Streaming Bitrate Calculator
Find the right streaming bitrate for Twitch, YouTube or Kick, with the upload speed needed, data used per hour and encoder recommendations.
Choosing a streaming bitrate
Bitrate is how much data you send per second of video. Too low and fast motion breaks into blocks; too high and viewers on slower connections buffer, while the platform may reject the stream outright. The right figure depends on resolution, frame rate, your encoder and the platform's ceiling.
Twitch's 6000 kbps ceiling, and the 2026 change
A standard Twitch stream tops out around 6000 kbps. That is comfortable for 1080p60 with a modern encoder and not enough for anything higher. If your scene is full of fast motion — a shooter, or a racing game — 936p or 900p60 at 6000 kbps often looks better than 1080p60 starved of data.
Since June 2026, Twitch's Enhanced Broadcasting in OBS raises that for Partners and Affiliates: up to 7.5 Mbps at 1080p, and 1440p streaming at up to 9 Mbps in HEVC. It needs a supported NVIDIA, AMD or Intel graphics card, because the card encodes several versions of the stream at once.
YouTube wants far more
YouTube publishes its own live-stream bitrates, and they are much higher: 17 Mbps recommended for 1080p60 in H.264, 34 Mbps for 1440p60, 50 Mbps for 4K60, with AV1 or HEVC needing roughly a third less. Its minimums are much lower — 6 Mbps at 1080p60 — so a tight upload still works, just with more compression.
Encoder choice matters as much as bitrate
x264 running on the CPU still gives the best quality per bit at slower presets, but it costs frames in the game you are playing. NVENC on RTX cards is close enough that most streamers use it and keep the CPU free. AV1, on RTX 40-series and RX 7000-series and later, delivers roughly the same quality at about 30% less bitrate — a genuine step forward where the platform accepts it.
Upload headroom, not upload speed
Never stream at more than about 70–80% of your measured upload. The remaining margin absorbs the bursts every encoder produces on scene changes. A stream configured right at your line's limit will drop frames the moment anything else on the network sends data. Check what your household needs overall with the Bandwidth Calculator.
Keyframes and buffering
Set the keyframe interval to 2 seconds — every major platform requires it, and getting it wrong causes viewers to see long buffering pauses when they join. Use CBR (constant bitrate) for live streaming; variable bitrate is for recording.
Frequently asked questions
What bitrate should I use for 1080p60 on Twitch?
Around 6000 kbps for a standard stream. Partners and Affiliates using Enhanced Broadcasting get up to 7.5 Mbps at 1080p. For very fast motion at 6000 kbps, consider 900p60 - fewer pixels, each getting more data.
How much upload speed do I need to stream?
At least 1.25 times your bitrate, which is what the calculator uses: 7.5 Mbps for a 6000 kbps stream. 1.5 times (9 Mbps) is more comfortable if others share the connection. Streaming at your line's limit causes dropped frames whenever anything else uses it.
Is NVENC worse than x264?
On Turing (RTX 20-series) and newer the gap is small, and NVENC frees the CPU entirely. x264 at slow presets still wins on pure quality per bit, but it costs game performance. Most streamers should use NVENC.
Should I stream in AV1?
If your GPU supports it and your platform accepts it, yes - roughly the same quality at 30% less bitrate. Support is still uneven across platforms and older viewer devices, so check before switching.
How much data does streaming use?
At 6000 kbps you upload about 2.7 GB per hour. On a metered or capped connection, a few hours a day adds up quickly - worth checking your allowance.