Adding a chat box to OBS means creating a source that displays live comments from your streaming platform inside your broadcast

OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) does not have a built-in chat display, so you need to add one as a browser source — a window that pulls content from a website and shows it on your stream. The most common approach is to use a free chat overlay tool like Streamlabs Chatbox, Natsume, or your platform's native chat widget, then embed it into OBS as a browser source. This lets your viewers see comments appear in real time without you having to read them aloud or switch windows.

The process takes about five minutes once you have OBS open and know which platform you stream on (Twitch, YouTube, or another service). You will need to generate a browser source URL from your chat tool, paste it into OBS, and resize the box to fit your layout.

Key Takeaways

  • A chat box in OBS is a browser source that pulls live comments from your streaming platform and displays them on screen.
  • Streamlabs Chatbox and Natsume are free tools that work with Twitch, YouTube, and other platforms and generate a URL you paste into OBS.
  • You add the chat box by creating a new browser source in OBS, pasting the URL, and setting the width and height to match your stream layout.
  • Chat boxes work best positioned in a corner or along an edge so they do not cover your main content.

Using Streamlabs Chatbox (the most common method)

Streamlabs Chatbox is free and works with Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming. Go to streamlabs.com/chatbox, sign in with your streaming account, and select your platform. The tool will ask for permission to read your chat — approve it. You will then see a URL that looks like https://streamlabs.com/chatbox/v1?token=[long string of characters]. Copy this entire URL.

Open OBS and go to your scene. Right-click in the Sources panel (usually at the bottom left) and select Add Source. Choose Browser from the list. A dialog box will appear asking for a name — type something like "Chat" and click Create New. In the properties window that opens, paste the URL into the URL field. Leave the width at 400 and height at 600 to start — you can resize it later by dragging the edges in your preview.

Click OK. The chat box will now appear in your OBS preview. If it looks blank, wait a few seconds for it to load. You can move it around your scene by clicking and dragging, or resize it by right-clicking and selecting Transform to set exact dimensions.

Using Natsume for a lighter alternative

Natsume is another free chat overlay that is simpler and uses less computer power than Streamlabs. Go to natsume.stream, click Create Overlay, and select your platform. Sign in with your streaming account and approve the permission request. Natsume will generate a URL similar to Streamlabs.

The steps in OBS are identical: add a new browser source, paste the URL, and set your dimensions. Natsume's chat box tends to be more compact by default, so you may want to start with a width of 350 and height of 500. The main difference is that Natsume has fewer styling options, so if you want to customize colors or fonts heavily, Streamlabs is the better choice.

Positioning your chat box so it does not block your content

Chat boxes work best in a corner or along the edge of your stream. If you are playing a game, put the chat in the top right or bottom right so it does not cover the action. If you are doing a face-cam stream, position it to the side of your camera feed. A common size is 350 pixels wide by 500 pixels tall, but this depends on your total stream resolution.

To check how it looks to viewers, click Start Streaming in OBS and watch the preview on your platform. You can pause the stream, adjust the chat box position or size, and restart without losing viewers. Right-click the chat source in OBS and select Transform to set exact pixel positions if you want precision.

Troubleshooting a blank or frozen chat box

If your chat box appears blank when you start streaming, wait 10 to 15 seconds — it sometimes takes time to load. If it stays blank, check that you copied the URL correctly and that you are signed into the right streaming account in your browser. Close OBS completely and reopen it; sometimes the browser source needs a fresh start.

If the chat box freezes or stops updating mid-stream, the issue is usually that OBS lost connection to the chat tool. Restart the browser source by right-clicking it and selecting Refresh Cache. If that does not work, delete the source and add it again with a fresh copy of the URL. This usually takes less than a minute and does not interrupt your stream if you have a backup scene ready.

Customizing the appearance of your chat box

Both Streamlabs and Natsume let you change colors, fonts, and transparency directly in their web settings — you do not need to edit anything in OBS. Log back into the tool you chose, find the settings or customization section, and adjust the appearance. Changes take effect when ready on your stream.

If you want the chat box to be semi-transparent so viewers can see content behind it, some tools offer an opacity slider in their settings. You can also adjust opacity in OBS itself by right-clicking the source, selecting Filters, and adding a color correction filter — but changing it in the chat tool is usually simpler.

Using your platform's native chat widget instead

Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook all offer their own chat widgets that you can embed without a third-party tool. On Twitch, go to your Creator Dashboard, find Settings, and look for Chat Embed — Twitch will generate a URL you can paste into OBS as a browser source. YouTube's approach is similar: go to YouTube Studio, find the streaming settings, and look for chat embedding options.

Native widgets are lighter on your computer and do not require you to sign into a third-party service, but they usually have fewer customization options. If you want a straightforward chat box with minimal setup, this is the fastest route. If you want colors, fonts, or animations, Streamlabs or Natsume give you more control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does adding a chat box use a lot of computer power?

No, a chat box uses very little CPU or GPU. It is just text updating in a small window. If your stream is already running smoothly, adding a chat box will not cause lag or dropped frames. Natsume is slightly lighter than Streamlabs, but the difference is negligible for most setups.

Can I have multiple chat boxes on screen at once?

Yes, you can add multiple browser sources to the same scene, each with a different chat tool or platform. This is useful if you are streaming to Twitch and YouTube simultaneously and want to show both chats. Each one takes up a small amount of resources, so keep it to two or three to avoid performance issues.

What if I stream to multiple platforms at the same time?

Most chat tools let you select which platform to display. If you use Streamlabs or Natsume, you can only show one platform's chat per browser source, so you would need to add multiple sources if you want to display both Twitch and YouTube chat. Alternatively, some streamers use a chat aggregator tool that combines chats from multiple platforms into one feed.

Can viewers see the chat box if I am streaming to a platform that already shows chat?

Yes, the chat box you add to OBS is part of your broadcast video, so it appears on your stream on any platform. Viewers on Twitch or YouTube will see both the platform's native chat sidebar and the chat box you embedded in your video. This can be redundant, so many streamers choose to show chat only in OBS and let viewers use the platform's chat if they want to participate.

What happens to the chat box if my internet drops during a stream?

The chat box will freeze at the last message it received. Once your connection is restored, it will resume updating. If the outage is long, you may need to refresh the browser source in OBS to catch up with new messages. This is one reason to position the chat box in a corner — if it freezes, it is less noticeable to viewers.