This is an unofficial guide. The official OBS site is obsproject.com.
What OBS Studio can do
OBS Studio features on Windows
- Live streaming
- Stream to Twitch, YouTube, X, Kick and any RTMP destination.
- Recording
- Record to MP4, MKV, MOV and other formats locally.
- Virtual camera
- Use OBS as a webcam source in Zoom, Teams, Discord and other apps.
- Scenes
- Combine video sources, images, text and browser windows into scenes.
- Filters
- Apply effects, noise suppression, chroma key and LUTs to sources.
- Plugins
- Extend with free plugins: NDI, Move Transition, obs-virtualcam and more.
All guides
OBS Studio Windows guides
| Guide | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Download guide | Latest Windows installer |
| Install guide | Step-by-step setup |
| System requirements | Minimum and recommended specs |
| Windows 11 | Windows 11 specific setup |
| Best settings | Output, encoder, bitrate |
| Streaming settings | Twitch, YouTube, bitrate |
| Recording settings | MP4, MKV, CQP quality |
| Audio setup | Microphone, desktop audio |
| Scenes & sources | Build your layout |
| Game capture | Capture games on Windows |
| Virtual camera | OBS as webcam in Zoom |
| Plugins | Best OBS plugins |
| Troubleshooting | Fix errors |
| Black screen fix | Fix black capture |
| Not recording | Fix recording failures |
| Low-end PC | Optimise for weak hardware |
| OBS vs Streamlabs | Compare streaming apps |
| Update guide | Update to latest version |
| FAQ | Common questions |
FAQ
Quick answers
Is OBS Studio free?
Yes. OBS Studio is completely free and open source under the GPL licence. There are no watermarks, no recording time limits and no paid tiers. All features including streaming, recording, virtual camera and plugins are free.
OBS Studio vs Streamlabs — which is better?
OBS Studio is lighter and more stable. Streamlabs Desktop has a more beginner-friendly interface and built-in overlays. For performance and reliability, OBS Studio is preferred by most streamers. See the full comparison.