How to add a lower third to your stream

A lower third is the quiet workhorse of a produced-looking stream: your name and handle for every new viewer, a guest credit the second they speak, a “now playing” caption nobody has to ask about. In Kloot you build it once, theme it to your brand, and toggle it from one deck key. Here is how — on the real panel and the real overlay.

6 steps ~4 minBeginner Updated July 2026

How do you add a lower third to your stream?

Add Kloot's overlay URL as an OBS browser source, build a lower third in the panel — pick a layout, add your name, title and optional photo — then fire it on screen. It animates in, holds, and clears on command from your phone or browser deck. It's about a four-minute setup.

You set it up here

It lands here — the real overlay

Manual
LIVE👁 1,248
DrNinja
Valorant — Platinum Lobby

What you’ll build

A branded name banner in your chosen corner — one of five layouts, your accent color, smooth motion — that one deck key shows and hides (or an auto-hide timer clears for you).

Step by step

  1. 1

    Add your Kloot overlay to OBS (once)

    Paste your single Kloot overlay URL into one Browser source in OBS and size it to your canvas. That one source powers your lower thirds and every other Kloot tool — you never add another browser source.

    Already have Kloot in OBS from another tool? Skip this — lower thirds ride the source you already added.

  2. 2

    Write the title and subtitle

    Open the Lower Thirds tool and fill a slot: the title is the big line (your name, the guest, the track), the subtitle is the context (@handle, role, album). Pick a font that matches your brand — gaming, clean, script, retro.

    Keep the title to a glance. The subtitle is where handles and detail live — it renders smaller and quieter.

  3. 3

    Add a profile image (optional)

    Upload a photo or logo and choose circle or rounded-square. It sits beside the text — ideal for guest intros and podcast straps where a face makes the credit land.

  4. 4

    Pick a layout — and go transparent if it sits on camera

    Five layouts: Bar (the broadcast classic), Card, Minimal, Gradient, and Podcast. The transparent toggle strips the solid plate so the strap sits directly on a webcam feed — the TV-interview look.

    Dark scenes → Bar or Gradient. Webcam-first formats → Podcast + transparent. Art/music streams → Minimal.

  5. 5

    Set the accent, corner, and motion

    One accent color tints the bar, border, and gradient together. Choose any of the four corners with the position grid, and pick the reveal motion — cut, fade, slide, pop, or bounce.

    Bottom-left is the broadcast default. If your game HUD lives there, top-left reads just as naturally.

  6. 6

    Pin the key and fire it on cue

    Each slot gets a deck key: one press shows the lower third, one press hides it — from your browser or your phone. Set an optional auto-hide (30–120s) and it clears itself while you keep playing.

    You get five slots. Build “me”, “guest”, and “now playing” once — then every stream is just a key press.

How a lower third runs, live

Once the slot is built, running it is one key — show, hold, hide. Here’s the whole loop, and what each side sees.

  1. You fire it· step 1

    Press Show

    Tap the deck key when the segment starts. The lower third slides into its corner with your chosen motion — name, subtitle, and accent, over whatever scene is live.

    You: Press Show
    Overlay: Slides into the corner
    Viewers: Sees who / what this is
  2. It holds· step 2

    It holds the corner — or times out

    Leave it up all segment, or set an auto-hide so it clears itself after 30–120 seconds. Either way you keep playing; the overlay does the housekeeping.

    You: Nothing — keep talking
    Overlay: Holds, then auto-hides
    Viewers: Reads it at a glance
  3. Live edit· step 3

    Swap the text mid-stream

    New guest, new topic, new song — change the title or subtitle in the panel and save. The overlay updates in place, no OBS touch, no re-adding sources.

    You: Edit + save in the panel
    Overlay: Text updates in place
    Viewers: Sees the new name instantly
  4. You clear it· step 4

    Press again to hide

    The same key toggles it off with the exit motion. Each of your five slots keeps its own text, layout, and corner — the intro strap you build tonight is one press away next stream.

    You: Press Hide
    Overlay: Slides back out
    Viewers: Clean scene again

When a lower third earns its corner

It’s the quietest tool on the deck — and the one that answers “who is this / what is this?” all stream:

Your handle, every raid

When: New viewers land mid-stream — a raid, a host, a clip gone around.

Why it works: A name-and-socials strap answers “who is this?” without you breaking the moment to say it.

Guest & collab intros

When: A guest joins the call or a co-stream starts.

Why it works: Fire their name + handle the second they speak — it credits them properly and sends followers their way.

Now playing / now doing

When: Music streams, art streams, category swaps.

Why it works: A quiet caption keeps the current track or task on screen, so nobody has to ask in chat.

Podcast & IRL name straps

When: Talk shows and webcam-first formats.

Why it works: The transparent podcast layout sits directly on the camera feed — broadcast-style speaker names without a solid plate.

The lower third layouts you can run

Bar, gradient, minimal, or a transparent podcast strap — every preview below is the real overlay renderer, in your colors, motion replaying.

Slide motion, replaying
Kai Vega
@kaivega · Ranked grind

Bar — the classic name tag

The broadcast default: accent bar, name, handle. Reads from any screen size.

Your name and @handle in your brand color, bottom-left, every stream. New viewers know whose channel this is in one glance — no chat command needed.

One key shows and hides it
Ocean blue template
Riya Kapoor
Tonight’s guest · @riyaplays

Gradient — the branded sweep

A color sweep that carries your palette — the “produced show” look.

Guest intro on a collab night: their name rides your brand gradient, so the overlay says “this is my show, this is my guest” — and their handle is on screen while they talk.

Each slot keeps its own text + corner
Clean white template
Now playing
Midnight Drive · Lo-Fi Radio

Minimal — the quiet caption

A clean, small caption that informs without competing with the scene.

“Now playing · Lo-Fi Radio” under a music or art stream. It answers the most-asked chat question all session and never covers your work.

Auto-hide clears it on a timer if you want
Transparent · podcast layout
Dev Talks Live
Ep. 42 · Shipping the impossible

Podcast — the transparent strap

Broadcast-style speaker names that sit directly on the camera feed.

A talk-show format with two cams: each speaker gets a transparent strap in their corner — the “TV interview” look with zero solid plate blocking the shot.

Transparent flag strips the background

Where it lands on your stream

Pick any of the four corners. Run two slots at once — host one side, guest the other — and Kloot stacks widgets sharing a corner automatically.

Your stream · OBS output
LIVE
Kai Vega
@kaivega · Ranked grind
Riya Kapoor
Guest · @riyaplays
Any of the four corners — clear of HUDs and cams Two slots at once: host + guest, opposite corners

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Cramming a paragraph into the title — it renders big. Put detail in the subtitle, which is styled to carry it.
  • Placing it over the game HUD or your cam. Pick the corner that stays clear in your busiest scene — you have four.
  • Leaving a stale “now playing” up for an hour. Set the auto-hide timer, or make updating the slot part of the segment swap.
  • Adding a second OBS browser source for the lower third. One Kloot URL already carries it — a duplicate just stacks overlays.

Frequently asked

What is a lower third on a stream?

A lower third is the small name-and-title banner that sits in a lower corner of the screen — the same graphic TV uses to introduce a speaker. On a stream it usually carries your name and handle, a guest credit, or a “now playing” line.

Does the lower third show automatically?

No — Kloot is manual-fire. You show and hide it from a deck key in your browser or on your phone, and an optional auto-hide timer can clear it for you after 30–120 seconds. Nothing pops in on its own.

Can I change the text while I am live?

Yes. Edit the title or subtitle in the panel and save — the overlay updates in place within a second, without touching OBS. That is how you swap guest names mid-show.

Can I run more than one lower third at once?

Yes — you get five slots, each with its own text, layout, and corner. Host bottom-left and guest bottom-right is the classic two-slot setup, and widgets sharing a corner stack automatically instead of overlapping.

Will it work over my webcam for a podcast look?

That is what the Podcast layout + transparent background is for: it strips the solid plate so the name strap sits directly on the camera feed, broadcast style.

Which plan includes lower thirds?

Lower thirds are on the Creator plan ($15/mo) and up, alongside polls, alerts, tickers, counters, borders, and the effects library — with no watermark.

Look produced.
Stay hands-on.

Five slots, five layouts, your colors — shown and hidden from one key. Lower thirds are on Creator, with no watermark.

Start free

Free plan · Creator $15/mo · Pro $25/mo · Event Pass $9 for 3 days