Icecast hosting

01The server

Software

Icecast 2.4.4, one server per station

Built and run by

Centova Cast, the control panel on every plan including the free one

Mount chain

/stream → /live (your encoder) → /autodj (the fallback), so a listener's link never changes

Auto DJ engine

Centova's Auto DJ on Liquidsoap, playing from a library on the server; paid plans only

Formats

MP3 and AAC from any encoder; Ogg Vorbis, Opus, FLAC and WebM as Icecast supports them

Listen links

A direct one, http://<server>:<port>/stream, and a secure one served by the panel, https://cast4.servcast.net/proxy/<station>/stream, for players inside https:// pages, apps and directories

Station page

Published by the panel with a working player; an embed code for a site you already have

Port

1,000 Mbps, unmetered: a quiet week and a week you go viral cost the same

Where

New York by default, Bucharest if you ask when you order; both rooms are Primcast's own

Listeners

1,000 at once on every plan, free included; a bigger peak is quoted rather than left to hit the ceiling live

02What Icecast is

Icecast is the open-source streaming server maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation and distributed under the GNU GPL version 2. It takes one stream in from a source, your encoder, and hands a copy to every listener who asks for the mount point, the path the stream lives at. Mount points are created the moment a source connects, so there is nothing to configure on the server side. The project's current release is 2.5.0, from December 2025; the stations here run the 2.4 line that Centova Cast builds against, and the mount points, formats and encoder settings are the same on both.

Read more at icecast.org, the Icecast FAQ and the Xiph stream directory.

03Plans

A year on either paid plan costs $240 less than twelve months. The plans are the same for Icecast and SHOUTcast stations; the reasoning behind each step is on radio hosting, and the refund terms are in the refund policy.

04Connect an encoder

# Icecast 2 · from your activation email
server     your station's IP address (Centova Cast › Quick Links)
port       assigned to your station
mount      /stream              copy
username   source               copy
password   your source password (not the panel password)
bitrate    at or under your plan: 32 / 64 / 128 Kbps
format     MP3, 44.1 kHz, UTF-8 metadata

05Round trip from this browser

Measured from this browser: one discarded warm-up, then the best of three, re-checked every few seconds while the page is open. A dash means no measurement has landed yet; nothing here is estimated. Stations open in New York; say Bucharest when you order and we place you there before you go on air.

06Icecast or SHOUTcast

Every new station here is built as Icecast. SHOUTcast is available on request, on the same plan at the same price, for the encoders and directories that need it. Of the stations running on our two servers on 14 September 2026, three in five are Icecast.

07Known limits of the free plan

1. 32 Kbps ceiling. An encoder set higher is refused, and the refusal usually shows as a password error. Set 32, or take a paid plan for 64 or 128.
2. No Auto DJ, no storage. The stream exists only while your encoder is connected. Uploading anyway pushes the account past a zero quota and stops the stream. Auto DJ comes with the paid plans.
3. One setup fee, charged once. It is not refundable, and it is the only charge a free station ever generates.
4. Support by email on the free plan; the paid plans add chat. The chat on this page is open at every hour to anyone.

08Questions

Is Icecast hosting here free?

Yes. The free plan is a real Icecast server: a thousand simultaneous listeners, 32 Kbps, an https:// listen link, no expiry. One setup fee is charged once when the account is built, and there is no monthly charge after it.

Which release of Icecast runs here?

Icecast 2.4.4, one server per station, provisioned and managed through Centova Cast, on servers Primcast owns in New York and Bucharest. Auto DJ on the paid plans is Centova's, driven by Liquidsoap.

What are the encoder settings?

Protocol Icecast 2; server and port from the activation email; mount point /stream; username source; the source password. Bitrate at or under the plan ceiling: 32, 64 or 128 Kbps.

Does the stream have an https:// URL?

Yes, on every plan. Direct: http://<server>:<port>/stream. Secure, served by the panel: https://cast4.servcast.net/proxy/<station>/stream, for players inside https:// websites, apps and directories. See SSL radio streaming.

Which audio formats does Icecast accept?

Officially Ogg Vorbis, Opus, FLAC and WebM; MP3 and AAC streams work with it and are what most stations send.

Is Auto DJ in the free plan?

No. Auto DJ plays from a library on the server and the free plan has no storage. Premium adds it with 3 GB; Platinum with no ceiling on the library.

What is the listener limit?

A thousand at once on every plan, free included. It is a firm ceiling; above it, an Enterprise stream is quoted on the peak you expect.

Icecast or SHOUTcast?

Every new station is built as Icecast. SHOUTcast is available on request on the same plan for encoders and directories that need it.

09Sources and related pages

• icecast.org — the project, formats, licence and release notes
• icecast.org/faq — mount points, sources, players
• centova.com/en/cast — the control panel on every plan
• dir.xiph.org — the public Icecast directory
• Radio hosting — the full plan ladder and why each step exists
• SHOUTcast hosting · Auto DJ · SSL radio streaming · Royalty fees · Hardware encoders · Encoder tutorials