Putting every platform's chat in one window is the easy part now. Plenty of tools do it. What separates them is what you can do once a message is in front of you, in the middle of a stream, with your hands already full.
CrossChat is a free, open-source chat hub I made for OBS Studio, Streamlabs Desktop or any other streaming app. It reads and replies on Twitch, YouTube, Kick, X, TikTok LIVE, Facebook, Instagram and Rumble, and it moderates on five of them. Here's where it pulls ahead of the tools streamers already use.
You can answer everyone
A merged chat that can only read some platforms turns into a list of people you can't respond to. CrossChat replies on all eight, to one person on their own platform or to every chat at once.
- Restream has no TikTok or Instagram, and its replies only work while you stream through Restream.
- Streamlabs Multichat reads Kick and X but can't reply on them, and has no Rumble.
- Streamer.bot covers Twitch, YouTube and Kick.
- Casterlabs has no X, Facebook, Rumble or Instagram.
- StreamElements' Multi-Chat covers Twitch, YouTube, X and Kick, with TikTok off in a separate dock.
TikTok without a stranger's server in the middle
CrossChat reads your own TikTok LIVE page in your browser and replies right there, with no outside service involved.
Casterlabs' TikTok chat runs through its servers, is read-only, and can take up to 10 minutes to connect. Social Stream Ninja's default desktop mode signs through Euler Stream, an outside service. Streamer.bot relies on third-party TikFinity. Restream doesn't support TikTok.
Moderation where you're already looking
A troll doesn't wait for you to find the right tab. In CrossChat you open the message and act, and the action happens on the platform itself:
- Twitch and Kick: delete, time out, ban, unban
- YouTube: remove, 5-minute timeout, hide user
- Rumble: delete, or mute for 5 minutes, the stream, or forever
- Facebook: delete
It's been tested live against a real viewer on Twitch, YouTube, Kick and Facebook, including from the chat docked inside OBS.
That dock is where a lot of tools stop. Streamer.bot's built-in moderation actions are removed when its chat is docked in OBS. Restream's documented blocklists and filters work inside Restream only. Social Stream Ninja's moderation covers Twitch and Kick.
Your chat stays yours, and it costs nothing
CrossChat has no account and no server. Your chat stays on your PC, and the code is MIT-licensed so anyone can check that.
Restream needs an account, and its free plan covers 2 channels with Restream branding; Standard is $19 a month. Unlimited streaming in Streamlabs needs Ultra, from $15.75 a month. CrossChat has one tier, and it's free.
One monitor is enough
Pair your phone with a QR code and the full chat runs on it. You can read, reply, moderate and put a message on stream from there, at home or away through Tailscale.
Casterlabs' docks stay on the same PC, and Streamer.bot leaves remote access to its WebSocket and your own network setup.
It runs where you stream
Windows with a signed installer, macOS on Intel and Apple silicon, and Linux. Casterlabs is Windows 11 only, SE.Live is Windows only, Streamlabs has no Linux version, and Streamer.bot runs on Linux and macOS only through Wine.
Set your channels once in Settings. After that CrossChat opens by itself when your stream starts and closes two minutes after you stop.
Good to know
- Rumble moderation has been tested on the streamer's own message so far, not on another viewer's.
- The Linux version was tested with Google Chrome on Ubuntu.
- TikTok is read from your LIVE page, so a TikTok redesign can break it until CrossChat is updated. Moderate TikTok chat in TikTok itself.
Other tools' details come from their own docs and pricing pages, checked 31 October to 1 November 2026. Prices and features change, so the links above show today's version.
Get it
Free and open source (MIT), for Windows, macOS and Linux:
https://github.com/RandyNorthrup/crosschat-obs
CrossChat is built with help from Claude Code.
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