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A DigitalOcean Droplet can cost from $4 per month for a Basic bundled plan, but that is the virtual machine price—not necessarily the full cost of looping videos to YouTube around the clock. Your stream’s bitrate determines outbound data use, and any transfer above your team’s pooled allowance costs extra. DigitalOcean’s listed prices were current on its pricing page when accessed on October 3, 2026.
DigitalOcean Droplet prices for 24/7 streaming
DigitalOcean’s Basic bundled Droplets include a monthly outbound transfer allowance and have a monthly compute cap. The following are examples from its official pricing table, not tested recommendations for an encoder or a guarantee that a particular plan can handle your workload.
| Basic Droplet example | Included outbound transfer | SSD | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 512 MiB RAM, 1 vCPU | 500 GiB | 10 GiB | $4 |
| 1 GiB RAM, 1 vCPU | 1,000 GiB | 25 GiB | $6 |
| 2 GiB RAM, 1 vCPU | 2,000 GiB | 50 GiB | $12 |
| 2 GiB RAM, 2 vCPUs | 3,000 GiB | 60 GiB | $18 |
| 4 GiB RAM, 2 vCPUs | 4,000 GiB | 80 GiB | $24 |
| 8 GiB RAM, 4 vCPUs | 5,000 GiB | 160 GiB | $48 |
These prices and specifications are DigitalOcean’s published Basic examples, accessed October 3, 2026. Check the current Droplet pricing table before creating a server because rates and plan availability can change.
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Compute on a bundled Basic plan
DigitalOcean documents per-second billing with a 60-second/$0.01 minimum and caps bundled CPU Droplet usage at 672 hours per month. For a bundled plan kept running continuously, compute does not exceed its listed monthly price. Billing starts when the Droplet is created and ends when it is destroyed. The billing documentation was last verified August 25, 2026: Droplet billing and pricing details.
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Outbound transfer
Each plan’s outbound transfer allowance is pooled across the team’s Droplets. Inbound transfer is free; outbound transfer above the pool costs $0.01 per GiB, and unused transfer does not roll over. Consequently, other Droplets on the same team can affect whether your stream incurs an overage. The same DigitalOcean billing documentation describes these transfer rules.
Hourly v5 configurations
Do not assume the bundled-plan monthly cap applies to v5 resource configurations. DigitalOcean documents v5 configurations as hourly and without that monthly usage cap; calculate their configured hourly resource cost for the actual hours used and include any separately billed items.
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Estimate bandwidth before choosing a plan
The compute price alone cannot establish the total cost of a 24/7 live stream for pre-recorded videos. Estimate outbound transfer from the actual stream bitrate and hours of operation, then compare it with the allowance remaining in your team’s pool. Your video’s bitrate and the Droplet size it requires depend on your video and workflow.
- Find the stream bitrate you will send. Use the bitrate configured in your encoder or streaming workflow, rather than assuming a generic figure.
- Estimate monthly egress. Apply that bitrate to your planned continuous streaming hours and account for all other outbound traffic from your team’s Droplets. Compare the result with the selected plan’s pooled allowance.
- Include any overage. DigitalOcean charges $0.01 per GiB above the pooled outbound allowance. Inbound data is free, but outbound stream delivery is the relevant transfer to estimate.
- Revisit the estimate if you transcode. Relaying an already encoded file and decoding/transcoding video impose different workloads. The published plan table does not say which size will handle your particular encoder, file, or settings, so do not treat its smallest plan as a verified minimum.
YouTube says total streaming bitrate must fit available upload bandwidth and recommends leaving 20% headroom. That guidance matters to the connection sending the stream, in this case the Droplet’s network path: YouTube streaming tips.
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Plan for YouTube stream continuity and archives
YouTube’s encoder workflow uses a stream URL and stream key; follow its current setup instructions and keep the key private: Create a YouTube live stream with an encoder. Continuous hosting does not guarantee a single continuous YouTube archive. YouTube warns that a live stream exceeding 12 hours may not be captured at all, and recommends making a local archive as a backup: Archive live streams.
If preserving an archive matters, plan how you will end and restart the live stream before it exceeds 12 hours, and monitor both the live stream and the local archive. YouTube’s streaming tips also recommend continuous monitoring. Storage needs for a local copy depend on bitrate and retention; it is optional, not a requirement for cloud streaming.
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Rights and monetization are separate from hosting cost
A Droplet can keep an encoder running, but it does not grant permission to broadcast the material. YouTube’s livestream terms require the necessary rights for live content, including music and audiovisual rights: Livestream terms and conditions.
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Or let it run in the cloud
If you would rather not configure and monitor a Droplet, StreamNeo is a cloud service for keeping a YouTube channel live from uploaded videos. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. Nothing has to stay on at home; StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud and automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream. It supports the uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps at one flat price per slot, with no re-encode or quality tiers. The first day is free with no card.
StreamNeo’s monthly option is $9.99 per month. It is for uploaded video playback to YouTube, not a live camera feed. Start your free first day with StreamNeo.
Quick Recap
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.
