5 Streaming Tools and Services to use in 2025

5 Stream Tools and Services to use in 2025

Today I'm going to share with you 5 tools and services I currently use to improve and make my streams more fun!

1.) MixItUp - "A full-featured Streaming Bot"

First on my list is MixItUp! I really like this app for a lot of reasons but my primary one is reliability! Have you ever had an online service go down or be super slow to send a command response in chat while someone is trying to use it? I definitely have and the best way I have found to combat that issue is by using a service like MixItUp! The description on the website for MixItUp is "A Full-Featured Streaming Bot" which I really believe it is.

You can download the app to your PC and it has to be open (it can be minimized) while you're live for anything you have setup with it to work. The reason for that is unlike a service like StreamElements for example, which I do like, MixItUp is run locally on your machine. There isn't risk of an external service going down or running slowly. You've got all your commands and whatever else you've setup right there locally for your stream to interact with!
 

When it sends commands to your chat, it will do so via your own account unless you link a second account to it. I personally decided to make a second account and hook it up to that explicitly for this purpose! I just wanted to have my own messages in chat be separated from command responses but its entirely your personal choice!

So far I use MixItUp mostly for commands and a handful of channel point redeems as well. There are a bunch of options and it genuinely was a bit overwhelming to me at first but do a little research and ask questions when you have them. It's a pretty popular service so I know there are plenty of video guides about it online!

2.) Triggerfyre - "Dashboard for managing media triggers"

Second on my list is Triggerfyre! This one is an online service via a website so there is always a chance is may not work 100% correctly or may go down sometimes. I have had a pretty good success rate with it so far and I've been using it for a few years now. This one is relatively different from the last one. I use Triggerfyre for a lot of random actions. For example, I have a random sticker redeem that I added a bunch of cute PNG's or GIF's to so that when someone redeems it on stream, a random cute sticker appears for a few seconds.
 

The website, which you can find here, is also useful for making group triggers. This specific function I rely on Triggerfyre for at the moment as its the only place I've been able to find it so far. I have a fun "Zoom" redeem on my streams that allow people to zoom into my face with a channel point redeem for fun at any point they'd like to (with a cool down of a couple minutes, of course) and that always makes for very funny clippable moments. If you're interested in a guide/how to for that, I'd love to make one! Comment on this post to let me know if you're interested!

Again, this service isn't perfect and I will admit, as much as I like it, I have had some issues with it over the years. Rarely it completely doesn't work, but occasionally I get some hiccups in its function. For the most part though, I have had a solid experience with the service and I definitely would recommend it if you're looking to add some more fun things to your stream!

3.) StreamElements - "The Ultimate Streamer Platform"

Next on my list is StreamElements! I have been using this platform from the beginning of my streaming career and if it was a person I'm sure it would have cringed at how bad my stream was when I first started. It has definitely evolved and changed over the years since I first started using it but I have found it quite useful for a important handful of things.

If you aren't already using StreamElements, you can find the link here! Last year I would have mentioned the commands function or modules first but this time I am actually going to mention something a bit more niche you may not be aware of even if you already use it. In the "Chatbot" section of the site, there is a tab called "Spam Filters" at the bottom. The second option near the top is called "Link Protection" and this one is SO unbelievably useful for finding a balance between moderation and interactivity on stream.

If you don't already have this set up, you may have decided to block all links entirely or something similar. That can be really unfortunate when people want to share the clips they make of stream in chat! That's where this tool comes in clutch. Go to the "Allowlist" section and type in "https://clips.twitch.tv". That will allow clip links to come through into your chat but no other links you haven't allowed! You can set this up for any website link you want to be allowed and anything that is not in the Allow List will NOT be allowed through. Users will get a timeout and a message you can set. This can all be adjusted to your preferences and tastes. A rule of thumb is any part of a link to a site that's before the forward slash is what you want to put in the Allow List section.

Now, there are a whole bunch of features to StreamElements and I would be sitting here typing for way too long if I explained them all to you in this post, but if you want a more in depth guide about it please leave a comment letting me know! I will mention a few helpful features I do still personally use though! I still make use of the Overlays section for adding my own browser sources to stream, I still use the Quotes function which is VERY helpful and super funny for chat and creating a culture in your stream and last but not least I still use some basic chat commands like "followage", "accountage" and "watchtime".

4.) Sidekick - "Unlock your streaming potential"

Second to last is Sidekick! This website actually moved and changed a bit recently so if you were using it in the past you may need to update your stuff on there like I had to. I only use one part of this website personally and its the BRB Clip Player! I find it incredibly useful as it gives your chat something to watch while you go to the bathroom, get a drink, a snack, etc. There are a few customization settings to it like changing the clip date range, top clips or random clips and if its clips from the current stream category you're in. You can also set a header or a footer which have some details you can set as well.

Just like the past few services, Sidekick is also a website and you can find it here. They also appear to now offer "Advertising" features too, but I haven't dipped my toes into figuring out what that is for so I can't give you info on it unfortunately. They do have 3 widget types in total on the "Widgets" tab. They've got the "BRB Widget" which is the Clip Player, a "Shoutout Widget" which I only started using recently but its for shouting someone out and playing a clip of theirs on stream and lastly the "Social Widget" which isn't as customizable as I'd like, but you can setup a rotating feed of your social handles for people to see. All three of these are browser sources you can put into your streaming software!

That is the bulk of Sidekick and my experience with it. If any of you have used the "Advertisement" side of the website please let me know what your experience has been like as I don't know anything about it.

5.) Discord Streamkit Overlay - "Overlay for OBS & XSplit"

Last but not least is the Discord Streamkit Overlay! This is the most focused website out of all the ones I've told you about so far. The entire point is to add a Discord overlay to your stream via a browser source. There are a few options for exactly what that overlay shows stream. There is a "Status Widget", "Chat Widget" and a "Voice Widget". So far, I have only ever needed the Voice Widget for what I use. It's very helpful for differentiating who is speaking on stream when you're in a voice call with multiple people.

To get it setup, go to the website here. It's got a decent amount of customization options as well for all three overlay types. I appreciate that although it is, as I said, a pretty focused service, it still gives you options to make it suit your taste and needs more. I would definitely recommend setting it up if you collaborate with your friends a lot on streams or just have people in Discord calls with you on the regular!

The singular thing that I will mention that may get a tad annoying about it however is if you find yourself moving around to a lot of different voice channels in different servers, you will have to update the overlay on the site so it shows up in the browser source on your streaming software. I often am swapping between using my own server channels and friends server channels and I have to update it on the regular. That's my only slightly negative thing I have to say about it. 

Conclusion

Hi there! My name is Mystic and I've been streaming and content creating for 5 years now. Over the years I've definitely had my fair share of trying different services and tools to use to make my streams better, more interactive and all around more fun to watch. I'm not a fan of gatekeeping and I believe education should be accessible to everyone!

Remember to stream what you enjoy and try new things! I hope these we're informative to you and you found at least one helpful! 

If you'd like to see more posts like this please consider following this blog and following me on my other socials! I have an educational series called "Mystic's Guide to Streaming" on my YouTube channel and I stream live on Twitch on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays every week! See you in the next one!

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- Mystic