OBS Bitrate Calculator
Choose a streaming bitrate from resolution, frame rate and upload capacity.
About OBS Bitrate Calculator
Bitrate requirement scales with pixels per second, so frame rate matters as much as resolution. Streaming at the full upload capacity guarantees dropped frames as soon as anything else uses the connection. Dropped frames damage viewer experience far more than a lower bitrate does, which is why the margin is not optional.
Formula
OBS Bitrate
Ideal bitrate scales with pixel rate; usable bitrate is upload less the safety margin and audio
- safety margin
- Headroom so other traffic does not cause dropped frames
- CBR
- Constant bitrate, which streaming platforms require
Worked example
With the default values below, OBS Bitrate Calculator returns Recommended Video Bitrate of 11,197. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Resolution heightminimum 240 p
- 1,080 p
- Frame rateminimum 1 fps
- 60 fps
- Upload speedminimum 0.01 Mbps
- 20 Mbps
- Upload safety marginaccepts 0–80 %
- 30 %
- Audio bitrateminimum 32 kbps
- 160 kbps
Results
- Recommended Video Bitrate
- 11,197 kbps
- Ideal Bitrate for This Resolution
- 11,197 kbps
- Usable Upload After Margin
- 14,000 kbps
- Total Stream Bitrate
- 11,357 kbps
- Verdict
- Upload comfortably supports the ideal bitrate
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2OBS Bitrate
- 3Recommended Video Bitrate= 11,197 kbps
- 4Ideal Bitrate for This Resolution= 11,197 kbps
- 5Usable Upload After Margin= 14,000 kbps
- 6Total Stream Bitrate= 11,357 kbps
- 7Verdict= Upload comfortably supports the ideal bitrate
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to whole numbers, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is OBS Bitrate calculated?
Ideal bitrate scales with pixel rate; usable bitrate is upload less the safety margin and audio Bitrate requirement scales with pixels per second, so frame rate matters as much as resolution. Streaming at the full upload capacity guarantees dropped frames as soon as anything else uses the connection.
Why does OBS Bitrate matter?
Dropped frames damage viewer experience far more than a lower bitrate does, which is why the margin is not optional.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Resolution height, Frame rate, Upload speed, Upload safety margin, Audio bitrate. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.