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Calculate your monthly electricity cost
Measure the complete PC at the wall while it is running the PRISM scene and encoder settings you intend to use. A power supply’s rated wattage is not the same as the PC’s measured consumption. Your measured average draw, local electricity tariff, and monthly streaming hours determine the estimate.
Formula: average wall power (W) ÷ 1,000 × hours streamed × electricity price per kWh.
For a continuous 30-day month, substitute 720 hours. For a different schedule, use the hours you actually expect to stream.
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Worked example (hypothetical)
If a setup averaged 100 W at the wall, ran for 720 hours, and electricity cost 0.20 currency units per kWh, the calculation would be 100 ÷ 1,000 × 720 × 0.20 = 14.4 currency units. These are illustrative assumptions, not a typical PC draw or a quoted electricity tariff.
Cost worksheet
- Average measured wall draw while streaming: ___ W
- Planned monthly streaming time: ___ h (720 h for a 30-day always-on month)
- Your electricity tariff: ___ currency units/kWh
- PC electricity estimate: (W ÷ 1,000) × hours × tariff = ___
- Other always-on equipment, if included: measure it with the setup or calculate its draw separately.
Include a monitor, router or modem, lighting, or cooling only if those loads are part of your setup and were not already included in the wall measurement. Your electricity tariff depends on your location and plan, so use your actual rate.
What PRISM Live Studio itself costs
PRISM’s June 5, 2025 announcement said basic features, including live streaming, would remain free without a subscription. It announced PRISM Plus at $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year in the US, with features such as desktop multistreaming to up to six channels, premium templates, and ad removal. These are the announced US prices, not a guaranteed current quote; check PRISM’s current plan information before subscribing. A basic single-platform YouTube setup does not need to include PRISM Plus in its baseline estimate. PRISM Live Studio’s June 5, 2025 subscription announcement
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Check whether the spare PC can handle the stream
PRISM’s published desktop guide lists these Windows specifications. They are vendor guidance, not a guarantee that an unspecified computer will stay stable for 24 hours.
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| Use | Processor | Memory | Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Core i3-9100 or higher | 8 GB | NVIDIA GTX 1060 or equivalent |
| General streaming recommendation | Core i5-8500 or higher | 16 GB or more | RTX 2070 or equivalent |
See PRISM’s desktop streaming guide for its specifications. For a low-budget spare PC, first try simplifying the stream before buying hardware.
Reduce workload before upgrading
- Simplify scenes and remove sources you do not need.
- Lower output resolution, bitrate, or frame rate if the PC struggles.
- Close resource-heavy programs that are not needed for streaming.
- If the PC has a suitable discrete GPU, try hardware encoding instead of relying only on the processor.
- For limited processing power, PRISM’s guidance says to set the frame rate to 30 fps or lower.
PRISM’s troubleshooting guidance covers reducing streaming load and resolving performance issues.
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Choose a YouTube quality your PC and upload connection can sustain
Higher output settings can increase the work for the computer and the demand on the internet connection. YouTube’s H.264 recommendations include 5 Mbps for 720p at 30 fps and 10 Mbps for 1080p at 30 fps. Treat these as YouTube’s encoder-setting guidance, not a measure of broadband cost or a guarantee that your connection can sustain those settings. Test the selected quality against your upload connection. YouTube’s live encoder settings
Do not add an assumed internet charge to the estimate. Include an internet cost only if your stream requires an actual plan upgrade, triggers an overage, or incurs a data-cap fee under your provider’s terms.
Plan around YouTube’s live-stream and archive limits
Make sure the channel is eligible
YouTube says a channel must be verified and must not have had live-streaming restrictions in the preceding 90 days to livestream. Check channel eligibility before scheduling a long broadcast. YouTube’s livestreaming eligibility requirements
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Do not assume a 24-hour broadcast will have a complete archive
YouTube warns that a stream longer than 12 hours may not be captured at all. If preserving a complete recording matters, plan for segments shorter than 12 hours and maintain a local backup. Continuous live availability and archive retention are separate requirements. YouTube’s guidance on archiving live streams
Use content you have the right to stream
Before leaving a broadcast running unattended, check the rights for the video, music, and other material in it. YouTube’s copyright-safety checklist can help you review the basics: copyright safety checklist.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Account for unattended operation
The electricity formula estimates energy cost; it cannot tell you whether a particular PC, internet connection, or streaming configuration will run reliably for 24 hours. Consider what should happen if PRISM closes, the PC restarts, the connection drops, or YouTube ends the stream. If recovery and monitoring matter, plan how you will detect interruptions and restart the broadcast. The available specifications do not establish that a given low-budget PC or automation setup will recover without intervention.
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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.
