Guide

NONSTOPVOD vs Upstream: Which Fits a 24/7 Twitch Channel?

By NONSTOPVOD · Updated 2026-10-22

If you are looking at Upstream, you probably want a channel that streams around the clock without your PC. The two services start from different places. Upstream describes itself as “cloud-based live streaming software for multistreaming to up to 10 of 30+ supported platforms at once”¹²: a general streaming service that takes any source and sends it to any platform, and can also loop uploaded files. NONSTOPVOD is built for Twitch: your Twitch VODs go in, a Twitch rerun channel comes out, and the Twitch specifics are handled for you. This guide lays the two side by side and says where each one is the better fit.

Upstream’s details were checked on 2026-10-22 from its public pages, listed under the table. Each Upstream statement below carries a number that points to the page it came from. Where Upstream’s site says nothing, the table shows a dash, meaning “not stated on Upstream’s site”. Prices were checked on 2026-10-22 and can change: see the NONSTOPVOD pricing page and Upstream’s pricing page⁷ for the current figures.

What it costs for a 24/7 Twitch channel

NONSTOPVOD costs EUR 60 a month with 1 TB of archive storage included, and EUR 8 a month for each additional 250 GB (see the pricing page). At 1080p 60 fps for one stream, Upstream costs $40 a month with 50 GB of storage included and $10 for each additional 100 GB^11,8. Upstream’s blog calls 1080p 60 fps “the top setting in Twitch’s Broadcasting Guidelines”¹¹, which is why that is the setting compared here. Each side is in its own currency, euros for NONSTOPVOD and US dollars for Upstream, and nothing is converted.

What decides the bill is how much video you keep. The table shows the monthly cost for four archive sizes, with Upstream’s extra storage rounded up to whole 100 GB blocks above its 50 GB and 1 TB counted as 1,000 GB.

How many hours is that? At 6.16 Mbps (6 Mbps video plus audio), our storage guide works out about 361 hours of VODs per terabyte before overhead, so 1 TB is roughly 360 hours and 2 TB roughly 720. With automatic cleanup, which is on for a new channel, the included 1 TB keeps your newest VODs and you never have to buy more; the price calculator shows both ways. The prices do not cover the same things: Upstream’s includes its live tools, and NONSTOPVOD’s includes the archive and the Twitch-specific handling in the table below. Prices were checked on 2026-10-22 and can change.

Side by side

A check means yes, Add-on means a paid add-on, Partly means partly, and a dash means not stated on Upstream’s site. Numbers point to the Upstream pages listed below.

1. upstream.so/24-7-live-streaming/, checked 2026-10-22
2. upstream.so/pre-recorded-live-streaming/, checked 2026-10-22
3. upstream.so/faq/, checked 2026-10-22
4. upstream.so/live-streaming-faq/, checked 2026-10-22
5. upstream.so/live-streaming-limits/, checked 2026-10-22
6. upstream.so/team-access/, checked 2026-10-22
7. upstream.so/pricing/, checked 2026-10-22
8. upstream.so/pricing/, plan selector, one stream at 1080p 60 fps, checked 2026-10-22
9. upstream.so/live-stream-overlays/, checked 2026-10-22
10. upstream.so/live-studio/, checked 2026-10-22
11. upstream.so/blog/24-7-twitch-stream/, Upstream’s blog post on streaming 24/7 on Twitch, checked 2026-10-22
12. upstream.so/, Upstream’s home page, checked 2026-10-22

The details behind the marks

What Upstream’s pages say on the rows above, in plain words:

• It plays uploaded video, images and audio^1,2, in playlists that loop ordered or shuffled and can be edited while live¹.
• Its stream recordings are included, with no retention period stated, and Twitch appears there as a destination³. It streams to the channel you connect and does not discuss labeling reruns⁴.
• It reconnects on a 48 hour timer. Its page says to expect a new session and a playback interruption⁵.
• Team access has three roles, View only, Moderator and Manager, with no cap on team size⁶.
• It has a free plan with no card and a monthly allowance of streaming hours⁷: 24 streaming hours a month at 1080p 30 fps¹¹.
• Its Stream Designer, with a browser element, is on every plan⁹.

What NONSTOPVOD is built for

Where Upstream is a general streaming service for any source and any platform, NONSTOPVOD does one job for Twitch: it keeps a permanent copy of your Twitch VODs, which Twitch deletes after 7, 14 or 60 days depending on your account, and builds a 24/7 rerun channel from them. The video is copied as Twitch recorded it, without re-encoding, so the picture on the rerun channel is Twitch’s own. Around that copy it handles the parts specific to Twitch reruns: parts Twitch muted are filled with a track you chose or skipped, the 48 hour broadcast limit is handled between two VODs where it can be, titles and categories follow the VOD that is playing, and viewers get a schedule page, chat commands and a panel on your channel.

Upstream’s own blog advises, for reruns of your own streams, to “Download VODs before Twitch deletes them”¹¹. That is a manual step, and it is the one NONSTOPVOD removes: with automatic archiving on, each new VOD is copied for you, 1:1, and kept while your plan runs.

In detail: uploaded files are converted to the channel’s format on request. Each new VOD is archived once automatic archiving is on, and older VODs come in by hand or with the history switch. Groups of VODs play in order. At the 48 hour limit the stream restarts between two VODs, and a VOD that has to be cut resumes where it stopped. Muted ranges are filled with your track or skipped. When nothing plays, the stream shows a pause screen or the last frame, and while your main channel is live it can show your own image or video and then pick up where it left off. Chat has built-in and custom commands, the !mine chat game, raids and recurring shoutouts. The public schedule page can also run on your own domain as a paid add-on, and the Twitch panel extension shows what is playing now, what is upcoming, recent VODs, the commands and the vote. Viewers vote on what plays next on the schedule page and in the panel, and can take a vote back. You can invite your whole team at no extra cost, and Browser Sources, up to three web pages over the stream, is a paid add-on.

Which one fits

• Choose NONSTOPVOD when the channel is your own Twitch VODs and you want the archive, muted audio handled, the 48 hour limit handled and the viewer side (schedule page, panel, vote) in one place.
• Choose Upstream when you stream from many sources, want a live studio with guests¹⁰ or overlays on the base plan⁹, which is not something you need for a 24/7 replay channel and is more suited to a live stream, or send one stream to many platforms⁷. A replay channel on Twitch has just that one destination, so this matters only if you also stream elsewhere.
• NONSTOPVOD can also send the stream it makes to YouTube, Kick, Facebook or any RTMP server, as a paid add-on per destination.

For the wider question of running a live setup against a replay channel, see remote OBS vs a replay service, and for what needs no encoder at all, stream without OBS.

Trying it

The free test mode needs no credit card and runs 30-minute replay sessions on the channel you connect. Plans, add-ons and a storage calculator are on the pricing page.

Common questions

Is NONSTOPVOD a replacement for Upstream?

Only for one use. If what you need is a Twitch channel that replays your own VODs, it can be. If you need a live studio, guests, many platforms at once or an API that controls the stream, Upstream covers that and NONSTOPVOD does not.

How does each one handle Twitch’s 48 hour limit?

Upstream’s blog says “When a broadcast reaches 48 hours, Twitch ends it”¹¹, and its limits page says it reconnects on a 48 hour timer, which can start a new session and interrupt playback⁵. NONSTOPVOD checks at the moment a VOD finishes: if the next VOD would not fit before 47 hours 50 minutes of the broadcast, it restarts the stream first, so the restart falls between two VODs. A VOD too long to fit in any broadcast is cut at the limit and resumes where it stopped in the next one.

What do the free plans give me?

NONSTOPVOD’s test mode needs no credit card and gives 30-minute replay sessions, 1 VOD import and 50 GB of storage. Upstream’s free plan gives 24 streaming hours a month at 1080p 30 fps¹¹, with no card required⁷. A 24/7 month is about 720 hours, so on either side the free plan is for trying the service before you pay, not for running a channel.

Can I keep my VODs if Twitch deletes them?

With NONSTOPVOD, yes: each VOD is copied 1:1 and kept while your plan runs. Upstream’s site says stream recordings are included but does not state how long they are kept (Upstream’s FAQ page³).

Do muted parts stay silent?

Not on NONSTOPVOD: a Twitch-muted range is filled with a track you chose, or the range is skipped. Upstream’s site does not state how it treats muted VOD audio.

Does a 24/7 replay count as a rerun?

On NONSTOPVOD the replay runs on a separate channel and the titles identify reruns, which is the setup described in how to rerun Twitch streams on a second channel. Upstream’s FAQ says it streams to the channel you connect and does not discuss labeling reruns (Upstream’s live streaming FAQ page⁴). Check Twitch’s current rules for your own case.