Live Stream Bitrate Calculator
Get the recommended video and audio bitrate for YouTube Live, Twitch or Facebook Live — and see if your upload speed can handle it.
How it works
The calculator looks up the recommended video bitrate for your resolution, frame rate and platform (based on the official YouTube Live, Twitch and Facebook Live specifications), adds an audio bitrate (128 kbps for Standard, 160 kbps for High), and totals the two. It then multiplies the total by 1.25 to add 25% overhead — the safety margin recommended for stable live streaming — giving you the minimum upload speed you need. If you enter your actual upload speed, it calculates your headroom as a percentage.
How to use this tool
- Pick the platform you'll stream to.
- Choose the resolution and frame rate you want to broadcast at.
- Pick a quality preset — Standard is safe, High is for creators with strong upload speed.
- (Optional) Enter your real upload speed from a test on fast.com to see whether you have enough headroom.
- Hit Calculate. Copy the settings straight into OBS, Streamlabs or your encoder of choice.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the calculator add 25% to my required upload speed?
Live streams are unforgiving — a brief upload dip can cause dropped frames or a full disconnect. 25% overhead means your connection can absorb short slowdowns from other network traffic (updates, video calls, roommates) without ruining the broadcast. It's the safety margin every streaming guide recommends.
Why is Twitch capped at 6000 kbps?
Twitch's ingest servers enforce a 6000 kbps maximum for non-partnered channels. Streaming above 6000 kbps will get your stream throttled or disconnected. If you're broadcasting at 1440p or 4K on Twitch, the calculator will warn you that the bitrate has been capped and quality will suffer at that resolution.
What's the difference between Standard and High quality?
Standard uses the platform's officially recommended bitrate — reliable, low-risk, works on most connections. High multiplies the video bitrate by 1.5x (still capped at the platform maximum) for a visibly sharper picture on high-motion content like gaming, sports and music. Use High only if your upload headroom is at least 50%.
My headroom shows as Tight. Should I stream anyway?
Tight means you meet the required bitrate but have less than 30% headroom. Your stream will work in ideal conditions but can drop frames if anything else uses the network. Consider streaming at a lower resolution, switching to 30 fps, or wiring in via ethernet if you're on wi-fi.
Why 128 kbps for audio? Can I go higher?
128 kbps AAC is the sweet spot for voice and general content — indistinguishable from higher bitrates for most listeners. If your stream is music-focused, bump to 160 kbps by picking the High preset, or manually set 320 kbps in your encoder for full-fidelity music streams (add ~200 kbps to the required upload speed).
Do these settings apply to OBS, Streamlabs and vMix?
Yes — these are encoder-agnostic values. In OBS or Streamlabs go to Settings → Output → Streaming and paste in the video bitrate. Under Audio, set the bitrate to match. In vMix use the Streaming Settings dialog. The values work the same for all platforms.