WebRTC vs HLS Latency

Turn on your camera. Publish once. Watch the same stream play back with sub-second WebRTC latency vs 8–12s HLS delay — live, side by side.

Live Latency Demo

CAMERA — PUBLISH SOURCE
BROADCASTING
IDLE
CLICK TO START
CAMERA
Start your live broadcast
Click Start Publishing to activate your camera. Both WebRTC and HLS players will auto-load the same stream — notice the latency gap in real time.
Notice the difference in latency between WebRTC ~300 MS and HLS 8–12s
WebRTC Ultra Low Latency · Real-time
~300 MS
 LIVE
~0.4s
Waiting for stream
Latency: Protocol: FPS: Jitter:
WebRTC WHIP P2P
HLS Adaptive Bitrate · Scalable
8–12 SECONDS
 LIVE
~10s
Waiting for stream
Latency: Protocol: Segments: Buffer:
HLS M3U8 ABR

Protocol Comparison

METRIC WEBRTC HLS
Latency ~300 MS 8–12 Seconds
Concurrent Viewers Cost Very High Low via CDN
CPU Usage High Low
Transport UDP / DTLS-SRTP HTTP / TCP
Adaptive Bitrate Full ABR Full ABR
Two-way Communication Native No
CDN Compatibility Poor Full
Network Sensitivity High Tolerant
Best For Interactive · Live – Realtime Mass Broadcast · VOD

How Does It Work?

STEP 01
Start Publishing

Click Start Publishing

Click the button above to activate your camera and begin broadcasting to our test server

STEP 02
streamtester.io wants to
Use your camera
Block
Allow

Allow camera access

Grant camera & microphone permissions when the browser prompts you

STEP 03
● Stream is Live

Watch the latency gap

Both players auto-start — see WebRTC near-instant vs HLS 8–12s delay, live

Key Enterprise Capabilities

Mission-Critical Live Streaming Infrastructure for Business Growth

Real-Time Streaming

Deliver live video with 300ms latency using advanced WebRTC technology.

Transcoding

Bitrate optimisation with our enterprise-grade adaptive streaming.

Open APIs & SDKs

REST APIs and SDKs for iOS, Android, Unity, React Native, Flutter, and JavaScript.

Multi Protocol Support

WebRTC, LL-HLS/DASH, CMAF, HLS, RTMP, RTSP, SRT, WHIP/WHEP and Zixi.

Security & IP Camera Monitoring

Enterprise-grade security protocols and monitoring via IP Cameras.

Scalability

Auto-scaling architecture even on premise or on public/private cloud.

Deploy Anywhere

On premise, private cloud, public cloud, air gapped networks and offline license capability.

Cost Efficiency

Flexible pricing — hourly, monthly, annual subscriptions and perpetual license.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Reach out to our customer support team.

Ant Media Server delivers WebRTC at ~300ms latency Ant Media, while HLS delivers 8–12 seconds of standard latency. CMAF sits between the two at approximately 3 seconds. Ant Media The live demo streams the same source through both players simultaneously so the difference is directly observable.
WebRTC consumes significantly higher CPU resources compared to HLS. A 4-core server handles approximately 200 WebRTC viewers but can serve approximately 1,000 HLS viewers — a 5x difference — assuming no bandwidth bottleneck. Ant Media WebRTC maintains a stateful UDP connection per viewer, while HLS delivers static file segments cacheable by a CDN with no per-connection server processing.
WebRTC playback is supported only in the Enterprise Edition of Ant Media Server. Antmedia Standard HLS playback is available in both editions. Ant Media Server is available in two versions — Community Edition and Enterprise Edition — and a comparison table is provided in the documentation.
Ant Media Server transcodes a single WebRTC ingest into HLS output in real time, so publishers broadcast once via WebRTC and viewers access the same stream through either WebRTC or HLS depending on latency requirements and player compatibility. HLS/DASH distribution scales to millions through CDN delivery.
WebRTC is much more sensitive to network conditions compared to HLS. Ant Media HLS suits large-audience broadcast delivery — live events, linear TV, VOD — where 8–12 seconds of latency is acceptable and CDN scalability matters. WebRTC at ~300ms is the correct choice for interactive use cases where real-time response is critical Ant Media, such as live auctions, telehealth, video conferencing, and online gaming.

Loved by Developers and Businesses Worldwide

See what our customers are saying on trusted review platforms

"The biggest thing for us with Ant Media Server is the 0 latency streaming service and really good support from the team."

Antoine M.

Local IT Technician
Computer Games
Jun 18, 2025

"So far so good. No delays whatsoever. It keeps up to our expectations. It exceeds sometimes. Overall it is a good experience using Ant Media Server"

Marcus John C.

Software Developer
Computer Software
Jul 31, 2025

"Antmedia has been a perfect solution for our school with its videoconferencing solution, it has allowed us to maintain full control of our classes and infrastructure to provide better attention, 100% recommended, a reliable solution that is easy to use and implement."

Vilars Z.

Administrator
Education Management
Dec 12, 2024

"Been using AMS for several years and have had great experiences with it. Our videos stream as expected. The server is easy to set up and manage."

Jud S.

Systems Engineer
Enterprise
Dec 1, 2024

"We have been using Ant Media Server for a while now, and I'm extremely impressed with both the product and the team behind it. The server performs efficiently, offering great streaming capabilities, but what truly sets Ant Media apart is their exceptional customer support."

AWS Customer

Verified Customer
AWS Marketplace
Nov 15, 2024

"We are using AntMedia streaming for our product VR Vitalis Pro that is used by physiotherapists during rehabilitation sessions. Thanks to AntMedia, physiotherapists can see what patient see in VR headset and navigate him/her."

AWS Customer

Verified Customer
AWS Marketplace
Oct 28, 2024

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