SRT vs RTMP (2025): Which Streaming Protocol to Choose

SRT and RTMP both matter in live streaming—just in different places. Here’s a practical comparison so you can choose the right protocol for each leg of your workflow.

Quick take

• SRT: Best for contribution over the public internet. Handles jitter, loss, and variable paths with ARQ and configurable latency.
• RTMP/RTMPS: Still common for ingest to platforms and CDNs, but aging and less resilient on rough networks.

Latency

SRT typically runs sub-second to a few hundred milliseconds when paths are clean, and remains stable under moderate loss. RTMP is usually a bit higher and more sensitive to congestion.

Reliability & recovery

SRT’s ARQ retransmits lost packets and adapts to changing conditions. RTMP can stutter or drop when links fluctuate, especially on cellular or Wi-Fi.

Security

SRT supports strong encryption with simple passphrases. RTMPS adds TLS on top of RTMP but doesn’t fix transport-level fragility.

Compatibility

RTMP remains widely accepted for last-mile ingest to social platforms and older workflows. SRT support is growing fast across encoders, gateways, and media servers.

Best practices

• Use SRT from field to cloud (contribution), then transcode and relay as needed.
• Use RTMP/RTMPS if a destination demands it, or restream from the cloud to multiple RTMP endpoints.
• Standardize on naming, passphrases, and consistent latency settings across your team.

Bottom line: Choose SRT for getting video to your core reliably; use RTMP/RTMPS only where compatibility requires it. That hybrid approach gives you fewer surprises and broader reach.