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For one continuous stream, estimate monthly data transfer by multiplying its average bitrate by the number of seconds it runs, then dividing by 8,000 to get decimal gigabytes. For a 30-day month, the shortcut is bitrate in Mbps × 324 = decimal GB. A constant 10 Mbps feed, for example, uses about 3,240 GB (3.24 TB) in 30 days, before network overhead or retransmissions.

The key is to calculate the right traffic leg: a cloud server sending one feed to YouTube is not the same as a cloud service delivering video directly to viewers. The formulas below estimate volume; they do not, by themselves, predict a hosting bill.

Calculate monthly data transfer from bitrate and runtime

In this context, “bandwidth” often means the amount of data transferred over a month, rather than the connection speed at a particular moment. For a steady bitrate, use:

Decimal GB = bitrate in Mbps × streaming seconds ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000

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Divide by 8 because a byte contains 8 bits, and by 1,000 to express the result in decimal gigabytes (GB). For a 30-day month there are 2,592,000 seconds, so:

30-day decimal GB = bitrate in Mbps × 324

Use the actual number of days in the billing period when it is not 30. These are arithmetic estimates of payload volume; they exclude protocol overhead, retransmissions, restarts, and unrelated server traffic.

Quick estimates for one stream running continuously for 30 days

Average bitrate Decimal data transfer Approximate binary equivalent
1 Mbps 324 GB 302 GiB
4 Mbps 1,296 GB 1,207 GiB
10 Mbps 3,240 GB 3,017 GiB
15 Mbps 4,860 GB 4,526 GiB

GB uses decimal units (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes); GiB uses binary units (1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes). Check which unit a hosting provider uses when comparing your estimate with its transfer allowance.

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Adjust the multiplier for the billing period

Period Seconds Decimal GB per Mbps
28 days 2,419,200 302.4
30 days 2,592,000 324
31 days 2,678,400 334.8

For example, a 10 Mbps feed running for 31 days is approximately 10 × 334.8 = 3,348 decimal GB before overhead and other traffic.

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Identify which part of the stream uses the data

A 24/7 YouTube setup can involve different network paths. Estimate each path separately instead of assuming that all viewer traffic passes through your cloud server.

Cloud server sending a feed to YouTube

If the cloud machine sends one encoded contribution feed to YouTube, use that feed’s average bitrate and uptime in the formula. YouTube says it transcodes a live stream into multiple output formats for viewers, so the cloud server’s outgoing contribution feed is not automatically multiplied by the number of YouTube viewers. See YouTube’s live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions guidance.

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Cloud system serving viewers directly

If your own cloud system also distributes a separate stream to viewers, estimate that delivery leg using the average delivered bitrate per viewer and total viewing time:

Viewer-delivery bytes = viewers × average delivered Mbps per viewer × viewing seconds ÷ 8

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Convert the resulting bytes to GB or GiB using the unit convention above. Actual egress depends on the delivery architecture, viewer-hours, bitrate selection, and caching. A viewer generally receives one selected rendition at a time in an adaptive-bitrate stream; do not multiply that viewer’s traffic by every rendition in the ladder. But if your service ingests or packages several renditions simultaneously, add their bitrates when estimating that service leg.

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AWS’s live-streaming deployment cost example uses 1.8 Mbps average per viewer and reports 791 GB/hour for 1,000 viewers under its stated assumptions. That is an AWS example assumption, not a universal viewing rate. Its deployment guide models viewer traffic separately from ingest and packaging.

Choose a realistic bitrate input

Use the encoder’s configured or measured average bitrate when available. Resolution alone cannot determine monthly transfer: frame rate, codec, content complexity, and encoder settings also affect bitrate. If you do not yet have an actual value, YouTube’s recommended H.264 encoder settings can serve as a starting point—not as a measurement or a guarantee that your stream will sustain that rate.

YouTube-listed H.264 setting Recommended bitrate 30-day transfer at that constant rate
240p–720p at 30 fps 4 Mbps 1,296 GB (about 1,207 GiB)
720p at 60 fps 6 Mbps 1,944 GB (about 1,811 GiB)
1080p at 30 fps 10 Mbps 3,240 GB (about 3,017 GiB)
1080p at 60 fps 12 Mbps 3,888 GB (about 3,620 GiB)

The bitrate recommendations are from YouTube’s encoder guidance. The transfer figures in the table are arithmetic estimates assuming each listed rate is constant for all 30 days; an actual stream may average less or more. YouTube advises creators to test before going live and monitor stream health.

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Turn a volume estimate into a hosting-cost estimate

Monthly GB or GiB is only one input to a cloud bill. Depending on where the video is processed and delivered, charges may include encoding, ingest, packaging or origination, storage, and CDN or internet egress. If viewers watch on YouTube, do not assume your cloud host is delivering the viewer stream; if you also operate a separate player or CDN, account for that delivery separately.

When comparing plans or architectures, check the included monthly transfer and overage terms, region, expected viewer-hours and average delivered bitrate, cache-hit assumptions, and any encoding, ingest, packaging, storage, or egress charges. AWS’s MediaPackage pricing example combines five rendition bitrates totaling 9.5 Mbps and calculates 4.175 GB/hour using its stated unit conversions. That illustrates one provider’s service model; it is not a universal YouTube-stream cost or a price estimate for another provider. AWS notes that prices can change, so verify current provider pricing for the selected region and services.

A separate AWS for M&E FAQ from 2019 describes a 24/7 example using a 15 Mbps 1080p contribution feed and 11.76 GB/hour for one live channel output. Treat it as a historical configuration example, not a current recommendation or a general billing rule: AWS’s live-streaming cost FAQ.

Estimate your own stream in four steps

  1. Choose the traffic leg. Decide whether you are estimating the cloud-to-YouTube feed, direct delivery from your cloud system to viewers, or both. Keep separate legs separate.
  2. Find the bitrate. Use the actual encoder average or configured rate. If estimating direct viewer delivery, use the average delivered bitrate per viewer and count viewer-hours rather than summing every available rendition.
  3. Set the runtime. Use the exact number of days or hours in the billing period and account for planned downtime if the stream will not truly run continuously.
  4. Calculate and compare on like terms. Apply bitrate × seconds ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000 for decimal GB, then check whether the host bills in GB or GiB and whether its plan includes that transfer. Add a reasonable allowance for overhead, retries, restarts, and other server traffic; the formula does not quantify those items.

Or let it run in the cloud

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