How to Go Live on TikTok in 2026: Phone, TikTok LIVE Studio on PC, and OBS
By Sofia Vance··10 min read
On a phone, tap +, swipe to LIVE, add a title and tap Go LIVE. On a computer, install TikTok LIVE Studio — TikTok's free desktop app for Windows and Mac — log in and stream, or use OBS with a stream key. Every route needs LIVE access on your account: you must be 18 or older and, in most regions, have 1,000 followers.
Four Ways to Go Live on TikTok
| Method | Best for | You need | Stream key? |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok app (phone) | IRL, chatting, first streams | LIVE access | No |
| TikTok LIVE Studio (PC or Mac) | Gaming and desktop streams to TikTok only | LIVE access + the free desktop app | No — you log in |
| OBS Studio + stream key | Custom scenes, plugins, multistreaming | LIVE access with RTMP (stream key) permission | Yes |
| Multistreaming service | TikTok + Twitch + YouTube at once | A stream key for each platform | Yes |
If you only stream to TikTok, start with the app or LIVE Studio. Move to OBS when you want to stream to Twitch or YouTube at the same time, or when you outgrow LIVE Studio's scenes.
TikTok LIVE Requirements: Who Can Go Live
| Age | 18 or older. TikTok raised the minimum age to host a LIVE from 16 to 18 on November 23, 2022. |
| Followers | 1,000 in TikTok's support FAQ, with the caveat that the threshold varies by country or region. |
| Account history | TikTok's LIVE Studio help lists account age, time spent live recently, follower count and no recent LIVE suspension as the checks for instant access. |
| Streaming elsewhere already | Creators from other platforms can apply with a form describing their existing channel. Review takes a few days and the answer arrives in the TikTok app. |
| Trial access | If you are given a trial, go live for at least 25 minutes twice in your first week, or TikTok revokes access. |
The quickest check is on your phone: tap + and swipe to LIVE. If you see Get access to go LIVE, tap it — TikTok shows which requirements you meet and greys out the ones you don't. Keeping access is its own job: static streams, licensed music and off-platform redirects are what get it pulled, and our TikTok LIVE rules guide covers the strike system.
How to Go Live on TikTok on iPhone or Android
- 1Open TikTok and tap + (Create) at the bottom of the screen.
- 2Swipe the mode selector at the bottom to LIVE. No LIVE option, or a “Get access to go LIVE” button, means your account does not have LIVE access yet.
- 3Write a short title and pick a topic. TikTok uses both to decide who sees your stream in the LIVE feed.
- 4Optional: add effects, and set up keyword filters and a moderator you trust in the LIVE settings.
- 5Tap Go LIVE.
Phone streams are portrait by default, which is what TikTok viewers expect. When you pick a start time, aim for 30–60 minutes before your followers peak — our best time to go live on TikTok guide shows how to read that from your own analytics.
How to Go Live on TikTok on PC With TikTok LIVE Studio
TikTok LIVE Studio is the easiest way to stream to TikTok from a computer. It is TikTok's own app, so there is no stream key to copy: you log in, build a scene and go live. Chat, gifts and the viewer count sit inside the app. TikTok describes it as having “similar functions” to OBS, with the difference that it is made by TikTok and you sign in with your TikTok account.
- 1Download TikTok LIVE Studio from tiktok.com. The only official source is tiktok.com/studio/download. It is free, and TikTok's help center lists both Windows and macOS builds.
- 2Install it and log in with your TikTok account. Use the same account you stream with. LIVE Studio shows your LIVE access status in the top-right corner as soon as you are in.
- 3Run the first-time setup. Pick “Set up now” to choose your content type, microphone, camera and video quality, or “Import from another tool” to bring your settings over from the streaming software you already use.
- 4Add your sources. Game or window capture, your webcam, your mic and any overlays. Keep the important parts inside a phone-shaped area, because most viewers watch vertically.
- 5Set a title and topic, then Go LIVE. Chat, gifts and your viewer count appear inside LIVE Studio while you stream, so you do not need a second window for TikTok chat.
LIVE Studio is a vertical, face-forward format as much as a gameplay one, so the camera, mic and key light matter more than on Twitch. Our TikTok LIVE gear list has specific picks.
TikTok Studio vs TikTok LIVE Studio vs LIVE Center
TikTok has four creator tools with nearly the same name, and only one of them broadcasts. If you searched for “TikTok Studio” to go live, you want LIVE Studio.
| Tool | What it does | Streams? | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok LIVE Studio | The desktop streaming app. Scenes, game capture, webcam, overlays, TikTok chat and gifts in one window. | Yes | tiktok.com/studio/download (Windows, macOS) |
| TikTok Studio | The creator hub for uploading, editing, scheduling and analytics. It replaced Creator tools and the Creator Center web app in May 2024. | No | tiktok.com/tiktokstudio on desktop, or the TikTok Studio mobile app |
| LIVE Center | Your LIVE hub: 7-day LIVE stats, analytics, replays, viewer rankings and Creator Camp. Its producer page is where eligible accounts get a server URL and stream key. | No (supplies the key) | In the app, and on the web at livecenter.tiktok.com |
| TikTok Shop Streamer Desktop | A web tool for TikTok Shop hosts: pin and reorder products, run flash sales and watch sales data during a LIVE. | No | shop.tiktok.com/streamer |
Sources: TikTok's TikTok Studio announcement, the LIVE Studio help center and TikTok Shop's Streamer Desktop overview. A TikTok Shop seller typically broadcasts from the phone or LIVE Studio and keeps Streamer Desktop open on a second screen for product pins.
How to Go Live on TikTok With OBS and a Stream Key
OBS gives you full control and works on Windows, macOS and Linux, but TikTok only hands out a server URL and stream key to accounts with RTMP access. Not every account with LIVE access has it.
- 1On a computer, log in at tiktok.com and click Go LIVE. Eligible accounts are taken to the producer page in LIVE Center (livecenter.tiktok.com/producer).
- 2Choose a title and topic and click Go LIVE. The page then shows a Server URL and a Stream Key. Never show the key on stream — anyone who has it can broadcast to your profile.
- 3In OBS, open Settings → Stream, set Service to Custom, and paste the server URL and key.
- 4In Settings → Video, set both the base (canvas) and output resolution to 1080×1920 so the stream is vertical, and use 30 fps.
- 5In Settings → Output, start around 2,500 Kbps — the figure TikTok's own seller guide to OBS uses — and raise it only if your upload stays stable. Then click Start Streaming.
The key changes when you log out of TikTok, so if OBS suddenly fails to connect, copy a fresh one. New to OBS? Start with our OBS setup guide, then check encoder choices in the bitrate and encoder cheat sheet. Other capable apps are compared on our streaming software page.
Stream to TikTok, Twitch and YouTube at the Same Time
LIVE Studio is built to broadcast to TikTok, so simulcasting means OBS plus a TikTok stream key. There are two common setups:
- One OBS, two canvases. The free Aitum Vertical plugin adds a 1080×1920 canvas next to your normal 1920×1080 one, so TikTok gets a vertical layout while Twitch or YouTube gets the horizontal one.
- A relay service. You upload once and the service forwards the stream to each platform, which saves upload bandwidth. We compare them on our multistreaming services page, and the setup is in how to multistream.
One caution: repeatedly telling TikTok viewers to go watch you somewhere else counts as an off-platform redirect under TikTok's LIVE rules. Mention your other channels, don't campaign for them.
Can't Go Live on TikTok? The Usual Causes
No LIVE option, or “Get access to go LIVE”
Your account does not have LIVE access yet. Tap the button to see which requirements are greyed out; nothing on a desktop app will get around it.
LIVE access disappeared
Either a trial lapsed (you need two streams of 25+ minutes in the first week) or a violation suspended it. The inbox notification and the violation records in LIVE Center say which, and link to the appeal.
LIVE Studio installed, but it won't let you go live
It uses the same LIVE access as your phone. Confirm the status in the top-right corner of LIVE Studio and that you logged into the right account.
No stream key on the producer page
Your account has LIVE access but not RTMP access. Use LIVE Studio instead — it streams from a PC or Mac without a key.
App-specific problems — frozen chat, muted audio, the phone camera feed freezing in LIVE Studio — have their own fixes in the TikTok LIVE Studio troubleshooting guide.
After You Go Live: Viewers and Money
TikTok's LIVE feed favours rooms where viewers stay and talk, so first streams are usually small. The TikTok LIVE viewers playbook covers the algorithm, Promote and battles. Once people watch, they pay you through gifts, coins and diamonds and, later, Super Fan, which replaced LIVE Subscription; the TikTok coins calculator converts gifts into dollars. To see which categories draw the biggest rooms before you pick a topic, check TikTok LIVE category stats on TikTokStats.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I go live on TikTok from a PC?
Install TikTok LIVE Studio from tiktok.com/studio/download, log in with your TikTok account, add your game, webcam and mic, and press Go LIVE. If your account has a stream key, you can use OBS instead: get the server URL and key from the producer page in LIVE Center and paste them into OBS under Settings → Stream → Custom. Both routes need LIVE access on your account.
What is TikTok LIVE Studio?
TikTok's own free desktop app for streaming to TikTok from a computer. It works like a simplified OBS — scenes, game capture, webcam, overlays — but you log in with your TikTok account instead of pasting a stream key, and TikTok chat and gifts are built in. TikTok's help center lists versions for both Windows and macOS.
Is TikTok Studio the same as TikTok LIVE Studio?
No. TikTok Studio is the creator hub for uploading, editing, scheduling and analytics — it cannot broadcast. TikTok LIVE Studio is the desktop app that actually streams. If you want to go live from a computer, you need LIVE Studio.
How many followers do you need to go live on TikTok?
TikTok's support FAQ gives 1,000 followers as the threshold and says it varies by region. Its LIVE Studio help center adds that instant access also depends on how old your account is and how much you have gone LIVE recently. You must also be 18 or older — TikTok raised the minimum age to host a LIVE from 16 to 18 in November 2022.
Where do I find my TikTok stream key?
Only accounts with RTMP access get one. On desktop, click Go LIVE on tiktok.com — eligible accounts land on the LIVE Center producer page (livecenter.tiktok.com/producer), which shows the server URL and stream key after you click Go LIVE there. Treat the key like a password; it changes when you log out of TikTok.
Can I go live on TikTok from a Mac?
Yes. TikTok's LIVE Studio help center lists a macOS version with a minimum of an Apple M1 Mac (or a 2019-or-newer Intel iMac or Mac mini with a Core i7 or i9). OBS with a stream key also works on macOS.
Can I stream on TikTok and Twitch at the same time?
Yes, but not from LIVE Studio, which only broadcasts to TikTok. Use OBS with the Aitum Vertical plugin to send a vertical stream to TikTok and a horizontal one to Twitch, or a multistreaming service that relays one upload to several platforms. You need a TikTok stream key for either route.
What is TikTok LIVE Center?
LIVE Center is TikTok's hub for LIVE creators: the last seven days of LIVE duration, views, Diamonds, likes and new followers, deeper analytics, replays you can cut into clips, and Creator Camp challenges. It does not broadcast, but its web producer page is where eligible accounts copy a stream key for OBS.
Why can't I go live on TikTok?
Almost always LIVE access. Tap + and swipe to LIVE: if you see “Get access to go LIVE”, TikTok lists the requirements you have not met yet. Other causes: a trial that lapsed because you did not stream at least 25 minutes twice in your first week, a recent LIVE violation, or being under 18.