# System Design Interview: Live Streaming Platform (Twitch)

Source: https://www.techinterview.org/post/3233460515/system-design-live-streaming/
Updated: 2026-04-16 · techinterview.org

Designing a live streaming platform is fundamentally different from designing video-on-demand (YouTube). The challenge is latency — live content must be delivered with seconds of delay, not minutes, while simultaneously supporting millions of concurrent viewers. Twitch, YouTube Live, and Facebook Live all solve this problem with variations of the same architecture.

## Key Differences: Live vs VOD

| Dimension | Live Streaming | VOD (YouTube) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Content source | Real-time encoder (streamer) | Pre-uploaded file |
| Latency requirement | 2-30 seconds (low-latency:

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is HLS and how does it enable live streaming?

## Companies That Ask This Question

- [Twitch Engineering Interview Guide](/post/3233459925/twitch-interview/)

- [Meta Engineering Interview Guide](/post/3233460272/meta-interview-guide-2026-facebook-instagram-whatsapp-engineering/)