Castreon and Wowza Streaming Engine
Wowza Streaming Engine is a general-purpose streaming server, in use for a long time, extensible through Java modules and available on Linux, Windows, Docker and ARM. Castreon is made for live TV channels: DVB and network reception, transcoding and delivery, from the web panel.
Public information verified on October 23, 2026.
In short
- The Basic plan costs $195 per month per instance and includes up to 10 channels transcoded simultaneously; each additional channel costs $25.
- DVB reception does not appear in Wowza's public documentation.
- DRM is done through a partner's module, paid separately; AES-128 HLS comes without a complete key server.
- Wowza also runs on Windows and ARM and has a Java SDK for your own extensions.
Features, side by side
| Feature | Castreon | Wowza |
|---|---|---|
| Video transcoding | yes — CPU, NVIDIA, Intel Quick Sync, VA-API | yes — CPU, NVIDIA, Intel Quick Sync, Xilinx, NETINT |
| AV1 encoding | yes | not publicly documented |
| DVB reception (cards, SAT>IP) | DVB-C, DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-S, DVB-S2, plus SAT>IP, T2-MI and BISS | not publicly documented |
| 24/7 channels from files (playout) | yes — library, playlists, EPG (Pro); day-and-time schedule, live takeover, SCTE-35 (Enterprise) | via the StreamPublisher module, installed separately |
| RIST | input and output | not publicly documented |
| LL-HLS (low latency) | yes | yes |
| MPEG-DASH | yes | yes |
| WebRTC (playback) | yes (Enterprise) | yes |
| AES-128 encrypted HLS | yes, with a key server included, in all plans | yes, without a complete key server |
| DRM Widevine · PlayReady · FairPlay | yes, through your DRM provider (Enterprise) | through a partner's module, paid separately |
| SCTE-35 (ad breaks) | from live sources into HLS (Enterprise) | splice_insert only, through a module from GitHub |
| Backup source (failover) | yes, in all plans | not publicly documented |
| Several servers from one panel | yes — servers and channels from one panel, channel taken from another server (Enterprise) | yes — origin-edge and load balancing |
| Two-factor authentication in the panel | yes | not publicly documented |
| Audit log (who changed what) | yes | not publicly documented |
Prices, from the public price lists
Wowza Streaming Engine
- Basic: $195 per month, per instance (or $295 for a single month).
- 10 channels transcoded simultaneously included; $25 for each additional channel.
- 30-day trial, with a watermark on the transcoded image.
Castreon
Starter €25 · Pro €49 · Enterprise €99 — per server per month, plus VAT; 50 / 150 / unlimited channels; free 14-day trial, no card needed.
Pricing →Cost example: 1 server, 20 channels transcoded on the GPU, one month
- Castreon
- €49 (Pro: 150 channels, GPU transcoding)
- Wowza
- $445 ($195 with 10 channels included + 10 extra channels × $25)
Our calculation, from the list prices published by each vendor, without discounts and excluding VAT. Check the current price with the vendor before you decide.
When Wowza is the better choice
- You need Windows, ARM or Docker, or your own Java extensions.
- You are building a general-purpose streaming platform (events, VOD, apps) on Wowza infrastructure.
- You need transcoding on Xilinx or NETINT.
When Castreon is the better fit
- You transcode many TV channels on one server: with Castreon you do not pay per channel.
- You receive directly from DVB-C, DVB-T/T2 or DVB-S/S2 cards.
- You want AES-128 HLS with a key server included, RIST and AV1, and DRM in the Enterprise plan, without separate modules.
Sources
Public information verified on October 23, 2026.
- Pricing www.wowza.com
- Free trial www.wowza.com
- Technical specifications www.wowza.com
- Repeater streaming (origin-edge) www.wowza.com
- Schedule streaming (StreamPublisher) www.wowza.com
- Protocols and formats www.wowza.com
- HLS encryption www.wowza.com
- DRM www.wowza.com
Comparison made by Web Tools IT, which develops Castreon, based on information published by the vendors and verified on October 23, 2026. Prices and features may change — check them with the vendor. “Not publicly documented” means we did not find the feature in the vendor's public documentation on the verification date, not that it is missing. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners; Castreon is not affiliated with them. If something is no longer correct, write to us at [email protected] and we will correct it.