Best bitrate for Twitch, YouTube and Kick
The right bitrate depends on your picture, your upload and the platform. Use these ranges, then fine-tune with the calculator.
The ranges
| Picture | Bitrate (video) |
|---|---|
| 720p30 | 2,500–4,000 kbps |
| 720p60 | 3,500–5,000 kbps |
| 1080p30 | 4,500–6,000 kbps |
| 1080p60 | 6,000–9,000 kbps |
| 1440p30/60 | 9,000–13,000 kbps |
| 4K30 | 13,000–34,000 kbps (YouTube) |
Platform limits
- Twitch: ordinary accounts are commonly kept to about 6,000 kbps.
- YouTube: accepts very high bitrates and 4K.
- Kick: about 8,000 kbps.
- Facebook: about 4,000 kbps and 1080p30.
Limits change. Check the platform’s own guide.
Pick for your upload
Use 70% of your measured upload at most. If it does not fit, lower the resolution before the frame rate, and lower the frame rate before the quality drops visibly. Fast motion (games) needs more bitrate than a person talking.
Hardware encoders
NVIDIA NVENC, Intel QuickSync and AMD encoders are good enough for streaming and leave your CPU free for the game.
Questions
Higher bitrate always better?
Only if your upload and the platform accept it. Too high causes dropped frames.
CBR or VBR?
Platforms recommend constant bitrate for live streaming.
Keep going
Want all of this in one app?
Streamdzy is a free streaming and recording app for Windows: several cameras, your phone as a camera, going live to many places at once, and recording first so a bad connection never costs you the show.