📡 Stream Bitrate Calculator
Calculate optimal bitrate for Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Gaming. Get recommended OBS/Streamlabs settings based on your upload speed, resolution, and platform limits.
Stream Settings
💡 Expert Tips from a Twitch Partner
Twitch's 6000 kbps cap is real but undocumented—exceeding it doesn't improve quality, just causes issues. I tested streaming at 8000 kbps thinking "more bitrate = better"—OBS showed stable upload, but Twitch backend transcoded it down to 6000 anyway (checked stream health dashboard). Viewers with bad internet couldn't watch (no quality options as non-partner). Dropped to 6000 kbps exactly—same visual quality, stable for all viewers. Twitch doesn't officially cap bitrate but server-side processing effectively does. YouTube has 12-15K cap for 1080p, Facebook 8K. Know your platform limits before over-engineering.
Your "upload speed" on speedtest.net isn't your streaming capacity—budget only 70-80% max for stability. ISP advertises "up to 20 Mbps upload" but that's burst speed, not sustained. Real-world: 15-18 Mbps average, drops to 12 Mbps during network congestion (family streaming, torrents, updates). I had 10 Mbps upload, streamed at 8000 kbps (80%)—worked fine alone, but when roommate started Netflix (using 5 Mbps), my stream became unwatchable (dropped frames, buffering). Now I stream at 5000 kbps (50% of 10 Mbps upload)—rock solid even with household internet use. Test upload at peak hours, multiply by 0.7 for safe streaming bitrate.
NVENC "new" (RTX 20/30 series) is 95% quality of x264 'fast' but uses GPU instead of CPU—game-changer for single-PC streaming. Old NVENC (GTX 10 series) was noticeably worse than x264. RTX 2060+ NVENC is indistinguishable at 6000 kbps for most viewers. I upgraded from GTX 1070 (old NVENC, looked blocky) to RTX 3060 (new NVENC)—stream quality jumped massively at same 6000 kbps bitrate. CPU usage dropped from 60% (x264) to 5% (NVENC), game FPS increased 30% (120→155 FPS Apex Legends). If you have RTX card, use NVENC. If older GPU, consider x264 'fast' but watch CPU usage during streams.
Lower resolution at higher bitrate beats higher resolution at lower bitrate—900p60 @ 6000 kbps > 1080p60 @ 6000 kbps. Bitrate-per-pixel matters more than pixel count. 1080p60 (2 million pixels, 60 fps) at 6000 kbps = 0.05 bits/pixel. 900p60 (1.3M pixels) at 6000 kbps = 0.08 bits/pixel (60% more bitrate density) = cleaner image, less compression artifacting. I streamed 1080p60 @ 6000 on Twitch for 6 months—looked pixelated during fast movement. Dropped to 900p60 same bitrate—clarity improved, less blocking. Learned from @eposvox (encoding expert): bitrate budget determines quality ceiling, not resolution. If limited to 6000 kbps, 900p60 or 720p60 optimal, not 1080p60.
Encoding preset matters more than people think—'medium' looks 20% better than 'veryfast' at same bitrate but requires 3× CPU power. x264 presets (faster → slower): ultrafast, superfast, veryfast, faster, fast, medium, slow. Each step = ~10% quality gain but 50% more CPU use. I streamed 'slow' on 6-core CPU (Ryzen 5 3600) at 1080p60—CPU hit 100%, games stuttered, encoding lag warnings in OBS. Switched to 'fast'—quality 85% as good, CPU 40%, games smooth. Partners with dedicated streaming PCs use 'medium' or 'slow'. Single-PC streamers: use 'fast' or 'veryfast', or switch to NVENC. Don't sacrifice game performance for marginal stream quality—viewers prefer smooth gameplay over 5% better encoding.
⚠️ Common Streaming Bitrate Mistakes
❌ Streaming 1080p60 at 3000-4000 kbps
The Problem: Insufficient bitrate for pixel count causes visible compression, blocking during motion.
Real Example: Streamer with 5 Mbps upload tried 1080p60 at 4000 kbps (staying under 80% upload). Stream looked pixelated, especially during fast FPS gameplay—compression couldn't keep up with 2M pixels changing at 60Hz. Viewers complained "looks like 480p." Checked VODs—massive blocking artifacts, text unreadable. Dropped to 720p60 at 4000 kbps (same bitrate, fewer pixels)—quality night and day improvement. 1080p60 needs minimum 6000 kbps or looks worse than 720p60 at lower bitrate. Resolution isn't quality—bitrate per pixel is.
The Fix: For 3000-4000 kbps: use 720p60 or 720p30. For 5000-6000 kbps: 900p60 or 720p60. For 8000+: 1080p60. Match resolution to bitrate budget.
❌ Using VBR (Variable Bitrate) instead of CBR for streaming
The Problem: VBR spikes unpredictably, causing dropped frames when exceeding upload capacity.
Real Example: Streamer set OBS to VBR 6000 kbps "average" thinking it optimizes quality. Static menu screens: 2000 kbps (underused upload). Intense action: spiked to 12000 kbps (2× average, exceeded 10 Mbps upload). OBS showed 40% dropped frames during fights, stream buffered/froze for viewers. Didn't understand why—bitrate "averaged" 6000 over 10 minutes but spiked unsustainably every teamfight. Switched to CBR 6000—constant 6000 kbps, zero dropped frames. Twitch/YouTube require CBR (constant predictable upload). VBR for local recordings only, never live streams.
The Fix: In OBS: Settings → Output → Streaming → Rate Control: CBR. Set specific bitrate (not average). Never use VBR for live streams.
❌ Not testing upload speed during peak hours
The Problem: Upload speed varies by time—evening congestion reduces capacity 30-50%.
Real Example: Streamer tested upload at 2 PM (off-peak): 20 Mbps. Streamed at 8 PM (prime time): constantly dropping frames. Re-tested upload during stream: 12 Mbps (40% reduction from ISP congestion). Their 8000 kbps stream (designed for 20 Mbps) required 67% of reduced 12 Mbps capacity—any household internet use (Discord, browser) pushed over limit. Tested upload M-F 6-10 PM for 1 week: ranged 10-15 Mbps. Set stream bitrate to 6000 (50% of worst-case 12 Mbps)—stable every night. ISP "guaranteed" speeds are lies—test when you'll actually stream.
The Fix: Run speedtest.net upload test during your planned streaming hours (multiple days). Use 70% of LOWEST result as max bitrate.
❌ Maxing CPU with x264 'slow' or 'medium' on gaming PC
The Problem: CPU encoding at high presets destroys game performance on single-PC setups.
Real Example: Streamer with Ryzen 7 5800X (8-core) used x264 'medium' for 1080p60 stream. OBS showed beautiful encoding quality. In-game: FPS tanked from 144 to 60-80, stuttering every 10 seconds, input delay noticeable. CPU usage 95-100% (x264 'medium' used 6 cores, game needed 4+ cores). Viewers commented "gameplay looks weird." Switched to x264 'fast'—CPU 60%, game smooth 144 FPS, stream quality 90% as good. Learned x264 'medium' is for dedicated streaming PCs or pre-recorded content, not single-PC live gaming. 'Fast' or NVENC for gaming streams.
The Fix: Single-PC streaming: x264 'fast' or 'veryfast', OR use NVENC (RTX 20/30 series). Two-PC setup: x264 'medium' or 'slow' on dedicated stream PC.
❌ Ignoring keyframe interval (not setting to 2 seconds)
The Problem: Wrong keyframe interval causes buffering, prevents DVR/rewind, breaks transcoding.
Real Example: Streamer left OBS keyframe interval at default "auto" (often 10 seconds). Twitch wouldn't enable transcoding (quality options) for non-partner despite 100 concurrent viewers. Viewers couldn't rewind/DVR during stream. Twitch support said "keyframe interval must be 2 seconds for transcoding eligibility." Changed to 2 seconds—transcoding enabled immediately, quality options appeared, VOD rewind working. Keyframe interval = 2× framerate (60fps → 120 keyframes, but set interval to 2 seconds = 1 keyframe every 2 sec). Critical for Twitch/YouTube ingestion—"auto" often sets wrong value.
The Fix: OBS Settings → Output → Streaming → Keyframe Interval → set to 2. Never use "auto." Twitch/YouTube require this for transcoding/DVR features.
📖 How to Use This Calculator
- Select platform: Twitch (6K cap), YouTube (12K cap), etc.
- Choose resolution: Higher res needs more bitrate (1080p > 720p)
- Enter upload speed: Test at speedtest.net during streaming hours
- Content type: Gaming uses more bitrate than talk shows
- Calculate: Get recommended bitrate + OBS settings
- Test stream: Do 30-min test, check OBS stats for dropped frames
- Adjust: If dropping frames, reduce bitrate 1000 kbps at a time
OBS Stats to Monitor: View → Stats → watch "Dropped Frames" (network) and "Skipped Frames" (encoding). Goal: <1% dropped, 0% skipped.
"Bitrate isn't 'more = better'—it's matching capacity to constraints. I see new streamers crank 1080p60 at 8000 kbps on Twitch thinking it'll look pro, but (1) Twitch caps non-partners at 6000 kbps server-side anyway, (2) exceeding your upload's stable capacity causes dropped frames, and (3) viewers without transcoding options can't watch high-bitrate streams on mobile/slow internet. The formula is: (upload speed × 0.7) = max bitrate, then check platform caps (Twitch 6K, YouTube 12K, Facebook 8K), THEN choose resolution that fits that bitrate (6000 kbps → 900p60 or 720p60, not 1080p60). Biggest mistake: 'I have 100 Mbps download so I can stream 1080p60'—download doesn't matter, upload does. Test upload at speedtest.net during evenings (when you actually stream), use 70% of that number, and pick resolution accordingly. I spent 2 years streaming 1080p60 @ 6000 kbps looking pixelated before learning 900p60 @ 6000 looks cleaner (more bitrate per pixel). Now I educate streamers: bitrate density > raw resolution."