StreamElements review

StreamElements is the easiest place for a new streamer to get a finished look without spending money. The vendor offers dozens of free animated alerts and overlays and hundreds of themes and layouts, and states plainly that whatever you use stays free forever. You pick a predefined template and then change almost anything in its visual editor, from colors and text to how a widget behaves. Overlays are hosted in the cloud, so you paste a link into your streaming software, and the SE.Live plugin brings StreamElements tools into OBS Studio. The same account adds a chatbot with moderation tools, SE.Tips for donations with custom designs, a leaderboard for top Twitch supporters and merch tools. The trade-off is depth: the editor has many settings, and it takes a little time to learn where each widget lives. For a streamer who wants alerts, a chat box and a matching theme tonight, nothing else here gives more for nothing.

Who it is for

New streamers who want professional alerts and overlays at no cost.

Price

Free, no paid plan for overlays and alerts.

100% FREE forever!
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Dozens of free animated alerts and overlays
• Hundreds of themes and layouts to start from
• Visual editor that changes designs and functionality of any template
• SE.Live plugin for OBS Studio
• Chatbot, SE.Tips tipping and SE.Leaderboard for top supporters

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Everything you use stays free, according to the vendor
• Strength: Templates remove the need to hire a designer
• Strength: Alerts, chatbot and tipping live in one account
• Weakness: Overlays still have to be added to your streaming app
• Weakness: The visual editor offers many options, which can slow a first setup
• Weakness: The site does not publish a full list of supported platforms on its home page

Key facts

• Price: Free forever
• Templates: Hundreds of themes and layouts
• OBS plugin: SE.Live
• Other tools: Chatbot, SE.Tips, Merch, SE.Leaderboard

Where it ranks

StreamElements is No. 1 in our Best Stream Overlay Tools verdict and No. 1 in Best Twitch Chat Bots.