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There is no single India-wide monthly price: your cost depends on the Raspberry Pi setup’s average power draw at the wall and your electricity tariff. For a 30-day month, use monthly cost (₹) = average watts × 0.72 × your marginal rate per kWh. At an illustrative 10 W and ₹6/kWh, that works out to ₹43.20. Those are arithmetic assumptions, not a measured Pi result or a universal tariff.

Calculate the electricity cost

Use this formula, with power measured in watts and your marginal electricity rate in rupees per kilowatt-hour:

Monthly electricity cost (₹) = average wall draw (W) × 24 × billing-period days ÷ 1,000 × tariff (₹/kWh)

For 30 days, this simplifies to 0.72 × average watts × rate per kWh. Measure at the wall if you want to include the power supply’s losses and connected devices in the estimate.

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Illustrative average draw Energy in 30 days Cost at an assumed ₹6/kWh
5 W 3.6 kWh ₹21.60
10 W 7.2 kWh ₹43.20
15 W 10.8 kWh ₹64.80

These wattages and the ₹6 rate are examples for calculation, not measurements of a particular Raspberry Pi. For a 31-day billing period, multiply the 30-day estimate by 31/30 if draw and tariff remain constant.

Use your actual tariff, not a national average

Electricity rates vary by state or union territory, utility, consumer category, billing slab, and other bill adjustments. The Central Electricity Authority’s 2025 tariff publication, for example, lists a Goa domestic average billing rate of ₹3.50/kWh in one state, utility, and category entry; it is not a national rate or necessarily your marginal rate. Check your current bill or utility tariff and use the rate that applies to additional consumption. Fixed charges generally should not be assigned to the Pi unless its consumption changes the bill tier or another charge.

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Measure the whole Raspberry Pi setup

The most useful input is the average power draw at the wall while your actual FFmpeg job is running. A plug-in electricity usage meter can provide that reading; it is optional, not required. Measure long enough to capture the normal workload rather than relying on a momentary idle reading.

Raspberry Pi’s official hardware documentation cautions that its power measurements are approximate, exclude added USB devices, and can be exceeded when multiple USB devices or a HAT are attached. Measure the setup you plan to run, including storage, network accessories, and the power supply, rather than treating a board-only figure as your household-meter increment.

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Do not use the power-supply rating as the running draw

Raspberry Pi recommends a 27 W supply for Raspberry Pi 5 and a 15 W supply for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. These are recommended supply capacities, not evidence that either board continuously consumes that amount. The actual reading depends on the board, workload, accessories, and operating conditions.

FFmpeg workload changes what you need to measure

Playing an already encoded file, remuxing it, and transcoding video in real time are different jobs. The model, source format, output settings, and attached devices all matter. The available documentation does not establish a universal power draw or real-time encoding capability for an unspecified Pi and video format, so do not infer either from the electricity formula: test the exact setup and read its power at the wall.

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For the outgoing video’s encoding settings, consult YouTube’s recommended upload encoding settings. YouTube says content should be encoded and uploaded at the same frame rate at which it was recorded. That guidance is not a performance certification for a Raspberry Pi running FFmpeg.

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Estimate your all-in cost without mixing unlike costs

The formula estimates electricity only. If you are deciding whether to build a Pi setup, keep the board and storage purchase, any other hardware, internet service, and your time maintaining the stream separate from the recurring electricity charge. The upfront hardware cost should not be mistaken for a monthly bill, and the electricity estimate does not establish whether a given Pi can handle your stream.

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For a hosted alternative, compare the full recurring service cost with the Pi’s full operating costs, and consider who provides the continuous internet connection, who handles outage recovery and monitoring, and whether your workflow requires real-time encoding. StreamNeo’s published comparison describes its managed YouTube streaming service and states its India monthly plan; those vendor terms can change, so check the live plan details. The subscription is not the electricity cost of running FFmpeg on a Pi.

Or let it run in the cloud

If your aim is to keep a pre-recorded YouTube stream running without leaving a home computer on, StreamNeo offers a cloud alternative: upload your recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key, and go live. Nothing has to stay on at home; uploaded video streams as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one price per slot regardless of quality; and the service automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly: $9.99 per month. StreamNeo is for uploaded videos streamed to YouTube, not a live camera feed. See StreamNeo or start the free day.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit PRO - Turbine Black (128GB Edition) (8GB RAM)
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit PRO - Turbine Black (128GB Edition) (8GB RAM)
Includes Raspberry Pi 5 with 2.4Ghz 64-bit quad-core CPU (8GB RAM); CanaKit Turbine Black Case for the Raspberry Pi 5
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Bestseller No. 2
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 16GB Starter Kit PRO - Turbine Black (128GB Edition) (16GB RAM)
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 16GB Starter Kit PRO - Turbine Black (128GB Edition) (16GB RAM)
Includes Raspberry Pi 5 16GB with 2.4Ghz 64-bit quad-core CPU (16GB RAM); CanaKit Turbine Black Case for the Raspberry Pi 5
$419.99
Bestseller No. 3
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Essentials Starter Kit (4GB RAM)
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Essentials Starter Kit (4GB RAM)
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Essentials Starter Kit
$189.99

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