There is no universal winner. For a server-based YouTube playlist stream, compare the complete monthly cost for a suitable server in the region you need—including outbound transfer and any public IPv4 charge—with the traffic your chosen bitrate will generate. Lightsail bundles compute and transfer into monthly plans; Hetzner Cloud pricing varies by resource class and location. Neither provider’s plan price establishes that your encoder, network route, YouTube ingest, and restart process will keep a broadcast healthy.
The key distinction is whether your VPS only relays an already encoded playlist or also decodes and re-encodes video. Relaying and transcoding have different CPU, storage, and traffic requirements. If you want to avoid administering a VPS, StreamNeo is a cloud alternative for looping uploaded videos to YouTube.
What to compare before choosing
Compare the same workload in the same region, not just the headline VPS price. Your choice depends on stream bitrate and runtime, audience location, whether the server transcodes, and how much server administration you are willing to do.
| Decision | Amazon Lightsail | Hetzner Cloud | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing | Monthly bundles combine compute, storage, and a transfer allowance. AWS lists a Linux/Unix public IPv4 entry bundle at $5 per month, with 0.5 GB memory, 2 vCPUs, 20 GB SSD, and 1 TB transfer. AWS Lightsail pricing | Price varies by resource class and location. Hetzner’s Cloud Server overview says public IP addresses are excluded from the server price. Hetzner Cloud Server overview | Match region, CPU, memory, storage, public IPv4, taxes, and expected transfer before comparing totals. |
| Transfer | Inbound and outbound traffic count toward the allowance; AWS says excess outbound traffic may be charged. Allowances are regional, and AWS lists half the ordinary allowance for Mumbai, Sydney, Jakarta, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and São Paulo. AWS Lightsail FAQ | Traffic allowances depend on product and location. Hetzner’s traffic page lists 20 TB for EU CX Cloud Servers; verify the exact selected plan and current terms. Hetzner traffic documentation | Estimate continuous outbound video payload, add overhead and other traffic, then check the applicable allowance and overage terms. |
| Geography | Available regions and transfer allowances vary. AWS Lightsail FAQ | Hetzner identifies Cloud Server locations in Europe, the USA, and Singapore. Hetzner Cloud Server overview | Choose an available region appropriate to your audience and ingest route, then check the plan offered there. |
| Compute | AWS recommends EC2 for highly configurable instances with consistently high CPU performance for workloads such as video encoding. AWS Lightsail instance FAQ | Hetzner offers shared and dedicated resource classes; vCPU count alone does not establish performance for your encoding workload. Hetzner Cloud Server overview | Establish whether the VPS relays a prepared feed or decodes, transcodes, or re-encodes it; test CPU headroom for the actual job. |
| Operations | Lightsail bundles common infrastructure and integrates with AWS services. AWS Lightsail FAQ | Hetzner documents configurable server, network, firewall, volume, and IP resources. Hetzner Cloud Server overview | Consider your console or API preference and who will handle firewall rules, updates, monitoring, backups, and restart behavior. |
The Hetzner overview lists Primary IPv4 at €0.50 per month excluding VAT, and was last changed on 2022-06-28. Check its current applicability and price before budgeting. Hetzner Cloud Server overview
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Estimate bandwidth for a 24/7 stream
A continuous stream can use several terabytes of outbound transfer each month. Estimate decimal terabytes of video payload as:
Mbps × seconds streamed ÷ 8,000,000 ≈ decimal TB
For 30 days, the stream runs for 2,592,000 seconds. YouTube recommends 14 Mbps H.264 for 1080p30. At that bitrate, a continuous stream sends about 4.54 decimal TB of video payload over 30 days, before protocol overhead and other traffic. This is a calculation from the bitrate and runtime, not a YouTube-published monthly figure. YouTube encoder settings and bitrates
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Scale the estimate linearly with bitrate and runtime. For example, halving the bitrate halves the estimated video payload. Treat the result as an estimate rather than a guaranteed bill: account for overhead and any additional traffic. AWS counts both inbound and outbound traffic against the allowance, though its FAQ says excess outbound traffic may be charged. Verify Hetzner’s allowance and terms for the specific product and location you intend to use. AWS Lightsail FAQ · Hetzner traffic documentation
Relay or transcode: size the VPS for the actual job
Relaying an already encoded feed
If a playlist process reads prepared media and sends an encoded feed without changing the video, the server is not doing the same work as an encoder that decodes and re-encodes every frame. You still need sufficient storage for local media if you keep it on the VPS, outbound transfer for the stream, and a process that can recover from interruptions. Do not infer that a low-cost plan is adequate without testing the chosen software and stream.
Encoding or changing the video
Transcoding adds CPU demand and can make a small instance unsuitable even when its transfer allowance appears sufficient. AWS specifically recommends Amazon EC2 for highly configurable environments and instances with consistently high CPU performance for video encoding or HPC workloads. That is AWS guidance, not evidence that a particular EC2 or Lightsail configuration will meet your stream’s needs. AWS Lightsail instance FAQ
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For either provider, benchmark the selected workload and watch CPU, memory, disk, network, and encoder health under the actual playlist. Provider plan specifications are not a workload benchmark or an end-to-end broadcast guarantee.
Configure the YouTube feed and protect the stream key
- Decide the media path. Establish whether the server loops a local file, fetches media from elsewhere, relays an existing encoded feed, or transcodes. This determines storage, inbound traffic, and CPU requirements.
- Use YouTube’s encoder guidance. YouTube recommends RTMPS for ingest. Its settings guidance recommends CBR and a two-second keyframe interval, with a four-second maximum; use the resolution- and frame-rate-specific bitrate guidance for your output. YouTube encoder settings and bitrates
- Keep the stream key private. The key lets YouTube accept the encoder feed. Treat it like a password: do not expose it in public scripts, logs, screenshots, or repositories. YouTube stream keys
- Test before relying on the stream. Run a test with audio and movement similar to the intended broadcast. Check the received picture and sound, then monitor YouTube’s stream health messages during operation. YouTube encoder settings and bitrates
- Plan recovery yourself. Configure and test how your playlist or encoder process restarts after failure and reconnects to YouTube. An automatically restarted process is an implementation choice, not proof that the resulting broadcast is healthy.
YouTube’s guidance is direct: “Make sure to test before you start your live stream. Tests should include audio and movement in the video similar to what you’ll be doing in the stream. During the event, monitor the stream health and review messages.” YouTube Help, “Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions”
Costs and reliability: compare the full operating picture
Lightsail’s entry bundle is not automatically the cheapest option for a continuous stream: the cited allowance is 1 TB in the listed package, while a 14 Mbps 1080p30 stream would use an estimated 4.54 decimal TB of video payload over 30 days before overhead. Regional allowance differences matter, and inbound traffic also counts toward Lightsail’s allowance. Hetzner’s cited EU CX allowance is listed as 20 TB, but the exact selected plan and location terms must be checked. Do not treat either allowance as a universal value for every region or instance. AWS Lightsail pricing · AWS Lightsail FAQ · Hetzner traffic documentation
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Include compute, storage, public IPv4, transfer charges, and applicable taxes in the budget. Then account for the time and systems needed to install and update the streaming software, secure the server, monitor the stream, and recover from a process or connection failure.
Neither provider’s cited documentation establishes a measured comparison of YouTube playlist-streaming uptime, route quality, or end-to-end availability. A VPS provider’s infrastructure and a healthy YouTube broadcast are different things: test the complete encoder-to-ingest path and the recovery procedure you intend to depend on.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When to choose each provider
Lightsail may suit you if
- You prefer a monthly bundle combining server resources, storage, and transfer.
- The available plan and regional allowance fit your stream after calculating traffic and checking possible excess charges.
- You value AWS service integration and are comfortable managing the streaming process on a VPS.
Hetzner Cloud may suit you if
- You have checked the server class and location against your CPU workload, audience, and ingest needs.
- The selected plan’s transfer terms fit your estimated stream traffic.
- You have included the separate public IP cost and any applicable VAT in the total.
If neither option has a verified fit yet, first determine bitrate, whether the server transcodes, the target region, and who will maintain recovery and monitoring. Those answers—not the provider name alone—decide whether a VPS is practical.
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Or let it run in the cloud
For a YouTube channel that needs uploaded videos looped continuously, StreamNeo is the #1 option to try first: it runs always on from the cloud, accepts uploads at any quality up to 4K 60fps at one flat price per slot, and includes a free first day. The workflow is upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. Your computer can stay off; StreamNeo automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream.
There is no card required for the first free day (one free day per account). The Monthly plan is $9.99 per month. It is a YouTube-only service for uploaded videos, not a camera live-streaming service. See StreamNeo plans.
Quick Recap
Start your free first day with StreamNeo.
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