The best gear for streaming can give you serious setup costs if you're just starting out. There's more to think about than meets the eye, and while your favorite content creators will probably experience very few technical difficulties, that's because they've put in the hours getting their gear to play nice with everything they're doing. Even for pros, there are parts of a setup that can be huge quality-of-life updates, or make the worst parts about live streaming much easier to deal with.
Depending on what platform you play games on, what PC hardware you're rocking, and your budget for accessories, your streaming equipment requirements will vary. Sure, you can opt for a simple streaming setup, and these days you can get by as a beginner with streaming directly from a console - even without a capture card. As soon as you want to take live streaming seriously though, you'll probably want to invest in more gear. The first thing to think about is a great microphone, but thereafter, it'll come down to what content you want to create.
I've tested loads of streaming gear, from capture cards, to mixers, to lights, to cameras. I know where you can save money, and I know the accessories that will make a real difference to the pros. I've listed some of my favorite equipment below, split into sections. Keep in mind that these aren't the only options out there though, and if you want to jump into our dedicated buying guides for each product for more detail, that might help you narrow down your options.
I've been using content creation gear for just shy of a decade now. Although it can be a headache swapping new pieces of hardware in and out of my setup, it's always a joy to test out how each new microphone plays with a webcam, and how one streaming mixer can be a godsend, while others can make live life harder.
Best microphones for streamers
The Shure MV7+ is the most versatile microphone on the market right now. It's got excellent audio quality on top of brilliant dual connectivity that lets you use USB-C and XLR outputs at the same time.
Granted, this updated model of the Shure MV7 isn't the most affordable option when you have all of these other bits of hardware to afford as well. Still, the microphone is arguably the most important part of any streamer's setup, so it's the one we'd recommend investing in.
The design isn't quite as minimalist as you'd find on the SM7B - it has more branding and a strip of RGB around its midsection. That RGB is good for aesthetics, but it doubles as a capacitive mute button. One real bonus compared to other XLR mics is that you get a 3.5mm headphone jack for live monitoring of its unidirectional cardioid capsule as well as your other PC sounds.
We found this mic performed exactly as you'd expect a Shure product to. Using it with the Shure MOTIV Mix app really brought out the best in it, and you basically get SM7B quality for significantly cheaper here. In fact, although it's a premium option, you do get a lot of value in this microphone compared to some of its competitors. Admittedly, we did find that the MV7+ performed better up close, which makes sense since Shure has designed it for podcasters. It also doesn't have quite the same Yoke mount as the SM7dB and suffers some bumps and knocks as a result.
Blue, which has now been absorbed into the larger Logitech G brand, is very well known when it comes to streaming mics, and for a good reason - they were masters of the craft when it comes to bang for buck. The budget Yeti Nano (the scrappy younger sibling of the larger Yeti range) is very impressive. It packs the accessible price tag of the entry-level Snowballs mics into a really professional package that sounds almost as good as any USB mic you'll find.
Hitting hard with great audio and a dual condenser setup, it perfects the Yeti formula while reducing that microphone's cost. It's a whole lot smaller and lighter, too; the Nano is half the weight of the original Yeti, making it much more portable than its counterpart. Thanks to a plug-and-play USB connection, you can be recording in no time. Annoyingly, as the mic has aged, its micro-USB connection is getting more annoying to deal with.
This is an amazing option for those who want to take advantage of Blue Yeti quality without forking out the cost of a full-sized one. If you're a beginner and you can find this on the shelves, it's all the microphone you really need. Its mute button is a handy feature too if you don't have a streaming mixer. The newer Logitech G Yeti GX now exists, but for us, the best value still lies with the Nano. When that changes, we'll let you know.
Whether you opt for the cheaper USB SteelSeries Alias or the pricier XLR Alias Pro, you're grabbing one of the very best microphones available today. These dropped late in 2023 and were immediately met with universal praise for their convenient all-in-one package. Their companion software, Sonar, is as conclusive as you'll find, and if you don't mind it hogging some CPU power, it has some excellent customization features.
First and foremost, these are both brilliant microphones. They capture sound at a professional, studio level, but they also look very classy. Inside both the Alias and Alias Pro is a cardioid capsule that manages to get that rich podcast quality up close, but doesn't fail to maintain quality if you move a bit further away from it.
That's honestly just the tip of the SteelSeries iceberg though, because the Sonar software you get with your purchase takes things to a whole new level. Whether it's noise canceling or managing multiple audio profiles, this software really has it all. Lump in the fact that you get a small mixer/interface with the Pro model, and you have a true all-in-one package.
The best mixers and controllers
If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery then Elgato must be blushing from head to toe because of this nifty little stream controller. Anyone who’s ever looked at the Stream Deck, or Stream Deck + will find the Razer Stream Controller X eerily familiar. To be honest, it’s more than eerily familiar, it’s practically identical. This is the follow-up to Razer's first crack at a Stream controller, and we're glad to say that it's a real improvement.
In fact, this is probably the best stream controller out there if you've already bought into the Razer ecosystem and run a lot of things through Synapse. The Razer Stream Controller X is powered by Loupedeck’s software and works really easily when it comes to creating profiles for live streaming, general PC tasks, and video editing.
While in theory, you have 15 buttons to customize, in practice it’s 13 or 14 as the corners are allocated to navigating between pages of commands if you have them set up. It’s a strange choice, an unnecessary self-nerf when Elgato has proven a folder system works perfectly well. I’m all for suggesting a user allocates some buttons to paging, hey, even set that as the default, but don’t force them to give up buttons that could be used in other ways if they prefer.
Regardless, from a hardware standpoint, it’s great thanks to its strong build quality and super steady stand. It's also a bit cheaper than a lot of the more popular options, so it's a good middle ground to shoot on a stream controller for those that are getting a bit more serious.
There simply is no better streaming mixer on the shelves today than the RodeCaster Duo. A slightly smaller version of the full-blown RodeCaster Pro 2, this is every bit as powerful, and even has more usability for streamers specifically. With four physical faders, two more virtual ones, SMART pads you can program as different stream scenes and sound effects, two XLR inputs, and two USB-C inputs, there is honestly no other mixer this powerful.
Those two USB-C inputs can be used by one PC, giving you dedicated faders for music, game audio, chatting with friends, and your own microphone's gain level. In a dual PC setup, that secondary USB-C connection can go into your gaming PC to give your gaming audio its own spotlight. On the routing side of things, the Duo nails it thanks to the custom routing options you can assign to all of your audio channels. Mix Minus means you'll never create a feedback loop again, and the ability to set this up according to your needs makes this a versatile mixer.
Rode also has a library of audio effects you can apply to your microphone, or across all channels. Ducking profiles can come in super handy to make sure you always come in on top of your other stream audio.
The only setbacks here are that the USB-C outputs are recognized by the PS5, but the two devices are annoyingly incompatible. This is something Rode wants to fix, but until the problems are sorted this isn't necessarily what we'd recommend for console streamers. Of course, the other drawback here is price, because you do admittedly pay for the power the RodeCaster Duo gives you.
Perhaps the most versatile version of Elgato's Stream Deck is the Plus model, which has eight programmable keys, a touch bar, and four volume dials. This means you can use it as a streaming controller, but also use it to control your audio mix for a fully all-in-one package.
Channelling the power of one of the Stream Decks is as easy as dragging and dropping actions within Elgato's Camera Hub software, and that doesn't change with this model. Once mapped to your desired functions, the slightly smaller buttons on this version of the Stream Deck are still safe from accidental clicks thanks to their 5mm of travel. The dials are well designed too, with a grippy texture and just the right amount of tension for twisting them. The touchbar feels responsive, which is reassuring when it's not something Elgato has dabbled in before.
Anyone not looking for audio controls who just wants more control keys might be better served by the original Stream Deck, or its larger model. However, if you're bought into the wider ecosystem of Elgato products, the Stream Deck Plus makes for an excellent tool for bringing them all under one umbrella.
The best capture cards
The AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1 is the last word in external capture cards these days. It takes the great features set down by the last-gen's Elgato HD60X and boosts them to today's standards. Full warning: this isn't going to be needed for everyone, but if you want the best of the best for recording and streaming gameplay, look no further.
You get up to 4K60 capture here, as well as VRR passthrough of up to 144Hz. HDR and Ultrawide monitor support are standout features and a slew of in-software recording options give it versatility. Annoyingly, the companion application, RECentral 4, doesn't have any color grading settings and doesn't let you change the captured image settings. Fortunately, these things are set pretty well out of the box.
Its design bucks a few trends, especially since most capture cards don't put a lot of effort into the looks department. The Live Gamer Ultra 2.1 has a gentle RGB array on its front that you can sync with your PC's RGB. There's also a practical horizontal design that helps cable routing.
This card performs brilliantly when recording footage, and its passthrough lacks no detail compared to using a regular HDMI 2.1 cable. Speeds were a similar story - it was so easy to use this with Streamlabs OBS, with no delay to speak of. Captures are crystal clear with really vivid colors, and besides some lacking clarity when recording multiple files back to back, it's excellent. If you play competitively and don't want to compromise on your 4K components, this is a superb option. Just keep in mind that Twitch still has no ability to make use of 4K streaming capabilities.
Elgato is one of the biggest, best-known names in the video game content creation market, and for good reason: their devices are relatively cheap, easy to use, and function well.
The Game Capture HD60S is easy to set up. You simply plug it in between your PS4/Xbox One and the TV, and you get 1080p/60fps capture with loads of ability to change resolution and more. It's great regardless of what platform you're trying to record on, and its low-latency passthrough means you can play from the capture window with no problem. Another great bonus is that you don't need the software running to use it: as long as it can draw power it'll send a signal to your screen so there's no need to unplug it when you don't want to capture.
The capture software that comes with it is clear and easy to use, with a few basic, useful options to fiddle with the audio and streaming setups. Elgato recommends using the 4K capture utility these days, but the OG Game Capture app is more conclusive in our opinion. Just keep in mind that it can be buggy at times. There's an audio in port on the unit itself if you want to add audio directly to your stream, and a range of streaming screens set up for in-set cameras and so on.
For beginners and anyone just streaming from a games console, this is all you really need - especially for Twitch.
The Elgato Game Capture 4K Pro is the latest internal capture card from Corsair's content creation arm. This slots straight onto a gaming PC's motherboard through a PCIe 2.0 x 4 slot (like a GPU slot), so no need for any dangling USB cables.
To tell the truth, the 4K Pro is only an incremental update over the brand's last few internal capture cards. Those were already so futureproofed that the rest of the brands in the space have been catching up. Speaking of futureproofing though, this new version supports up to 8K60 passthrough, which is so good no one will probably need it for the next three to five years.
For your money, you also get VRR passthrough, and multi-app support so you can stream and record to separate apps at the same time, which is a big deal for console gamers trying to route audio in funky ways. Anyone miffed by AverMedia's lack of contrast and saturation sliders will be pleased to know you can tweak your image settings with this card thanks to Elgato's 4K Capture Utility.
With that said, we are a bit disappointed that this costs the same as AverMedia's best external option, all the while, not offering half as many recording options. You can record great footage with this card, but only at 30fps or 60fps at 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Admittedly, that's a lengthy list on its own, but for this sort of asking price, why not opt for even more?
It's really up to you whether an internal capture card will save you much trouble. This is a great option, but externals might actually give you more versatility these days.
The Rode Streamer X promises more than any other capture card you'll find. It can record footage at up to 4K30, but it's also an audio interface with all the pedigree of the Australian brand behind it.
Of course, with a jack-of-all-trades like this, there's going to be some trade-offs. Strangely, there's no HDMI 2.1 support, so while captures of up to 4K30 are possible and a passthrough of up to 4K60 is supported higher frame rates aren't going to be possible above 1080p. Luckily, VRR and HDR are present - here's hoping Rode puts out a sequel in time that can deal with some beefier visual capture.
The design of this capture card is very in line with Rode's other streaming gear - it has customizable Smart pads, XLR ports for top-drawer microphones, and some handy gain dials that are readable thanks to clear lighting. Conveniently, it has dual-PC output and pretty solid HDMI passthrough for varying resolutions, and its price for the combined efforts of an audio interface and capture card will no doubt be enticing for those looking to consolidate their streaming gadgets.
As an audio interface, it's no surprise that this does the trick. Rode is excellent for audio gear, and in our review, we found it to be almost as solid as the BEACN Mic Create, although it was somewhat hampered by its small form factor and lack of more dials.
