How-to · 28 June 2026

How to stream to YouTube and LinkedIn at the same time on a Mac

Yes. You can stream to YouTube and LinkedIn at the same time from a Mac by multistreaming. You encode your video once and send that single stream to both platforms simultaneously. The simplest native way is Stage Studio, a macOS streaming app where you add YouTube and LinkedIn as destinations, paste each platform's stream URL and key, and Go Live to both at once.

What multistreaming actually is

Multistreaming (also called simulcasting) means broadcasting one live video to several destinations at the same time. The key idea. Your Mac encodes the video once, then that same encoded stream is copied and sent to each platform's RTMP/RTMPS ingest server. You are not encoding the video twice, so you are not doubling the work your Mac's processor does.

The real cost is upload bandwidth. Because a full copy of the stream goes to YouTube and a full copy goes to LinkedIn, you upload everything twice. Two destinations roughly doubles your upload requirement. That trade-off, cheap on CPU and paid in bandwidth, is what makes multistreaming practical on a single machine.

Stage Studio handles this natively. It takes one hardware encode from Apple silicon's media engine and fans it out to every enabled destination using ffmpeg's tee muxer, so adding a second or third platform doesn't spike your CPU.

How to stream to YouTube and LinkedIn at the same time

1. Get your YouTube stream key. Enable Live on your YouTube account, create a stream, then copy the RTMPS ingest URL (rtmps://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2) and your stream key.
2. Get your LinkedIn stream key. LinkedIn Live access must be approved or enabled for your profile or page first, either through LinkedIn or an approved tool. Once it's enabled, create a live event and copy the RTMP(S) stream URL and stream key LinkedIn gives you.
3. Open the Destinations list in Stage Studio. This is where you manage every platform you broadcast to.
4. Add YouTube as a destination. Enable YouTube and paste in the ingest URL and stream key from step 1.
5. Add LinkedIn as a destination. Enable LinkedIn and paste in the stream URL and key from step 2.
6. Add any other destinations you want (optional). Twitch, X, or any custom RTMPS URL works the same way. Enable it, paste its URL and key.
7. Set your output and Go Live. Choose 1080p, 1440p, or 4K at 30 or 60fps, then Go Live. Stage Studio sends the same encoded stream to YouTube and LinkedIn at the same time.

Bandwidth you'll need

This is the one thing to plan for. Each destination needs its own upload headroom, roughly your streaming bitrate per platform. If you stream at around 6 Mbps, two destinations need roughly 12 Mbps of sustained upload; at 12 Mbps each, you'd need around 24 Mbps. The rule of thumb. Multiply your bitrate by the number of destinations, then leave some margin on top.

Before you go live to multiple platforms, run a speed test and check your upload number (not download). If your connection can't comfortably push all destinations at once, lower your bitrate, drop to fewer destinations, or use a wired connection for stability.

Other ways to do it

Stage Studio isn't the only option, and it's worth knowing the alternatives. A restream or multistream web service such as Restream can fan your stream out to many platforms from the cloud, which moves the bandwidth cost off your own connection. OBS can also multistream, either with a plugin or by sending a single stream to one of those restream services. These approaches work; they just add either a subscription, a cloud middleman, or extra setup compared with enabling destinations directly in a native app.

FAQ

Can you really stream to two platforms at once?

Yes. Multistreaming sends one live broadcast to multiple destinations simultaneously. In Stage Studio you enable YouTube and LinkedIn as destinations, paste each one's stream URL and key, and Go Live to both at the same time.

Does multistreaming use double the CPU?

No. Your Mac encodes the video once and that single encode is copied to each destination, so adding platforms doesn't double your processing load. Stage Studio encodes on Apple silicon's media engine and fans the stream out with ffmpeg's tee muxer, which keeps CPU usage flat. What does increase is upload bandwidth.

Do I need LinkedIn Live access?

Yes. LinkedIn Live must be approved or enabled for your profile or page before you can broadcast to it, through LinkedIn or an approved tool. Once it's enabled, you create a live event and get an RTMP(S) stream URL and key to paste into Stage Studio. YouTube simply requires enabling Live on your account.

How much upload speed do I need?

Roughly your streaming bitrate multiplied by the number of destinations, plus some margin. At about 6 Mbps per platform, streaming to YouTube and LinkedIn together needs around 12 Mbps of upload; higher bitrates need proportionally more. Check your upload speed before going live.

Ready to go live everywhere at once? Stage Studio is a fast, native macOS streaming studio built in Swift for Apple silicon. It's free with a small watermark, or $49 one-time for Pro, and runs on macOS 14+ (Apple silicon and Intel). Download it at stagestudio.tv and add your first destinations in minutes.