Live selling apps: which one should a shop use? (2026)
The live selling app a shop should use is the app of the platform where its customers already buy: TikTok (selling through TikTok Shop), the Shopee app (Shopee Live), the Lazada app (Lazada Live), Facebook on the shop's Page, and YouTube. Computer software such as OBS Studio is not a place to sell; it is a tool that makes the live screen look like a shop. Most shops should start with one or two apps that let viewers buy from a basket inside the live, then add channels once they go live consistently. This guide compares the live selling apps one by one: who each suits and what you must pass first.
Two kinds of live selling app
- Platform apps — where customers are: they watch, comment and buy. TikTok, Shopee, Lazada, Facebook and YouTube. You need a shop account there and must pass each platform's live rules.
- Streaming software (an encoder) — computer tools such as OBS Studio or Streamlabs that combine cameras, microphone, price signs and product clips into one picture and send it into a platform's live with a stream key. The software has no audience of its own.
A new shop only needs the first kind, on a phone. The second becomes useful once you are live every day and want a professional screen or a better camera than a phone.
Five platforms compared
What a shop needs to know before choosing: where you stream from, whether viewers can buy inside the live, and what you must pass. Rules change; check the current app before you plan.
| Platform | Go live from | Can viewers buy inside the live? | Before you can go live | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | The TikTok app, or desktop software for eligible accounts | Yes, through the TikTok Shop basket and pinned product | A regular account needs to be 18+ with 1,000 followers, or go live from a TikTok Shop seller account | Shops that want to reach people who do not know them yet |
| Shopee | The Shopee app (Shopee Live) | Yes, through the live basket, coupons and Flash Sale | A shop account with Shopee Live enabled | Shops already selling on Shopee; buyers come to buy |
| Lazada | Lazada Live in the app | Yes, through the product list in the live | The shop requests live access through Lazada's Seller Center | Shops selling mainly on Lazada |
| The Facebook app, or Live Producer on a computer | No; Live Shopping closed on 1 October 2022, so sales close with CF comments and chat | Account 60+ days old, Page with 100+ followers | Shops with regulars who like to message | |
| YouTube | The YouTube app, or YouTube Studio on a computer | Link to your shop in the description or chat; shopping features depend on the country, check YouTube Studio | Verified channel, no live restrictions in the past 90 days, 50 subscribers to stream from mobile | Shops that make long reviews, or products that need explaining |
Platform guides: selling on TikTok LIVE, going live on Shopee and going live on Facebook. Sources for the rules: Meta's Live Video API documentation and YouTube Help.
Where most Thais are
The best app is the one your customers open every day. The figures below are how many people each platform's ads could reach in Thailand in late 2025, the closest verifiable proxy for audience size. Read them as an overview, not as live viewers.
| Platform | Reach (millions) | Reported share | Use for live selling |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | 56.6 (aged 18+) | 96.3% of adults | Live through TikTok Shop with a basket |
| 51.5 | 71.9% of the population | Facebook Live on the shop Page; sales close in chat | |
| YouTube | 47.2 | 65.9% of the population | YouTube Live with a link to the shop |
| Messenger | 36.5 | 51.0% of the population | The chat channel behind Facebook lives |
| 20.6 | 28.7% of the population | Can go live; sales close in Direct messages |
The same report gives LINE 56 million monthly active users in Thailand, a different measure, so it is not in the chart. LINE is not where you sell live; it is where shops follow up after a live and announce the next one. Shopee and Lazada publish no comparable figure, but people open them to buy, so their lives tend to have fewer viewers who buy more easily.
Streaming software for a computer
| Software | Cost | Runs on | Strengths | Know this |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OBS Studio | Free, open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | Price signs, logo, clips and several cameras; streams to any platform that gives a stream key | First setup takes time; set a vertical canvas yourself for phone-style lives |
| Streamlabs | Free, with a paid tier for extra features | Windows, macOS | Ready-made screen templates; easier to start than OBS | Some features are in the paid tier |
| TikTok LIVE Studio | Free | Windows | TikTok's own app for going live on TikTok from a computer | Access depends on the account; check yours |
| Facebook Live Producer | Free | Web browser | Titles, scheduling, comments, and a stream key for OBS | Facebook only |
| YouTube Studio | Free | Web browser | Webcam lives or a feed from OBS; schedule ahead | Enabling live the first time can take 24 hours |
Our advice: start in the phone app; after a month of daily lives, move to OBS Studio, which its developers describe as free and open source, on Windows, macOS and Linux. For the gear around it, read live selling equipment.
Choose with four questions
Where do customers buy from you today?
If most orders come from Shopee, start with Shopee Live, because your followers there get notified. If customers mostly message your Page, start with Facebook. Go live where your customers are, not where the crowd is.
Repeat buyers or new ones?
TikTok tends to bring strangers into the live through its feed. Facebook, Shopee and Lazada are stronger with people who already follow the shop. A new shop with no customer base usually gains more from TikTok.
Can the sale close in the live, or does it need a chat?
Low-priced, quick-decision products suit apps with a live basket. Products that need sizing, measuring or made-to-order suit Facebook, where the sale closes in chat.
How many people run the live?
One person can run one app well. Some software can stream to several apps at once, but comments, baskets and rules stay separate per app; someone must answer every channel, and you must check that each platform allows the same feed to go to several places.
Safety shops overlook
- Never hand over the shop password — every platform that accepts a stream uses a stream key or account linking; ask why if a service wants your password
- Keep the stream key secret — anyone with it can stream into your live; reset it when admins change
- Download software only from the developer — OBS Studio from obsproject.com, not from links in groups or forwarded files
- Use the shop account, not a personal one — sales, followers and live stats stay with the shop when hosts change
- Read each app's live rules — they differ; Shopee, for example, penalises lives where nobody interacts with viewers
All the apps and no one to go live?
Apps are easy to find; someone in front of the camera at the same time every day is not. Many shops install every app and still go live once a week, because the owner has other work. Then the options are hiring a host or letting an AI host take the live.
AI live selling uses an AI made from the face and voice of a consenting real person, speaking the script your shop approved, streamed into your live with a stream key, never a password, with a human team controlling the script and comments backstage; UpperLive labels every live as AI. Read how it works and how each platform treats AI in what AI live commerce is, see the service at hire an AI live host, or how hour packages work at AI live selling price.
Questions this article raises
Which live selling app sells best?
None is best for every shop. The best is the one where your customers already buy: Shopee if your orders come from Shopee, Facebook if customers message your Page, and TikTok Shop if you want to reach people who do not know you yet.
Which live apps let viewers buy inside the live?
TikTok (through the TikTok Shop basket), Shopee Live and Lazada Live. Facebook closed Live Shopping on 1 October 2022, so shops take orders through CF comments and chat.
Do I need OBS?
Not to start; the phone app is enough. OBS Studio is free and open source and helps once you are live daily and want price signs, a logo or several cameras. It streams with a stream key, never your shop password.
Can I go live on several apps at once?
Some streaming software and multistream services can, but comments, baskets and rules stay separate per app. Someone must answer every channel, and you must check each platform's terms first. Most shops should do one app well before adding more.
I have the apps but no one to go live. What now?
Hire a host, or use an AI host made from a consenting real person, streamed into your live with a stream key, with a human team controlling the script and comments backstage and a label as AI on every live. Read each platform's rules on AI first.