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There is no single India-wide winner. A home PC’s electricity cost depends on its measured power draw and your household’s marginal electricity rate. Lightsail’s cost is its monthly plan plus any billable excess outbound transfer—and a 24/7 stream can exceed the transfer allowance, especially in Mumbai. Compare both over the same 30-day period, and treat the lowest Lightsail plan’s price as a server-plan price, not proof that it can handle your encoding workload.

What the comparison includes—and what it does not

A fair comparison separates the costs of keeping a stream running from costs that are specific to your situation. For a home PC, calculate electricity from measured wall power and your actual tariff. For Lightsail, add the plan charge to applicable excess outbound-transfer charges. Also consider whether you already own the PC, whether the internet connection and power supply are dependable, and whether a cloud instance has been validated for the workload.

The estimates below use a 30-day month, a constant video bitrate, and the listed AWS plan and transfer figures. They are arithmetic estimates, not a tested stream, benchmark, or guaranteed bill. Actual traffic accounting can differ from the idealized video-volume calculation, and AWS prices and allowances can change; check AWS’s current pricing before choosing a plan.

How much data does a 24/7 stream use?

Use the stream’s video bitrate to estimate its monthly outbound volume:

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Monthly decimal GB = bitrate in Mb/s × 2,592,000 seconds ÷ 8,000,000

The 2,592,000 seconds represent 30 days. The result estimates video payload before protocol overhead or other traffic. YouTube Help’s live encoder guidance says settings depend on resolution, frame rate, and bitrate, and recommends RTMPS. Choose a bitrate using YouTube’s current guidance for your target format rather than treating the examples here as recommended encoder settings.

Constant bitrate Estimated video volume over 30 days How to interpret it
4 Mb/s About 1,296 decimal GB Arithmetic estimate before protocol overhead or other traffic.
6 Mb/s About 1,944 decimal GB Arithmetic estimate before protocol overhead or other traffic.

A higher resolution or frame rate may call for a higher bitrate, which increases monthly transfer volume. Use the bitrate your encoder will actually send; do not compare plans using only the resolution label.

What Lightsail costs for a continuous stream

AWS lists a Linux/Unix public-IPv4 Lightsail plan at $5 USD per month, with 0.5 GB memory, 2 vCPUs, 20 GB SSD, and 1 TB of standard data transfer. AWS says Mumbai-region plans include half the standard transfer allowance, so the listed allowance for that plan is effectively 0.5 TB in Mumbai. The monthly plan bundles resources, but any applicable excess outbound transfer is an additional cost.

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AWS’s Lightsail pricing information says both inbound and outbound data count against the allowance, while only excess outbound transfer is billed beyond it. AWS’s transfer FAQ lists India’s excess-transfer rate as $0.13 USD per GB. The estimates below simplify by treating the calculated stream volume as outbound traffic and subtracting the region’s allowance; real byte accounting and other traffic may change the bill.

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Illustrative case Allowance used for estimate Estimated excess at assumed bitrate Approximate plan plus excess
4 Mb/s, Mumbai 0.5 TB (500 GB assumption) About 796 GB × $0.13 = $103.48 About $108.48 for the 30-day period, including the $5 plan
4 Mb/s, non-Mumbai region using the standard allowance 1 TB (1,000 GB assumption) About 296 GB × $0.13 = $38.48 About $43.48 for the 30-day period, including the $5 plan
6 Mb/s, Mumbai 0.5 TB (500 GB assumption) About 1,444 GB × $0.13 = $187.72 About $192.72 for the 30-day period, including the $5 plan
6 Mb/s, non-Mumbai region using the standard allowance 1 TB (1,000 GB assumption) About 944 GB × $0.13 = $122.72 About $127.72 for the 30-day period, including the $5 plan

These are illustrative calculations using decimal GB and the assumptions shown, not AWS quotes for a video workload. They assume the stream is the only relevant traffic, that all calculated stream volume is outbound, and that each listed allowance is available against that volume. Inbound traffic also counts against the allowance, and traffic metering may not match the bitrate arithmetic exactly. The 4 Mb/s example alone shows why a $5 monthly plan should not be presented as the full cost of a continuous stream.

The transfer estimate does not establish encoding capacity

The plan listing establishes vCPU, memory, storage, and transfer allowance; it does not establish whether that bundle can reliably encode or relay your particular stream. A continuous stream also needs software configured to produce or loop video and a stable connection to YouTube. Do not assume the cheapest bundle is a suitable encoder just because its transfer costs can be calculated. Validate the intended workload, or price a configuration with enough capacity, before relying on it.

How to calculate the home-PC electricity bill

Measure average power at the wall while the PC is doing the streaming work, then use the marginal ₹/kWh rate on your electricity bill. A plug-in electricity usage monitor is one optional way to measure the PC and any always-on capture equipment; it is not a required purchase. Include other equipment only if it will remain on for the stream.

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Monthly energy in kWh = average wall watts ÷ 1,000 × 720 hours

Monthly electricity cost in ₹ = monthly energy in kWh × marginal billed ₹/kWh

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For example, once you have measured the average wall draw, multiply it by 0.72 to get the estimated kWh for a 30-day month: each average watt running continuously uses 0.72 kWh in that period. Then multiply the result by your own marginal billed rate. This is a calculation method, not an assumed national tariff or a claim about a typical PC.

India does not have one household electricity rate that applies to every reader. The Central Electricity Authority publishes tariff information by state, utility, and consumer category, while the Ministry of Power notes that state commissions determine retail tariffs and states may subsidize some consumer classes. Use your bill or the applicable tariff for your location and category, rather than a national average.

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Compare the costs on the same basis

  1. Choose the same 30-day period and stream settings. Record the intended resolution, frame rate, and actual encoder bitrate. Use YouTube’s current live encoder guidance to choose settings; YouTube recommends RTMPS for live encoder connections.
  2. Estimate stream volume. Apply the formula above to the bitrate. Treat the result as an estimate before protocol overhead and additional traffic.
  3. Estimate Lightsail’s bill. Add the plan price and any applicable excess outbound-transfer charge. Use the Mumbai-specific half allowance if the instance is in Mumbai. Check whether other inbound and outbound traffic will consume allowance, and verify AWS’s current terms and prices.
  4. Measure the home setup. Measure the PC at the wall during representative streaming use; include other equipment that will stay on. Multiply average watts by 0.72 for estimated 30-day kWh, then by your marginal billed ₹/kWh rate.
  5. Add costs that the two headline figures omit. For home, account separately for hardware purchase or depreciation if relevant, internet service, backup power, maintenance, and interruptions. For Lightsail, confirm the instance can handle the encoder or relay and include any configuration needed beyond the listed plan.
  6. Put the final totals in one currency and period. If comparing the AWS bill in USD with home electricity in rupees, convert using the exchange rate and any payment or tax charges that apply to you at the time; do not treat the currencies as directly comparable.

The home-PC figure is most favorable when the computer is already owned, its measured draw is modest, and local electricity and internet are dependable. Lightsail can avoid relying on a home computer and connection, but transfer charges may dominate its bill for continuous video. Neither option has a defensible universal winner without your bitrate, region, measured wattage, tariff, and operating requirements.

Operational trade-offs that affect the real cost

  • Home PC: The stream depends on local electricity, internet, the PC, and any required peripherals. Outages or a restart can interrupt the stream; backup power and ongoing maintenance may add cost.
  • Lightsail: The stream depends on an appropriately sized instance, your streaming software and configuration, AWS network-transfer terms, and a functioning connection from the instance to YouTube. Published plan specifications alone do not prove stream suitability.
  • Both: YouTube’s copyright rules still apply to the content. A 24/7 schedule does not grant rights to music, video, or other material, and repeating content should be original or properly licensed. Review YouTube’s current rules for copyright and monetization before looping material.

Or let it run in the cloud

If the goal is to keep uploaded videos looping on a YouTube channel without maintaining a home PC or configuring a server, StreamNeo is a managed alternative rather than a like-for-like Lightsail instance. The setup is:

  1. Upload a recording or build a playlist.
  2. Add your YouTube stream key once.
  3. Go live; StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud.

Nothing has to stay on at home. Each slot streams the uploaded video as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot rather than quality tiers; StreamNeo also automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card, with one free day per account. Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. In India, UPI and cards are supported. This service streams to YouTube from uploaded videos; it does not go live from a camera. Learn more at StreamNeo, or start the free day.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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