)

Other social networks are traffic-drivers, sure - but for the Instagram-savvy, traffic isn’t the only thing that matters.

Look at an entrepreneur like Jess Rona, whose stylistic dog grooming videos have earned her 115k+ followers on Instagram. On Facebook? About 5100.Different type of business, different type of audience, different set of expectations.

Instagram live broadcasting may seem superfluous to businesses and marketers without much stake in this network already, but for those who rely on Instagram for the majority of their social presence, it’s the ideal solution.

‍(Not to mention that you can turn off commenting from viewers during your broadcasts, or filter out comments that include certain words or phrases. Trolls, begone.)

After live ends, Instagram gives an option to share the video to Reels.

Cons:

Again, Instagram’s biggest advantage in this three-way race may also be its biggest disadvantage - this social network just wasn’t built for marketing.

‍Live broadcasting is noticeably less robust here, and won’t do much to make Instagram a game-changer for anyone skeptical about its usefulness in their marketing. A few years ago, Instagram was a top choice for live with it's IGTV feature, which offered a dedicated tab on each user profile only for broadcasts. Now this feature is gone and the focus has been shifted to short-videos.

Not only that, but Instagram is the only one of these three networks that doesn’t allow you to save your broadcasts. Once you end transmission, that video is gone for good - unless you choose to save as Reels. If saved, Live videos convert to Reels.

Verdict:

Instagrammers deserve an option for broadcasting live as much as anyone - and given the network’s existing options for balancing regular posts with ephemeral content, the decision to make live videos disappear actually makes sense.

Ultimately, though, Instagram’s live broadcasting is an esoteric tool on an esoteric network - it’ll suit the people for whom it was made, but if Instagram isn’t already a big part of your marketing, this probably won’t change your mind.

X (formerly Twitter)

Details:

• Launched December 2016
• Via mobile only (or via Meta Studio for verified subscribers only)
• No time limit (restrictions may apply.
• Saves broadcasts automatically (with options)
  ‍

Pros:

This last one is a little complicated - mostly because X (formerly Twitter) has kind of offered live broadcasting for a long time.

Way back in early 2015, Twitter bought the livestreaming app Periscope. While you could connect the two to share your Periscope streams via Twitter, it wasn’t exactly a built-in solution - you needed to have accounts with both services, and you did most of the work in Periscope, not Twitter.

(The whole thing worked kind of like Vine, which Twitter also owned - and had a similarly difficult time integrating.)

Since then, a lot of changes happened, including Twitter being acquired and transform in X.

The good news is, bow you can #GoLive on X!

Now you can broadcast live straight from X, and without having to go through the trouble of managing a separate Periscope account or using a third-party tool.

When a broadcast ends, X automatically makes the video available for replay in the same tweet that hosted the live version, but also gives you the option to delete the broadcast or to save it to your device - perfect if you want to upload and share it again later.

Cons:

While X streaming can be a bit confusing for beginners - particularly when it comes to allowed behaviors, or your actions on one network affecting (or not affecting) the other network.

But the biggest con is that some live features, advanced tools, and longer durations may be limited to paid subscribers.

Specially the X Meta Studio, which is a robust producer tool for livestream but is only available for verified subscribers.

Verdict:

For Twitter fans, Xs live video feature should be both comfortingly familiar and exciting - it allows you to seamlessly connect with your audiences!

For everyone else, this is still an option worth learning and understanding - even if it means broadening your horizons regarding a social network you might not have tried in the past.

‍

YouTube

Details:

• Desktop & mobile
• Unlimited length (subject to certain eligibility and settings).
• Streams automatically saved on your channel.

Pros:

YouTube is the original giant of online video, and its live broadcasting tools are some of the most established and robust on the internet.

Unlike other social platforms where live video is often treated as temporary or secondary, YouTube is built entirely around long-form video content - which makes live streaming feel like a natural extension rather than an add-on.

One of YouTube Live’s biggest advantages is discoverability. Live broadcasts can show up in search results, recommendations, and even continue generating views long after the stream ends.

YouTube also automatically archives your live video as a replay on your channel (unless you choose otherwise), which makes it an excellent option for creators and businesses who want their live content to have a long shelf life.

Not to mention, YouTube offers many advanced features.

Cons:

Because YouTube is such a video-first platform, the expectations for live content can be higher.

Audiences often anticipate better audio, stronger visuals, or more structured programming compared to the casual, spontaneous style that works well on Instagram or Facebook.

YouTube Live also comes with more setup requirements, especially for first-time streamers, including:

• Channel verification
• Streaming enablement delays
• More technical broadcasting tools

And while the platform offers incredible reach, it’s also a competitive space — meaning it may take time to build an audience that consistently shows up live.

Verdict:

YouTube Live is the best choice for creators and businesses who want their live broadcasts to become evergreen content: searchable, replayable, and valuable long after the stream ends.

If your goal is to host webinars, tutorials, interviews, or long-form live events that continue working for you over time, YouTube provides the most powerful long-term home for live video.