How to show YouTube live chat in OBS: 3 ways, free and paid

To show YouTube live chat in OBS, add a Browser Source that loads a chat page. The free way is YouTube's own pop-out chat (https://www.youtube.com/live_chat?is_popout=1&v=VIDEO_ID) with a few lines of Custom CSS that make the background transparent, but the video ID changes every stream, so you edit the URL each time you go live. A free tool that runs on your PC, such as Social Stream Ninja, captures the chat for you as long as it stays open while you stream. A hosted overlay such as OverlayCast Live Chat takes your channel handle instead of a video ID and finds each new stream by itself; it is a Pro widget that you can try free for 30 days.

Published 3 November 2026 · OverlayCast team

The three ways at a glance

All three end the same way: a URL inside an OBS Browser Source. What differs is who keeps that URL pointed at the right stream, and what has to stay running while you are live.

Way 1: YouTube's pop-out chat as a Browser Source (free)

YouTube serves every live chat as a stand-alone page that OBS can load like any website.

Step 1: find this stream's video ID

Open your stream's watch page. The address looks like youtube.com/watch?v= followed by an 11-character code; that code is the video ID. A stream scheduled in YouTube Studio already has its ID, so you can set this up before going live.

Step 2: build the chat URL

Put the ID at the end of this address:

https://www.youtube.com/live_chat?is_popout=1&v=VIDEO_ID

Step 3: add a Browser Source in OBS

1. In the Sources dock, click the + button and pick Browser.
2. Leave Create new selected, name it something like "YouTube chat", keep Make source visible ticked and click OK.
3. In the properties window, paste your chat address into URL.
4. Set Width to 400 and Height to 800 for a vertical chat column.
5. Replace the contents of Custom CSS with the block in step 4, then click OK.
6. Drag the source to where you want it in the preview.

Step 4: the Custom CSS

OBS's default Custom CSS already makes the page body transparent, but YouTube paints its own background and adds a header and a message box you do not want on stream. This hides them:

html, body, yt-live-chat-app, yt-live-chat-renderer {
  background: transparent !important;
}
yt-live-chat-header-renderer,
yt-live-chat-message-input-renderer,
#panel-pages {
  display: none !important;
}
body {
  margin: 0;
  overflow: hidden;
}
* {
  scrollbar-width: none;
}
*::-webkit-scrollbar {
  width: 0;
  height: 0;
}

The last two rules hide the scroll bar, one for newer browser engines and one for the older engines some OBS versions ship. The free, MIT-licensed YouTube Live Chat Overlay script by mmlTools hides the same header, input box and #panel-pages elements in its own default CSS (as of November 2026). Text colour follows YouTube's own page, so add your own rules if it is hard to read over your game.

The catch

• A new video ID every stream. The URL is tied to one broadcast. Before each stream you open the Browser Source properties and swap the ID. The mmlTools script makes entering it quicker, but its README still lists detecting the live video ID automatically as a future feature and needs OBS 27 or newer (as of November 2026).
• Your CSS depends on YouTube's page. If YouTube renames those elements, the header or background can come back until you update the selectors.
• YouTube only. Twitch or Kick chat needs a second source.

Way 2: a free tool on your PC (Social Stream Ninja)

Social Stream Ninja is a free tool by Steve Seguin that reads chat from chat pages open on your computer and gives you overlay links for OBS. As of November 2026 its site describes it as free, offers it as an extension for Chromium browsers such as Chrome, Edge and Brave, plus Windows and macOS apps (the stand-alone app is marked as a preview), and says no login or API key is needed to capture chat from most sites. One overlay can mix platforms, styled with its themes, URL options or CSS.

Install the extension or app, open your stream's chat with it running, then paste the overlay link it gives you into an OBS Browser Source as in Way 1.

The trade-off: it has to stay open

The capture happens on your machine, so the chat pages and the tool must keep running for the whole stream. Its own page tells you not to minimise those windows, or chat can stop arriving. They can be moved to the side or left in the background, but the page asks you to keep them at least partly visible if you can (as of November 2026). It suits streamers who want many platforms in one place for free.

Way 3: a hosted overlay by channel handle (OverlayCast Live Chat)

OverlayCast Live Chat is a chat widget you set up in the browser. You type your YouTube channel (an @handle, a channel URL, or a link to a live video), pick a look, save it, and get one overlay URL to paste into an OBS Browser Source. OverlayCast's servers read YouTube chat, and the overlay connects to Twitch and Kick chat by itself inside OBS, so there is no other app or window to keep open on your PC.

What changes compared with the pop-out URL

• No video ID per stream. The overlay is tied to your channel, not to one broadcast. Leave it in your scene, go live, and it picks up the new stream. While your channel is offline it keeps checking on a rising interval that never waits more than about 2 minutes, and a scheduled stream's waiting room is checked again every 2 minutes as well.
• A theme instead of CSS. You choose from 39 colour themes and 18 layouts, then set text, name and badge sizes, how many messages stay on screen (1 to 30), whether old ones disappear after a set number of seconds, and whether chat sits at the top or bottom. There is no CSS box or colour picker; the themes are a fixed set on purpose.
• Filters built in. Hide bot commands (you choose the symbols, "!" by default), hide known chat bots, hide accounts you list, and highlight paid messages such as Super Chats.
• Edits reach OBS on their own. Save a change on the site and the overlay already running in OBS updates within a few seconds.
• More than YouTube if you want it. The same box can show Twitch and Kick, TikTok LIVE chat through the TikFinity app running on your streaming PC, and chat from OneComme on that PC. On Twitch, 7TV, BTTV and FFZ emotes are drawn too. A horizontal version, the Live Chat Bar, runs as a strip across the top or bottom of the screen.

What it costs, plainly

Live Chat is a Pro widget, not a free one. Anyone can open the designer and preview it without paying, but turning it into a hosted overlay link needs Pro. A new account gets one 30-day Pro trial when it first signs in (with Google or Twitch); no card is asked for and nothing is charged when it ends. After that, a chat overlay without Pro turns invisible on stream until Pro is active again, and in the last week of a trial or plan that will not renew, it shows a short reminder in a corner for about ten seconds each time OBS loads it. Current prices are on the pricing page.

Two limits worth knowing: you need an OverlayCast account, and a members-only YouTube stream cannot be read by the hosted reader. If you run OneComme on your streaming PC, turning on "Also show chat from OneComme on this PC" fills that gap.

Troubleshooting

Chat does not show at the start of the stream

• Pop-out URL: check that the ID in the URL is today's stream, then click Refresh cache of current page in the source's properties.
• OverlayCast: the overlay notices a new stream within about 2 minutes on its own. If you do not want to wait, refresh the source once after you go live and it picks up the stream straight away, including the most recent messages. If nothing ever appears, check the channel field holds your handle, not someone else's.
• Social Stream Ninja: make sure your stream's chat page is open with the tool running and the window is not minimised.

A black or white box instead of a transparent background

With the pop-out URL, YouTube's background is still drawing: check the Custom CSS block is saved. The OverlayCast page is already transparent; if you see a solid box there, check that the source's Custom CSS field does not set a background colour.

Size: 400 × 800, vertical

Set Width 400 and Height 800 in the properties rather than dragging the red frame, which scales the page and blurs the text. For a strip across the top or bottom, use a wide, short source or the Live Chat Bar.

FAQ

Can I show YouTube live chat in OBS for free?

Yes. Paste YouTube's pop-out chat URL for your stream into an OBS Browser Source and add Custom CSS that makes the background transparent. Social Stream Ninja is another free option that runs as a browser extension or desktop app on your PC.

Why does my YouTube chat overlay stop working on my next stream?

The pop-out chat URL points at one video, and YouTube gives every live stream a new video ID. Put the new ID into the URL in the Browser Source properties before each stream, or use a tool that follows your channel instead of a single video.

Is OverlayCast Live Chat free?

No. Live Chat is a Pro widget. A free account can design and preview it, but a hosted chat link needs Pro. A new account gets one 30-day Pro trial on first sign-in, with no card and no charge when it ends. Current prices are on the OverlayCast pricing page.

Can I show YouTube and Twitch chat in one box?

Yes. OverlayCast Live Chat can show YouTube, Twitch and Kick together in one overlay, and Social Stream Ninja can also combine chat from several sites. The YouTube pop-out chat only shows YouTube.

What size should a chat Browser Source be?

A good starting point for a vertical chat column is 400 pixels wide by 800 pixels tall. Set it in the Width and Height fields of the Browser Source properties rather than stretching the source, which scales the text.

Can I use my own CSS with OverlayCast Live Chat?

No. OverlayCast has no CSS or colour setting: the looks come from a fixed set of 39 themes and 18 layouts, plus size and filter settings. If you want to write your own CSS, the pop-out chat method or Social Stream Ninja suits you better.

Try it on your own stream

If re-pasting a video ID before every stream is the part you want gone, open Live Chat or Live Chat Bar, type your channel handle and preview it with sample chat. A new account's first sign-in starts the 30-day Pro trial, no card needed.