Free tool
Live streaming bitrate calculator
Find the right encoder bitrate for your resolution, frame rate, and connection.
Estimate a video bitrate range for your resolution and frame rate, and calculate a connection-based maximum from the share of upload capacity you choose. The results are the same kbps values you enter in OBS or Streamlabs for Twitch, YouTube Live, or any RTMP and SRT destination.
How the recommendation is calculated
The recommended range is based on pixels per second, width × height × frames per second. The low end multiplies pixels per second by 0.079, and the high end by 0.15, then converts to kilobits per second (kbps).
The connection-based maximum is your upload speed (Mbps) converted to kbps, multiplied by the percentage you choose to allocate to streaming. The calculator reports the mathematical limit for that allocation. Real-world stability still depends on sustained upload performance and additional encoder overhead.
- Pixels per second = width × height × fps
- Recommended low (kbps) = round(0.079 × pixels/sec ÷ 1000)
- Recommended high (kbps) = round(0.15 × pixels/sec ÷ 1000)
- Max bitrate (kbps) = round(upload Mbps × 1000 × percentage ÷ 100)
Recommended bitrate for streaming by resolution
The calculator's range scales with pixels per second and assumes high-motion content, so it runs above what most channels need at large resolutions. These are the H.264 video bitrates streamers actually use, based on platform encoder guidelines:
- 480p at 30 fps: 1,000 to 2,000 kbps
- 720p at 30 fps: 2,500 to 4,000 kbps
- 720p at 60 fps: 3,500 to 5,000 kbps
- 1080p at 30 fps: 3,500 to 6,000 kbps
- 1080p at 60 fps: 4,500 to 9,000 kbps (6,000 kbps on Twitch)
- 1440p at 60 fps: 9,000 to 18,000 kbps (YouTube)
- 4K at 60 fps: 20,000 to 51,000 kbps (YouTube)
- Audio: add 128 to 320 kbps AAC on top of the video bitrate
Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook bitrate limits
Every platform caps what its ingest servers accept, and the cap beats any quality target. Twitch accepts up to 6,000 kbps of video for most channels, and partners can push roughly 8,000 kbps. If the calculator recommends more than 6,000 kbps for a Twitch stream, lower the resolution or frame rate instead of raising the bitrate.
YouTube Live accepts much more: 4,500 to 9,000 kbps for 1080p at 60 fps and up to 51,000 kbps for 4K at 60 fps. Facebook Live tops out at 1080p with 3,000 to 6,000 kbps recommended. To multistream, either encode once at the lowest cap among your destinations, or send one high-quality stream to Castr and let adaptive bitrate transcoding produce the right rendition for each platform.
Codecs, quality, and stability
Your total bitrate depends heavily on your internet connection. High bitrate settings need a stable connection, and if it can't keep up you'll see buffering and lag. H.265 (HEVC) compresses more efficiently, so you can reach similar quality at a lower bitrate than H.264, which remains the most widely compatible codec for delivery.
Aim to stay within the estimated range and below the connection-based maximum. Account separately for audio bitrate and protocol overhead when setting the encoder's total output. If the connection is limited, lower the resolution or frame rate rather than pushing total encoded bitrate past sustained upload capacity.
Streaming bitrate vs recording bitrate
A recording never touches your upload connection, so recording bitrate can run far higher than streaming bitrate. Local 1080p 60 fps recordings look clean from about 12,000 kbps with H.264, and footage you plan to edit and re-encode benefits from 40,000 kbps or more.
In OBS and Streamlabs, the value this calculator estimates goes in Settings, Output, Streaming, with rate control set to CBR, which is what live platforms expect. Configure recording separately: quality-based modes like CQP or CRF hold visual quality steady without you picking a number at all.
Frequently asked questions
What bitrate should I stream at?
Use a bitrate inside the recommended range for your resolution and frame rate, as long as it stays under the maximum your upload speed can sustain. This calculator shows both so you can pick a safe value. For reference, most 1080p 60 fps streams run between 4,500 and 6,000 kbps.
What is a good bitrate for 1080p 60fps streaming?
4,500 to 9,000 kbps of H.264 video. On Twitch, use 6,000 kbps, the ingest cap for most channels. YouTube Live accepts the full range. For 1080p at 30 fps, 3,500 to 6,000 kbps is enough.
What is the max bitrate for Twitch?
6,000 kbps of video for most channels, plus up to 320 kbps of audio. Twitch partners can push roughly 8,000 kbps. Going past the cap causes dropped frames rather than better quality, so raise resolution headroom by streaming 936p or 720p instead.
How many Mbps is 6000 bitrate?
6 Mbps. Divide kbps by 1,000 to convert. Plan for about 1.5 times that in sustained upload speed, roughly 10 Mbps, to leave headroom for audio, protocol overhead, and network variance.
Does this calculator work for OBS and Streamlabs?
Yes. Enter the recommended value in Settings, Output, Streaming as the video bitrate in kbps, set rate control to CBR, and set audio to 160 kbps or higher. The same numbers apply to any encoder that streams over RTMP or SRT.
Should my recording bitrate be higher than my streaming bitrate?
Yes. Recordings are limited by disk space, not upload speed. Use 12,000 kbps or more for clean 1080p 60 fps H.264 recordings, roughly double a typical stream, or use a quality-based mode like CQP or CRF and skip the number entirely.
Why does frame rate affect bitrate?
Bitrate scales with pixels per second, which is resolution multiplied by frame rate. Streaming 1080p at 60 fps moves twice as many pixels per second as 1080p at 30 fps, so it needs a proportionally higher bitrate.
Does H.265 need less bitrate than H.264?
Generally yes. H.265/HEVC compresses more efficiently, so it can deliver comparable quality at a lower bitrate. H.264 is still the most broadly compatible codec for delivery across devices.
What upload speed do I need to stream?
At least 1.5 times your total encoded bitrate, video plus audio. A 6,000 kbps stream needs about 10 Mbps of sustained upload. The calculator's default 60% allocation builds in similar headroom. Use the bandwidth calculator to estimate the delivery side for your viewers.
Stream at the right quality, everywhere
Castr transcodes your live stream into multiple renditions so every viewer gets smooth adaptive playback, and multistreams it to Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook within each platform's limits.