In this guide, we’ve taken a look at seven of the best webcams for streaming and compared them based on their price and feature set in order to help you make the best decision possible.
While the types of games you play—and your skill level in those games—is a big determing factor in how successful you can become as a streamer, perhaps nothing is more important to your success as a streamer than who you are as a person. Whether you’re funny, or charming, or witty, or just all-around entertaining, it will be you that your followers continue to come back and watch.
If you have the personality necessary to continually bring your followers back to watch your streams, it’s a good idea—for various reasons—to give them a face to match to your personality. The best way to do that is by streaming a liveview of yourself while you play your games on stream. And, to do that, you’ll need a webcam.
In this guide, we’ve compared seven of the best webcams for streaming for now and into 2019 in order to help you find the best option for your budget and your needs. So, whether you’re looking to start streaming, or you’re looking to upgrade your current stream, one of the webcams below should help you out.
Table of Contents
1. Quick-Look: Top Webcams for Streamers
A Quick Look at the Best Webcams for Streaming
For those of you who want a quick-look at the top webcams, the table below showcases our pick for the best overall option, our runner-up pick, our selection for the best value webcame, and our top affordable option, too. Our ratings include both the webcam’s features and specs and the price it comes in at.
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NAME | SPECS | RATING | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
TOP PICK
|
 |
Logitech C922x |
|
/10 | |
|
RUNNER-UP
|
 |
RAZER KIYO |
|
/10 | |
|
VALUE
|
 |
Logitech C920 |
|
/10 | |
|
BUDGET
|
 |
Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 |
|
/10 |
*To read more about the webcams listed above, click on “Read Review »” to skip to the overview we’ve written on that camera. You can also keep scrolling to see our Honorable Mention selections.
Top Webcam for Streaming:
Logitech C922x
In our opinion and based on many of the reviews we’ve read, Logitech’s C922x and C920 are the two best webcams currently available, both because of the features and specifications they come with and the price they come in at.
The C920 is a little bit less expensive than the C922x, but the C922x has a couple of different features that helps it stand a bit above the C920. First and foremost, the C922x can stream at 720P resolution at 60 frames per second, whereas the C920 can only do 720P at 30 FPS. Both cameras can also stream at 1080P at 30 FPS as well.
The other main difference between the two cameras is their ability to handle low-light streaming. If you already have a solid lighting setup, this shouldn’t come into play, but if you don’t have great lighting, the C922x is going to be able to deliver a better quality picture than the C920 will—although, the C920 is no slouch in this category as well.
The C922x is also marketed with some background removal features, but that feature is actually software-based and not something specific to the C922x. So, ultimately, if you don’t mind spending ~$10 extra to get the C922x’s better low-light performance and the ability to stream at 720P @ 60FPS, that’s probably the better route to go. Or, if you don’t need either of those features, you could save a little bit and get the C920.
Our Runner-Up Pick:
RAZER KIYO
The Razer Kiyo is another solid option for streamers, but ultimately falls up a bit short to both the Logitech C922x and the C920 both on overall quality and the price it comes in at. At just under $100, the Kiyo comes in at ~$30 more than the C920 and ~$20 more than the C922x and both options from Logitech offer a better picture quality on average.
The Kiyo can stream at 720P @ 60FPS, so it does hold that advantage over the C920. And, it comes with a ring light that is supposed to help solve low-light issues as well and, for the most part, most users have found it helpful—although, there are complaints that the light can be distracting and it isn’t great for low-light scenarios.
Overall, we’d recommend passing on the Kiyo, mostly because of the fact that the C920 and C922x will offer a better solution for a lower price.
Best Value Option:
Logitech C920
We’ve already highlighted most of the positives of the C920 in our overview of the C922x, but as a general run-down, the C920 is on par with the C922x in most respects, except that it doesn’t quite perform as well in low-light scenarios (although, it does have decent light correction settings that will help), and it can’t stream at 720P @ 60FPS (instead, it’s limited to 30FPS at both 720P and 1080P.)
However, if you don’t mind streaming at 30FPS (which still isn’t bad) and you already have a decent lighting setup to eliminate low lighting (which, if you’re a serious streamer, you should probably have anyways), then the C920 will still be able to provide a picture quality on par with the C920.
Ultimately, though, the C922x is just $10 more and so while the C920 won’t differ from it very much in the grand scheme of things, it really isn’t the big of a leap in price to get those extra features that the C922x offers. So, that’s the route we’d recommend going if you don’t mind paying a little extra.
Best Budget Webcam:
Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000
If you’re just starting out streaming, or you are looking to incorporate a live view of yourself into your existing stream, and you just need a cheap option to test out how it goes, for under $25 the Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 will offer you a decent solution at an affordable price.
The LifeCam HD-3000 is limited to streaming at 720P @ 30FPS, but the picture quality is pretty decent for such a low cost. It won’t be a high-end option by any means and it won’t perform well in low-light situations, but if you’re looking to limit your investment into a webcam before you’re fully ready to commit to becoming a serious streamer, this is a nice entry-level option that will allow you to do so without breaking the bank.
Honorable Mention #1:
Logitech BRIO
One high-end option out there is the Logitech Brio. The Brio has a couple of features that Logitech’s marketing team has emphasized on, including the ability to stream at 4K resolution at 30FPS and 1080P resolution at 60FPS.
Logitech also touts the Brio’s ability to “eliminate” background through the provided software. However, most users have reported that the quality of the background removal feature is shoddy at best. And, if you wanted to go the route of background removal, you’d be much better off going the green screen route.
Still, though, the Brio will offer a solid stream quality in the grand scheme of things and it is one of only a few options that allows for 4K streaming. The downside, though, is the price it comes in at. At just under $175, the Brio is the most expensive option on this list. And, unless you want to stream at 4K @30FPS, you’d probably be better off going with the Logitech C922x or C920 for a fraction of the price.
Honorable Mention #2:
Creative Blasterx Senz3D
The Creative Blasterx Senz3D is another webcam option that tried to swing for the fences with advanced features, but ends up falling short. Like the Logitech Brio, the Senz3D touts its ability to recreate a green screen effect (or, to eliminate your background) through provided software. But, like the Brio, the Senz3D’s background removal process doesn’t really work that well. Although, it’s software can do other neat things like scan 3D objects (which you can then upload into Minecraft!)
However, unlike the Brio, there really isn’t much else that helps the Senz3D stand out despite the fact that it costs just under ~$150. Like the C922x, it can stream at 1080P @ 30FPS or 720P @ 60FPS. But, since it costs ~$80 more than the C922x, that isn’t a great consolation.
Ultimately, we’d recommend avoiding the Senz3D if you’re specifically looking for a streaming webcam, but if the other features jump out at you as something you can use, it might be worth considering.
Honorable Mention #3:
Logitech C930e
An alternative option to the C920 is the C930e. The C930e offers pretty much the same streaming quality as the C920 and currently comes in at the same price. It can only stream at 1080P @and 720P @ 30FPS (sames as the C920) and it comes in at just under $70 as well.
The only upgraded feature on the C930e is the fact that is has a wider viewing angle. However, for incorporating a live view of yourself into your stream, the wider view angle isn’t really necessary. And, the other downside of the C930e is that it doesn’t come with any software, so the camera settings must be controlled through your streaming program.
Ultimately, though, the C930e is priced similarly to the C920 and will offer essentially the same quality with a wider viewing angle. So, if you can utilize the wider viewing angle and/or you don’t mind a lack of software, the C930e might be a better option for you.
Which Webcam is Best for You?
If you’re looking to start a new stream, or you want to start incorporating a live view of yourself into your existing stream, one the webcams listed above should work for you regardless of your needs and budget. While there are definitely other choices out there, we thought these seven options (and, more specifically, the four options listed at the top) represented the best webcams for streaming currently available.
