Is OBS Studio or Surfer SEO better?

Neither clearly leads. OBS Studio starts at Free and Surfer SEO at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, OBS Studio or Surfer SEO?

OBS Studio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OBS Studio and On request for Surfer SEO.

Does OBS Studio or Surfer SEO run on more platforms?

OBS Studio runs on Windows, Macos, Linux. Surfer SEO runs on Web.

Can I use OBS Studio for free?

Yes. OBS Studio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Surfer SEO starts at On request.

What is OBS Studio best used for?

OBS Studio is most often used for live streaming gameplay or a desktop to twitch or youtube, recording screen and webcam locally, compositing multiple video and audio sources into scenes. Of those, live streaming gameplay or a desktop to twitch or youtube and recording screen and webcam locally are not what Surfer SEO is typically brought in for.

What can OBS Studio do that Surfer SEO cannot?

OBS Studio covers Real-time video/audio capturing, Scene composition, Audio mixer with filters, Configuration options.

Content Creation · head to head

OBS Studio vs Surfer SEO

OBS Studio

Content Creation

Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Surfer SEO

SEO & Website Optimization

AI search optimization and visibility

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only OBS Studio has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: OBS Studio the Windows build supports only Windows 10 and 11; Surfer SEO entry Discovery plan at $49 per month limits users to a single seat and 120 documents

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OBS Studio and Surfer SEO actually diverge.

Attributes where OBS Studio and Surfer SEO differ
Attribute	OBS Studio	Surfer SEO
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	free	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Windows, Macos, Linux	Web
Category	Content Creation	SEO & Website Optimization
Founded	2012	Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in OBS Studio

Real-time video/audio capturing
Scene composition
Audio mixer with filters
Configuration options
Modular 'Dock' UI
Studio mode
Plugin support
Streaming to multiple platforms

Only in Surfer SEO

Nothing recorded that OBS Studio does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

OBS Studio

Live streaming gameplay or a desktop to Twitch or YouTubenot Surfer SEO
Recording screen and webcam locallynot Surfer SEO
Compositing multiple video and audio sources into scenesnot Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO

No use cases recorded yet. See the Surfer SEO review.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

OBS Studio

The Windows build supports only Windows 10 and 11
The macOS build requires macOS 13.0 or newer
Linux support is distributed as a Flatpak and as a PPA for Ubuntu 24.04 and later rather than official packages for other distributions
Game Capture is a Windows only source

Surfer SEO

Entry Discovery plan at $49 per month limits users to a single seat and 120 documents
AI prompt tracking is excluded on the Discovery plan and capped at 25 prompts weekly on Standard, 50 daily on Pro
Unlimited documents on the Peace of Mind plan are subject to a fair usage policy rather than being truly unlimited

Pricing, plan by plan

OBS Studio

Free

FreeFree
- Unlimited recording time
- Live streaming to platforms
- Scene composition

Surfer SEO

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Surfer SEO review.

Which should you pick?

Choose OBS Studio if

You need real-time video/audio capturing.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Windows, Macos, Linux.
You also want scene composition.

OBS Studio review

Choose Surfer SEO if

Nothing in the data separates Surfer SEO from OBS Studio on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Surfer SEO review

Questions people ask

Is OBS Studio or Surfer SEO better?: Neither clearly leads. OBS Studio starts at Free and Surfer SEO at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OBS Studio or Surfer SEO?: OBS Studio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OBS Studio and On request for Surfer SEO.
Does OBS Studio or Surfer SEO run on more platforms?: OBS Studio runs on Windows, Macos, Linux. Surfer SEO runs on Web.
Can I use OBS Studio for free?: Yes. OBS Studio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Surfer SEO starts at On request.
What is OBS Studio best used for?: OBS Studio is most often used for live streaming gameplay or a desktop to twitch or youtube, recording screen and webcam locally, compositing multiple video and audio sources into scenes. Of those, live streaming gameplay or a desktop to twitch or youtube and recording screen and webcam locally are not what Surfer SEO is typically brought in for.
What can OBS Studio do that Surfer SEO cannot?: OBS Studio covers Real-time video/audio capturing, Scene composition, Audio mixer with filters, Configuration options.

OBS Studio vs Surfer SEO

OBS Studio

Surfer SEO

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in OBS Studio

Only in Surfer SEO

What people use each for

OBS Studio

Surfer SEO

Where each one falls short

OBS Studio

Surfer SEO

Pricing, plan by plan

OBS Studio

Surfer SEO

Which should you pick?

Choose OBS Studio if

Choose Surfer SEO if

Questions people ask

Related pages

More on OBS Studio

More on Surfer SEO

Keep looking

Other head to heads