There is no single monthly price for looping a stream with FFmpeg on a VPS. Your bill depends on the VPS plan, how much media you store, the stream’s bitrate, and whether the VPS sends one feed to a streaming platform or delivers video directly to viewers. As current official plan examples, DigitalOcean lists Basic Droplets at $4/month and $6/month, while AWS Lightsail lists a Linux plan with public IPv4 at $5/month. Those bundles include different storage and transfer allowances, so compare the whole plan—not just compute price.
What makes up the monthly cost?
Model the bill in three parts: the VPS and its included disk, any extra storage or backups, and outbound data that exceeds the plan’s allowance. The right total also depends on whether FFmpeg copies the existing streams or transcodes them.
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- VPS: Compare CPU, memory, included disk, and transfer allowance. Transcoding can require more CPU than stream copy.
- Storage: Check whether the media fits on the included disk. Add separately billed storage or snapshots if needed.
- Bandwidth: Estimate traffic from the actual output bitrate and delivery path, then compare it with the provider’s allowance and billing rules.
Official VPS plan examples
These are USD list-price examples shown on the providers’ official pages, not quotes for every region or configuration. Verify current prices and regional terms before choosing a plan.
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| Provider and plan | Monthly price | Included disk | Included transfer | Relevant notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean Basic, 512 MiB / 1 vCPU | $4 | 10 GiB SSD | 500 GiB | Provider-listed plan example. |
| DigitalOcean Basic, 1 GiB / 1 vCPU | $6 | 25 GiB SSD | 1,000 GiB | Provider-listed plan example. |
| AWS Lightsail Linux with public IPv4, 0.5 GB | $5 | 20 GB SSD | 1 TB | AWS documentation says this bundle includes two vCPUs. The transfer quota counts inbound and outbound traffic. |
DigitalOcean says Droplets moved to per-second billing from January 1, 2026, with a minimum charge of 60 seconds or $0.01. Confirm the billing terms for the plan and region you select.
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How storage changes the bill
First total the size of the media files you intend to keep on the VPS, then compare that figure with the plan’s included disk. Leave room for the operating system, FFmpeg, logs, temporary files, and any other data you store there. A tight fit can cause uploads or processing to fail even when the stream itself uses little disk space.
AWS Lightsail lists additional block storage starting at 8 GB for $0.10 per allocated GB-month. Its pricing page lists snapshots separately at $0.05/GB-month. These charges are in addition to the VPS plan; check the current regional and billing details on the provider’s page.
How to estimate bandwidth for an FFmpeg loop
One stream sent upstream to an ingest
If FFmpeg sends one output feed from the VPS to a third-party streaming ingest, count that outgoing feed—not the ingest platform’s audience—as the VPS’s stream traffic. The VPS is not delivering a separate copy to every viewer in this arrangement. Actual billing and measurement still depend on the provider’s rules and the amount of data sent.
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Video delivered directly from the VPS
If the VPS itself serves viewers, estimate aggregate outbound data using the delivered bitrate, viewing time, and concurrent audience. More viewers and longer watch time increase the VPS’s outbound transfer. Do not use the one-feed estimate for this architecture.
Calculation method
For a single continuous output, estimate monthly stream data as:
Bitrate in bits per second × streamed seconds ÷ 8 = bytes sent
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For multiple outputs or destinations, account for each output feed. For direct viewer delivery, also account for viewers and their watch time. Allow for protocol and container overhead, and compare your forecast with the provider’s own meter and quota definitions. The actual encoded bitrate and provider measurement convention matter; there is no universal overhead figure to apply.
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Looping and transcoding are different jobs. FFmpeg’s -stream_loop -1 loops an input indefinitely, while -c copy selects stream copy and -re reads input at its native frame rate. Stream copy may avoid encoding work when the input formats and destination requirements permit it; transcoding uses CPU and makes the machine’s capacity and codec settings more important. Test the actual media and output settings before settling on a small plan.
See the FFmpeg documentation for option details. The provider plan examples above are not a guarantee that a given instance can transcode a particular file or sustain a particular workload.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Build your own monthly estimate
- Choose the delivery path. Decide whether the VPS sends one feed to a third-party ingest or serves viewers directly. This determines whether you model one output or audience-scaled delivery.
- Measure the actual output bitrate. Use the bitrate of the stream FFmpeg will send, not an assumed universal value.
- Estimate monthly traffic. Multiply bitrate by stream time, convert bits to bytes, and include additional outputs or viewers only when your delivery architecture requires them.
- Choose a suitable plan. Compare CPU, memory, bundled disk, transfer allowance, and regional price. If you transcode, benchmark the actual workload.
- Add storage and backup costs. Include separately allocated disk and snapshots if your media or recovery plan needs them.
- Check overage rules. Compare forecast outbound transfer against the plan allowance and confirm the current regional charge for excess usage.
For AWS Lightsail, its pricing page says only outbound traffic above the transfer quota is charged, with regional overage rates starting at $0.09/GB. That starting rate is specific to Lightsail’s published terms; do not apply it to DigitalOcean or another provider. Lightsail also counts inbound and outbound traffic toward its quota. Check the selected plan’s current regional rules before projecting a total.
Common cost-estimate mistakes
- Comparing compute prices alone: A cheaper headline price may include less disk or transfer. Compare the full bundle.
- Multiplying an upstream feed by the audience: If the VPS sends one feed to an ingest service, its stream traffic is not one copy per viewer. Audience-scaled traffic applies when the VPS serves viewers.
- Assuming loop means transcode: Looping does not by itself establish a CPU-heavy encoding workload. Determine whether your command copies streams or transcodes them.
- Ignoring stored media and backups: Included disk may not hold the library, and snapshots can add a separate charge.
- Treating a published overage rate as universal: Allowances and charges vary by provider, plan, and region.
Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is a continuous YouTube stream of uploaded videos, StreamNeo is a cloud alternative to maintaining an FFmpeg VPS. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key, and go live; StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud, so your computer and home connection do not need to stay on.
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- One flat price per slot for any uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps, with no re-encode or quality tiers.
- Automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream.
- The first day is free with no card required (one free day per account).
- Every slot includes 10 GB storage, pooled across active slots, plus 24/7 looping, playlists, and StreamNeo team support.
Monthly: $9.99 per month. StreamNeo is for uploaded video streaming to YouTube, not going live from a camera. See StreamNeo, or start your free day.
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