Most Google+ users already know about the Hangouts feature app and how it’s already one of the most popular tools to use for group video chats with up to 10 participants. Hangouts On Air is an extension of the original Hangouts feature, allowing users to broadcast video for free to a larger audience on Google+, YouTube or their own website. Broadcasters using Hangouts On Air can also take questions and interact in real time with their audience.

Even though YouTube is typically known for providing all types of video that have been previously recorded, edited and uploaded, it actually offers a broadcasting feature for live video, which you can access by clicking on “Live events” found in the Video Manager of your account. After you verify your account and enable live streaming, you’ll be able to set up your webcam and even engage with your audience in real time as they watch.

I’ve noticed that a lot of active YouTubers and Viners tend to favor YouNow in particular when it comes to launching live streaming videos for their viewers and subscribers, even though YouTube has a broadcast feature of its own. BlogTV used to be the go-to tool of choice by YouTubers before it moved to YouNow. YouNow is one of the trendier live broadcast alternatives for stars who are big online already — musicians, actors, comedians and all sorts of other entertainers.

Most broadcast tools on this list offer at least some way for broadcasters to interact with their audience, but if you’re looking to place a bigger emphasis on viewer interaction and chatting, Tinychat may be worth a try. Tinychat is an online videochat community used mostly for casual chatting purposes. You can set up your own video chat room in any category or topic and invite other users to join, or alternatively join an existing one to view and chat.

Justin.tv used to be a popular video streaming service that was recently shut down in favor of the development of Twitch instead. Twitch is mostly a platform used by video gaming enthusiasts who enjoy broadcasting their games and watching other users play, compete, teach and do all sorts of other things that gamers do. If gaming is your thing, then Twitch is where you want to be. If you’re looking to broadcast something unrelated to gaming, you should choose one of the other options listed here.

Veetle is another cool little video broadcasting tool that recently popped up on the web, currently in beta. You can quickly sign up for an account start broadcasting high-quality video to an unlimited number of viewers. Mobile apps for Android and iOS devices are also available for both viewing and streaming, and signing up for a Pro Plan will remove all the ads for just $4.99 per month.

Looking for another simple video broadcast option? Like Veetle, Bambuser focuses on making its service easy to use and available to capture, share and watch streaming video from a computer or mobile device. You can also instantly share video to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social networks. The tool is also free to use for personal use, or you can sign up for a premium plan for access to some additional features.

Meerkat hasn’t been around for long, but it’s already wildly popular on Twitter. At this point in time, it only comes in the form of an iOS app and is used for streaming and tweeting live video. Simply tap the stream button, and your followers will show up as viewers in the app when they choose to watch. According to Meerkat, everything happens on Meerkat happens on Twitter too, in real time.

Most of the broadcast tools listed above can all be used for free to broadcast live video to a large number of online audience members worldwide. Livestream, on the other hand, is for people and businesses that are more serious about their broadcasted events — offering a suite of Platform, Producer, Broadcast and Studio products for a monthly fee. A 30-day free trial is included, after which users can choose from a Basic, Premium or Enterprise plan.

Ustream is comparable to Livestream, offering high quality and products and features to people and businesses who are downright serious about broadcasting the best live video content to their online audiences. Broadcasters also have a 30-day free trial option with this one, and Enterprise plans are as much as $2,000 per month. Unless you’re streaming big events here, your best bet would be to stick with one of the free options listed above.