Choosing a streaming panel is one of the most impactful decisions you'll make for your radio or web TV. The wrong pick means months of fighting with features you don't need, or workarounds for features you desperately need. Here's our honest take after running streaming infrastructure for 30+ years.
The 5 contenders in 2026
- SonicPanel
- VDO Panel (Centovacast successor)
- AzuraCast
- Icecast (raw, no panel)
- Custom — AlphaOnAir / AlphaStream Panel
1. SonicPanel
Best for: Hosts and resellers who need a polished, multi-tenant platform.
Pros: Clean modern UI, strong reseller features, great mobile app, solid support.
Cons: Paid licensing, limited customisation for end-users, features tailored mostly for shared-hosting resellers.
2. VDO Panel
Best for: Former Centovacast users who want similar workflow.
Pros: Familiar UX, broad format support, decent AutoDJ.
Cons: UI feels dated, smaller community in 2026, slower development cycle.
3. AzuraCast
Best for: Technical users who want full control and zero licensing cost.
Pros: Free & open source, actively developed, huge feature set, excellent mobile apps.
Cons: Docker-based setup has a learning curve, you're on your own for support, resource-hungry on small VPS.
4. Icecast (raw)
Best for: Engineers who want the absolute minimum overhead and full custom pipelines.
Pros: Lean, battle-tested, runs on anything, multi-bitrate streaming built-in.
Cons: No UI, no AutoDJ, no stats dashboard — you build everything on top.
5. AlphaOnAir / AlphaStream Panel (custom)
Best for: Broadcasters who want a white-label, fully-supported solution tailored to Greek market needs.
Pros: Greek & English UI, zero learning curve, live-assist automation, Greek licensing-aware reporting, 1-on-1 support from a team that's been in Greek broadcasting since the 90s.
Cons: Only available through AlphaServer (by design).
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | SonicPanel | VDO | AzuraCast | Icecast | AlphaStream |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AutoDJ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Mobile app | ✓ | — | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Multi-bitrate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video streaming | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Greek UI | — | — | partial | — | ✓ |
| Local support | — | — | community | — | ✓ |
Which one should you pick?
- You're a hosting reseller: SonicPanel.
- You're technical and want free: AzuraCast.
- You need bare metal performance: Icecast.
- You want zero headaches & local support: AlphaStream Panel.
Not sure which is right for you?
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