A 24/7 YouTube gaming livestream uses about 10.8 decimal GB per day for every sustained 1 Mbps of outgoing bitrate. At YouTube’s recommended H.264 setting of 17 Mbps for 1080p60, video alone comes to about 184 GB per day or 5.51 TB over 30 days. Add YouTube’s recommended 128 kbps stereo audio and the estimate is about 186 GB per day or 5.55 TB per 30 days. These are calculated estimates of the creator’s upload, not measured totals; actual usage varies with bitrate, network overhead, interruptions, and other traffic.
Here, “VOD stream” means a prerecorded gaming video being sent as a continuous live feed. If you mean watching a saved video on demand, your download depends on the selected playback quality and viewing time instead.
Estimate your 24/7 upload data
Use the stream’s sustained bitrate, including video and audio, and multiply by its runtime. With decimal units (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes; 1 TB = 1,000 GB), the formula is:
GB = bitrate in Mbps × seconds streamed ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000
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For a full 24-hour day, that simplifies to 10.8 GB per day per sustained Mbps. For a 30-day month, multiply the daily amount by 30. If you are estimating video and audio separately, add their bitrates first.
- Example: A 6 Mbps video feed plus 128 kbps audio is 6.128 Mbps total. At 24 hours per day, that is about 66.2 GB per day, or 1.99 TB over 30 days, before variable overhead.
- Part-time stream: Multiply the hourly usage by the actual number of hours online. At 1 Mbps, one hour uses about 0.45 GB; 8 hours uses about 3.6 GB.
These are decimal GB and TB figures. Binary GiB and TiB values are numerically lower.
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How much data do YouTube’s recommended gaming-stream bitrates use?
YouTube’s current encoder guidance gives different recommended bitrates depending on resolution, frame rate, and ingestion codec. The estimates below calculate video bitrate only, so they exclude audio and transport overhead. Monthly figures assume an uninterrupted 30-day stream.
| Format and codec | Recommended video bitrate | Approx. data per day | Approx. data per 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 720p60, H.264 | 8 Mbps | 86.4 GB | 2.59 TB |
| 1080p60, AV1 or H.265 | 12 Mbps | 129.6 GB | 3.89 TB |
| 1080p60, H.264 | 17 Mbps | 183.6 GB | 5.51 TB |
| 1440p60, H.264 | 34 Mbps | 367.2 GB | 11.02 TB |
| 2160p60, H.264 | 50 Mbps | 540 GB | 16.2 TB |
The values are calculations from YouTube’s currently listed bitrate recommendations, not measurements. At 1080p60, the recommended figure is 12 Mbps for AV1/H.265 and 17 Mbps for H.264; do not assume that resolution alone determines data use. Check the codec and bitrate actually configured in your encoder. YouTube’s [encoder guidance](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2853702) also recommends 128 kbps stereo AAC audio. Adding that audio rate to the video rate gives an estimated 1.38 GB more per day, or about 41.5 GB over 30 days.
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What these data figures include—and what they do not
One outgoing feed from the creator
The estimate is for one upload from your encoder to YouTube. It does not multiply by your audience size: YouTube receives the contribution feed and distributes viewer playback separately. YouTube says it transcodes incoming live streams into multiple output formats for viewers; that processing does not mean your encoder uploads a separate feed for every viewer.
Overhead and other network traffic
Your ISP’s recorded total may be higher or lower than the simple calculation. Audio, bitrate variation, transport overhead, retransmissions on a poor connection, interruptions or restarts, and unrelated activity—such as cloud backups, software updates, monitoring, or remote production calls—can all affect usage. There is no universal exact overhead percentage that applies to every setup. If your connection has a strict data cap, leave a margin and check the usage reported by your router or provider while testing your own stream.
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Playback is a different calculation
If you are watching a saved gaming VOD rather than sending a live feed, these upload figures do not apply. A viewer’s download depends on the playback rendition selected or delivered adaptively and how long the video is watched; it is not determined by the creator’s live upload total.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Configure and monitor the stream that determines usage
Use your encoder’s actual sustained bitrate for a data estimate. YouTube’s official guidance recommends testing with representative sound and motion, using constant bitrate (CBR), and setting a two-second keyframe interval (no more than four seconds). It lists 128 kbps for stereo AAC audio and recommends testing your upload bitrate with a speed test. See [YouTube’s encoder settings](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2853702).
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- Choose resolution, frame rate, and codec. Select a format your connection can sustain and consult the corresponding YouTube recommendation. Fast-motion gameplay may need more bitrate for visual clarity; a resolution label is not a data-use guarantee.
- Set and record the bitrate. Note the configured video bitrate and add the audio bitrate. Use that combined number in the formula. If the encoder’s actual average differs from its target, the actual average is the better estimate.
- Test the connection and content. Run a speed test as YouTube recommends, then test a representative section with gameplay motion and sound. A speed test indicates available upload capacity, not your monthly data total.
- Watch stream health. YouTube Live API health and status information can report issues such as low video bitrate or video ingestion starvation. These are delivery diagnostics, not a monthly data counter. See the [YouTube Live API stream health documentation](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/live/docs/liveStreams).
- Compare the estimate with actual usage. Check your provider or router’s usage during a representative period, then scale that observed rate to your planned runtime. Include other devices and activity if the account limit applies to your whole connection.
Troubleshooting unexpectedly high or low usage
- The monthly estimate is much higher than expected: Confirm the bitrate unit is Mbps, not Kbps; verify that the stream is actually running for all 24 hours; and check whether audio was added to the video rate twice. Review other devices and background uploads on the same internet account.
- Actual use is above the bitrate calculation: Check for bitrate peaks, retransmissions, restarts, or other network traffic. Track usage over a representative interval rather than adding an assumed fixed overhead percentage.
- The stream drops or YouTube reports starvation: Check the encoder’s output bitrate and connection stability against available upload capacity. Lower the bitrate or resolution if the connection cannot sustain the selected setting, then test again.
- The data total is lower than expected: Confirm that the channel streamed continuously for the assumed period and that the encoder’s average bitrate matched its configured target. A stream interruption or lower actual bitrate reduces the total.
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