Chat overlays for OBS in 2026: an honest comparison (YouTube, Twitch, Kick, TikTok)

Short answer: for Twitch-only chat, ChatIS is a free, open-source hosted option: you build the overlay URL from your channel name and paste it into OBS. For YouTube, Twitch and Kick in one overlay at no cost, look at All-Chat (hosted, open source), Social Stream Ninja (free, but it runs on your PC) and Meld's Glass Chat; Streamlabs merges platforms only when you multistream, which is a paid Ultra feature. Most TikTok chat options need something running on your PC; All-Chat is the exception we found, reading TikTok from its own hosted service. StreamElements is still running under Razer. OverlayCast is a paid option, with one 30-day trial and no card, for designed chat themes from one hosted link; if you want your own CSS, pick something else.

Published 3 November 2026 · OverlayCast team

Why so many people went looking for a StreamElements alternative

In May 2026, Tubefilter reported that StreamElements might close. It did not. On 31 July 2026 Razer announced it had acquired substantially all of StreamElements' assets, and said the platform remains unchanged. So if your StreamElements chat box works today, nothing forces you to move.

Every competitor fact below was read on the tool's own page, or the source named for it, in early November 2026; anything we could not confirm says so. We make OverlayCast, so we list its weak points too.

The comparison table (as of November 2026)

Tool	Cost	YouTube	Twitch	Kick	TikTok	Custom CSS	Runs where
StreamElements	Free (homepage: “100% FREE forever!”)	Yes†	Yes†	not confirmed	not confirmed	not confirmed	Hosted overlay from a visual editor; chat widget not confirmed†
Streamlabs Chat Box	No price stated; merging platforms needs Ultra Multistream	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed	Yes (HTML, CSS, JS)	Hosted URL or Streamlabs app/plugin
Social Stream Ninja	Free	Yes	Yes	Yes (pop-out chat)	Yes (extension on the live page, or TikFinity)	Yes	Extension or app on your PC; windows must stay open
All-Chat	Free core, AGPL-3.0; paid extras	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, hosted (“least stable”)	Yes, plus 16 themes	Hosted URL; sign in with Twitch, YouTube or Kick
Meld Glass Chat	Free, no watermark	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	not confirmed	Meld Studio, or the Spark Plug for OBS plugin; Meld sign-in
ChatIS	Open source (GPL-3.0)	No	Yes	No	No	not confirmed	Hosted URL
KapChat	not confirmed	not confirmed	Yes*	not confirmed	not confirmed	Yes*	Hosted URL*
Restream Chat	Free plan puts Restream branding on streams	Yes	Yes	not confirmed	not confirmed	not confirmed	Restream chat as a browser source; account
YouTube pop-out + CSS	Free	Yes	No	No	No	Yes (that is the method)	OBS only; new video ID each stream
TikFinity	Free to use (its homepage)	No	No	No	Yes	not confirmed	Desktop App, kept open on your PC
OverlayCast Live Chat	Paid (Pro); one 30-day trial, no card	Yes (channel handle)	Yes	Yes	Via TikFinity on your PC	No, by design	Hosted URL; sign in with Google or Twitch

† Platforms named on StreamElements' homepage; its chat-widget help article was not readable to us. * KapChat's own setup page did not render for us without JavaScript, so its row comes from a third-party setup guide (StreamScheme, last updated December 2022). Sources are listed at the end.

The options, one at a time

StreamElements

StreamElements advertises free alerts, widgets and overlays built in a visual editor, and names Twitch, YouTube and Facebook Gaming. Its homepage does not describe a chat box; its help centre describes a chat widget you place in an overlay (support.streamelements.com, page not readable to us, November 2026). Kick support and merged YouTube and Twitch chat stay unconfirmed.

Streamlabs Chat Box

The Chat Box page lists Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Kick and X, with BTTV, FFZ and 7TV emotes, bot and command filters, and room to customise further with HTML, CSS and JS. It merges platforms when you multistream, but Streamlabs Multistream is an Ultra (paid) feature; the free Dual Output covers one horizontal and one vertical destination. TikTok is not listed, and the page states no price for Chat Box itself.

Social Stream Ninja

Social Stream Ninja is free and reads chat from more than a hundred sites through a browser extension or a desktop app. The trade-off: it captures chat from pages open on your PC, which its own page warns you not to minimise or close. For TikTok, its quick start has you keep the live page open, with TikFinity as a fallback.

All-Chat

All-Chat merges Twitch, YouTube, Kick, TikTok and Discord into one browser-source link, is open source under AGPL-3.0, and keeps merged chat free, with Patreon-funded extras on top. It ships 16 themes and accepts custom CSS. For TikTok it uses its own hosted signing service, so nothing is installed on your PC, and it is upfront that TikTok is its least stable platform.

Meld chat elements (Glass Chat)

Meld's Glass Chat shows Twitch, YouTube Live, Kick and TikTok Live in one panel, free with no watermark. It runs in Meld Studio or, in OBS, through the Spark Plug plugin plus a browser source, after you sign in to Meld.

ChatIS and KapChat

Both are Twitch chat overlays built from a channel name in a URL. ChatIS is open source (GPL-3.0), draws 7TV, BTTV and FFZ emotes, can fade old messages and hide bots. KapChat from NightDev is the older one; guides describe presets, custom CSS and BTTV/FFZ emotes.

Restream Chat

Restream Chat offers 20+ chat box templates you add to OBS as a browser source. Its pricing page says the free plan carries Restream branding on your streams; whether that branding appears on the chat overlay itself is not stated.

The YouTube pop-out method

Paste YouTube's pop-out live chat URL into a browser source and add CSS that hides the header and clears the background; a free MIT-licensed Lua script by mmlTools automates it. The URL carries the video ID, so you update it every stream, and the styling depends on YouTube's markup.

TikFinity

TikFinity says its TikTok LIVE tools are free to use. It is more a bridge than a rival: its Desktop App, kept open on your streaming PC, is what OverlayCast connects to, and Social Stream Ninja's TikFinity fallback asks you to keep TikFinity open and connected while you are live.

Which one should you pick?

You stream on Twitch only and want it free

Start with ChatIS: one hosted link built from your channel name, open source, with 7TV, BTTV and FFZ emotes. Streamlabs Chat Box suits you if you already use Streamlabs or want your own HTML and CSS (its page states no price, and lists no Ultra requirement).

You want YouTube and Twitch chat in one overlay

All-Chat is a hosted link with nothing to keep open. Meld's elements need Meld Studio or its plugin in OBS. Social Stream Ninja reads the most sites but lives on your PC. Streamlabs is not a free route here: Chat Box merges platforms only when you multistream, and Multistream is an Ultra feature (streamlabs.com/multistream, as of November 2026).

You stream on TikTok

Most TikTok options need something running on your PC: TikFinity's Desktop App, Social Stream Ninja's extension on an open live page, or OverlayCast through TikFinity. All-Chat is the exception we found: it reads TikTok from its own hosted service with nothing to install, though it calls TikTok its least stable platform (allch.at, as of November 2026). So for TikTok, OverlayCast asks for more on your PC than All-Chat does.

You are a VTuber and want a chat box that looks designed

This is where OverlayCast is meant to fit: 39 colour themes and 18 layouts, including kawaii layouts such as idol fans, cat-ear capsules and sakura glass, and pop layouts such as a visual-novel box and manga balloons; every theme works in every layout. It is paid after the trial, so compare it with the free tools first.

KapChat not working?

We found no 2026 changelog or status page for KapChat, so we cannot say why an overlay stopped. Check the channel name in the URL, then press “Refresh cache of current page” in the browser source's properties. ChatIS works the same way, from a channel name in a URL.

Where OverlayCast fits, honestly

You customise a widget in the browser and paste one hosted URL into an OBS Browser Source. For chat:

One hosted link and nothing to keep open on your PC for YouTube, Twitch or Kick.
YouTube by channel handle: the box finds your live stream itself, with no video ID to paste.
YouTube, Twitch and Kick alone, in any pair, or all three in one box, plus TikTok through TikFinity and chat from OneComme on your streaming PC.
39 themes and 18 layouts, 7TV/BTTV/FFZ emotes, hiding of bot commands, known bots and accounts you list, and highlighted paid messages. There is also a horizontal Live Chat Bar: a thin strip of messages across the screen, with the same themes and its own fixed layout.
The site is in English, Thai, Japanese and Korean.

And what to weigh against it:

It is not free. Live Chat and Live Chat Bar are Pro widgets; designing and previewing cost nothing, and the one 30-day trial charges nothing when it ends. After that see pricing.
When Pro lapses, a chat overlay turns invisible on stream until you renew.
You need an account, signing in with Google or Twitch.
TikTok needs the TikFinity Desktop App running on your streaming PC; All-Chat needs nothing installed for TikTok.
No custom CSS and no free colour mixing; you choose from the set.

FAQ

Is there a free way to show YouTube and Twitch chat in one OBS overlay?

Yes. All-Chat merges Twitch, YouTube, Kick, TikTok and Discord into one hosted link and says merged chat is not a premium tier. Social Stream Ninja is free but runs on your PC with its chat windows open. Meld's Glass Chat is free through Meld Studio or the Spark Plug for OBS plugin.

Is StreamElements shutting down?

No. After reports in May 2026 that it might close, Razer announced on 31 July 2026 that it had acquired substantially all StreamElements assets. Razer says the platform is unchanged and the tools stay at streamelements.com.

How do I show TikTok LIVE chat in OBS?

Most options need something running on your PC. TikFinity is a widely documented option: Social Stream Ninja and OverlayCast both connect to it. All-Chat is the exception we found: it reads TikTok from its own hosted service with nothing to install, though it calls TikTok its least stable platform.

Is OverlayCast's Live Chat free?

No. Live Chat and Live Chat Bar are Pro widgets. Anyone can design and preview them, and a new account gets one 30-day Pro trial with no card. After that you need a paid plan, and a chat overlay turns invisible on stream while Pro is inactive. Current prices are on the pricing page.

Can I use custom CSS with OverlayCast's chat?

No, by design: you choose from 39 themes and 18 layouts, with no colour picker or CSS field. Streamlabs Chat Box, All-Chat, Social Stream Ninja and the YouTube pop-out method all accept custom CSS.

Try it

Design a chat box at Live Chat or a horizontal strip at Live Chat Bar. Previewing is free; the hosted link needs Pro or the 30-day trial.