Funeral Livestream Platforms Compared
Choosing where to stream is the first practical decision after deciding to stream at all. The platforms split into three groups: systems already installed in venues, specialist providers who come to the venue (or hand the family a private app), and DIY routes on platforms most families already use. This guide walks each option country by country, with the trade-offs that actually matter on the day.
How to read this comparison
There is no single best platform. The right choice depends on three things: where the service is being held, which country you are in, and whether your family expects to receive a link, an app download, or a phone-friendly invitation. The funeral home will often have a strong opinion based on what they are already set up for, and that opinion is usually worth following.
This page is organised around the three routes most families choose between: a system already installed in the venue (most UK and some North American crematoria), a specialist provider who brings their own kit (the dominant model in the US, growing fast in Australia and Europe), or a do-it-yourself stream on a platform you may already use. Prices below are typical at the time of writing; ask the provider for the current figure and what is included.
Specialist livestreaming providers
Specialist providers focus exclusively or primarily on the funeral industry. They handle the things general streaming platforms do not — music licensing, private branded landing pages, longer recording retention, and (for some) hands-on operators who arrive with the equipment.
Provider-by-provider
Each entry covers what the platform is best at, who it serves geographically, how it is paid for, and where it sits in the picker.
- OneRoom — USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Funeral-home favourite originating from Australasia. The funeral director schedules the service on a desktop portal, then streams from a phone or tablet using the OneRoom app. Password-protected pages, 90-day recording retention, integration with major US funeral-home software. Pricing is per-service through the funeral home (rarely sold direct to families). Best for: families whose funeral director is already on OneRoom.
- TribuCast — USA, Canada. Differentiates by giving every service a customisable private webpage with the stream plus photos, programmes, obituary, tribute video, and donation links. The "remote attendance system" framing pushes beyond stream-only. Typically $150–$300 USD per service through a funeral home. Best for: families who want the live stream and a small memorial site bundled into one page.
- EventLive — USA, UK, Australia, Canada. Mobile-first. The funeral home (or family) streams from a phone or tablet using a one-tap app; viewers get a link, no app download needed. Pay-per-service from around £19–£45 (US/UK equivalents similar) or annual unlimited from around £116/month. Recording retention from one month to ten years depending on plan. Best for: families wanting a simple, low-friction stream they can run themselves if they need to.
- FuneralOne — USA. One of the older US funeral-tech vendors. Livestreaming is part of a broader product (digital guest books, tribute videos, memorial websites). Sold to funeral homes; charges to families vary, often $0–$300. Best for: families whose funeral home already uses FuneralOne for the wider memorial experience.
- Gather — USA-focused. Funeral-home software with a bundled livestream camera kit and push-button workflow. Heavy integration with case management — every stream auto-records to the family's remembrance page. Funeral home pays a subscription plus hardware; families pay nothing directly. Best for: families whose funeral home runs on Gather.
- Funeral.Stream — international, funeral-director-built. Branded as built by funeral directors for funeral directors. Sold to funeral homes globally. Pricing through the home. Best for: smaller and independent funeral homes outside the major US/UK ecosystems.
- Obitus — UK-dominant, also Ireland and parts of Europe. Pre-installed in around half of UK crematoria. The chapel cameras and microphones are already mounted; the funeral director schedules the stream; the family receives a link. Typically £70–£90 in the chapel's fee. 28-day recording retention; longer with extras. Best for: any UK crematorium service where the chapel has Obitus installed.
- Wesley Media — UK. The other dominant UK crematorium system. Same shape as Obitus: pre-installed equipment, link to the family, recording held for around 28 days. Best for: any UK crematorium service where Wesley Media is the venue's system. (Crematoria typically use one or the other.)
Venue-installed systems — by region
Some venues are wired for streaming and some are not. This is the largest source of regional variation, and the answer often determines whether you need a specialist provider at all.
United Kingdom. Almost every modern crematorium chapel is wired for streaming, split roughly between Obitus and Wesley Media. The funeral director will know which one your chosen venue uses. Older crematoria or non-crematorium venues (church, woodland burial site, family home) are usually not wired and need an external provider.
United States. Less centralised. Funeral homes increasingly own streaming kit through OneRoom, TribuCast, FuneralOne, or Gather, but it is per-home rather than per-venue. Ask the funeral home which platform they use before assuming anything is installed in the chapel itself.
Australia and New Zealand. Funeral homes typically arrange streaming directly, often through OneRoom (which originated in Australasia) or a regional provider. Larger urban funeral homes — Lamb & Hayward in Christchurch, Jason Morrison in Auckland, Gillions across Auckland — often have permanent installations in their own chapels. Outside metropolitan areas the picture is more mixed.
Canada. Mostly the US pattern — through the funeral home, OneRoom and TribuCast both common, EventLive growing.
Europe (excluding UK). Far less centralised. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy each have local providers; no single dominant platform yet. Ask the funeral director or the venue directly. EventLive and Funeral.Stream have some pan-European reach; OneRoom is expanding.
Ireland. Obitus has some installations; otherwise typically through the funeral director using one of the international providers.
DIY platforms — global
Specialist providers are excellent, but they cost money and require advance scheduling. For services held at home, at a small venue, or at very short notice, a do-it-yourself stream on a general platform is often the right call. The trade-offs are real — chiefly around music copyright and the technical comfort of whoever runs it on the day.
The five DIY platforms most families consider
Each entry covers what the platform handles well, where it falls short, and the practical caveats most likely to bite on the day.
- YouTube Live (free). Streams to any device with a browser; powerful and reliable; recording stays available indefinitely on the channel. Two caveats: (1) you need a verified Google account with no live-streaming restrictions, and on mobile a channel with 50+ subscribers; (2) YouTube's music-detection will mute or block streams containing copyrighted recordings — sometimes mid-service. Best for: services with mostly live or family-performed music; tech-comfortable family member as operator. Set the stream to "Unlisted" so only those with the link can watch.
- Facebook Live (free). Streams to a Facebook page, group, or personal profile. Privacy settings inherit from where you post — a private family group is genuinely private. Same music-detection caveats as YouTube. Recording stays on the post; families can delete it later. Best for: families who already share photos in a private Facebook group and have it set up.
- Zoom (free up to 40 minutes; paid otherwise). Strictly speaking a video-conferencing tool, but in webinar mode it is a credible one-way stream. No public discoverability; the meeting link is the only way in. Recording is straightforward and stays on the host's computer. The 40-minute limit on free Zoom is often the breaking point — most funeral services run longer. A one-month Pro subscription (~$15/£12) lifts that to 30 hours. Best for: small private services and intimate ceremonies where the family wants strict control over who joins.
- Vimeo Premium (paid, ~$75/month month-to-month or annual plans). More professional than YouTube, no ads, no algorithmic suggestions afterwards, and notably more forgiving of incidental music. Live streaming requires a Premium plan and a streaming app (Vimeo's own, OBS, or similar). Best for: families who want a polished private stream and are willing to invest in one month of subscription.
- Streamlabs, OBS, StreamYard, Restream (multi-destination broadcasters). Free or low-cost tools that take one camera feed and send it to multiple platforms at once (YouTube + Facebook + a private link, for example). Useful only when you have someone in the family who genuinely enjoys this kind of setup — they are not push-button tools. Best for: tech-confident family member running a service at home where the audience is spread across platforms.
How to choose — by situation
Match your situation to the most likely-right route, then check with the funeral director.
- UK crematorium service. Use whatever is installed (Obitus or Wesley Media). The funeral director arranges it for you. £70–£150 in the funeral home's overall fee. Almost no scenarios where another platform is a better choice for this case.
- US, Canada, or Australasia funeral home service. Ask the funeral home which platform they are contracted with. OneRoom, TribuCast, FuneralOne, EventLive, and Gather are all common. Their default will almost always be the right answer for you.
- Service at home, in a small church, or at a graveside. No installed system. Choose between a specialist provider with an on-site operator (FuneralStream-style, costs £200–£500 / $300–$700), or a DIY stream using a phone and a microphone (free, but needs a designated technician on the day).
- International family spread across many countries. Lean toward platforms that send a link rather than require an app download. EventLive, Obitus, and Wesley Media all fit. YouTube Live (Unlisted) works too. Avoid platforms that require sign-up or US-only accounts when half your viewers are not in the US.
- Music-heavy service with copyrighted recordings. Avoid YouTube Live and Facebook Live — both will mute the music live, sometimes for the whole service. Use a specialist provider whose plan includes webcasting music licensing, or use Vimeo Premium (more forgiving), or accept that recorded music will play on the speakers in the room but not be carried on the stream.
- Tiny private service for immediate family only. Zoom is sometimes enough. The link is private; the recording stays with the host; the format suits a small group. The 40-minute free cap is the only real watch-out — pay for a single month of Pro if the service might run longer.
- Very short notice (less than 48 hours). A DIY stream on a platform someone in the family already uses is almost always faster to set up than onboarding a new specialist provider. Get something working over polished.
Questions to ask any provider before signing
Quick checklist for the conversation with a funeral director or a specialist provider. The answers should be straightforward.
- How is the link delivered to attendees — is it open, unlisted, or password-protected?
- How long is the recording available afterwards, and what happens to it after that? Can the family pay to extend retention, download a copy, or have it deleted earlier on request?
- Does the service include music licensing (webcasting permission for recorded songs)? In the UK and US, ask about PRS / PPL / SoundExchange coverage.
- Who actually operates the camera on the day — funeral home staff, a specialist operator, or the family? If the family, what equipment is provided and what do they need to bring?
- What is the audio source — venue PA, a dedicated microphone on the celebrant, or the camera's built-in mic? (The camera's built-in mic is almost never enough.)
- Is there a chat or comments feature alongside the stream, and can the family turn it off?
- What is the contingency if the stream fails mid-service? Some providers will keep recording locally and supply the file afterwards.
- What does the page look like to viewers — is it branded for the funeral home, branded as the platform, or branded for the family? Is the deceased's name visible on the page, and can it be edited if you make a mistake?
- Is the recording downloadable as an MP4 / USB at the end, or only viewable through the provider's page? (This matters for long-term keeping.)
The grey area — recording retention, ownership, and deletion
The single most overlooked decision is what happens after the service. Most platforms keep the recording for 28 to 90 days by default; some keep it longer for an additional fee; a few will keep it indefinitely. Each of these has implications for the family that no one mentions on the day.
Ownership. Ask explicitly: does the recording belong to the family, the funeral home, or the platform? Most providers grant the family a non-exclusive licence to download and use it, but the master copy lives on the platform's servers. If the platform goes out of business, what happens to the recording is rarely well-defined in their terms.
Active deletion. If the family wants the recording taken down before its natural expiry — perhaps a guest in shot did not consent, perhaps the family is ready to close the chapter — most providers will do this on request, but the process is rarely documented in the upfront agreement. Ask for the deletion procedure when you sign up, not when you need it.
The long view. A funeral livestream is a 60- to 90-minute video that the family may want once a year (the anniversary), occasionally (when a child is old enough to want to see it), or never again. Plan for that arc. A Cherished Book memorial alongside the stream gives the family a place to keep the recording, the photos, and the written tributes together — past the point where the stream provider has expired the link.
How Cherished Book fits alongside any provider
The collaborative memorial sits naturally next to whichever streaming platform you choose. Not a replacement; a complement.
- Whichever provider the family uses for the stream, Cherished Book holds the photos, written tributes, and shared memories that the service draws on. Family contributes from wherever they are, in their own time, before and after the service.
- When the stream provider expires the recording (28 days for most UK crematorium systems, 90 days for most specialist providers), the memorial keeps going. Photos added on a Sunday, a memory written when something reminds you, notes for the anniversary — the book grows.
- A downloadable copy of the recording (where the provider permits) can be linked from the memorial, so it survives the provider's retention window.
- Answering a few short questions produces a respectful first draft of an obituary or eulogy that can be read during the streamed service and edited afterwards. Many families find it easier to refine something gentle than to start from scratch in grief.
- Nothing publishes without your review, and the memorial stays private to the circle you choose.
Last reviewed June 2026.
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