How much does a 24/7 YouTube stream cost on Amazon EC2 with a reserved instance? Using AWS’s published Linux/Unix t2.medium example for US East (Northern Virginia), compute alone works out to about $22.63 for a 730-hour month with a one-year Reserved Instance (RI), or $15.33 with a three-year RI. Those are illustrative rates, not a complete monthly bill or a guarantee that t2.medium can handle your encoding workload. Internet data transfer out, storage, networking, other services and taxes can add to the total.
What the EC2 monthly estimate includes
A useful estimate separates the always-on server from the resources around it:
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Estimated monthly total = EC2 RI compute + internet data transfer out + EBS storage + public IPv4/networking + additional AWS services + applicable taxes.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe compute figures below use AWS’s displayed Linux/Unix t2.medium example for US East (Northern Virginia), multiplied by 730 hours. AWS’s page does not state a year for these example rates; they were accessed on October 3, 2026, and should be checked again before you commit. A 730-hour month is a planning convention: actual calendar months contain roughly 720–744 hours.
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| Billing option | Example effective hourly rate | Compute for 730 hours |
|---|---|---|
| On-Demand | $0.0464 | About $33.87 |
| One-year RI | $0.031 | About $22.63 |
| Three-year RI | $0.021 | About $15.33 |
These are compute-only estimates for that OS, instance size and Region—not a quote for every EC2 setup. AWS describes RI effective hourly pricing as the term cost amortized over the term, including any upfront payment. Your cash outlay and when AWS bills you depend on the payment option. AWS advertises savings of up to 72% for Standard RIs versus On-Demand with one-year or three-year terms; that is a maximum, not a discount guaranteed for every instance. See AWS’s T2 instance examples and Reserved Instance pricing and terms.
Why data transfer out can change the total
In the usual EC2-to-YouTube setup, EC2 sends one encoded contribution stream to YouTube. AWS bills data transfer separately from instance usage, so sustained outbound video traffic can add a material cost. Estimate the data from your actual bitrate, then apply the current internet data-transfer-out rates for your Region and account.
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Estimate outbound volume from bitrate
As a rough decimal conversion, bitrate in Mbps × 0.45 gives approximate GB per hour before protocol overhead. For example, a steady 6 Mbps stream sends about 2.7 GB per hour, or about 1,971 GB in a 730-hour month. This is arithmetic from the bitrate, not an AWS price or a promise of exact traffic volume.
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YouTube’s published H.264 recommendation for 1080p at 30 fps is 5–14 Mbps; for AV1 or H.265 at that resolution and frame rate it is 4–10 Mbps. At the top of those ranges, estimated monthly data grows accordingly. Choose settings for your content and desired quality, and use the selected bitrate—not a generic figure—to model egress. YouTube’s encoder settings guidance lists recommendations by codec and resolution.
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Check the allowance and current Region rates
AWS describes a 100 GB monthly internet data-transfer-out allowance aggregated across AWS services and Regions, with exclusions for China and GovCloud. It is not a guaranteed per-instance allowance: verify your account’s eligibility and the current terms, then calculate any remaining transfer at the applicable rate tiers. AWS also bills data transfer separately from instance usage. See AWS’s EC2 pricing page for billing dimensions and transfer details.
Other AWS charges to include
- EBS storage: Include the attached volumes used for the operating system, media files, logs or other data. The amount depends on volume configuration and current pricing.
- Public IPv4 and networking: Include a public IPv4 address or other network resources if your setup uses them. Check current configuration-specific charges.
- Additional services and monitoring: Logging, monitoring or other AWS services can add costs depending on what you enable.
- Taxes: Applicable taxes may increase the amount billed.
These costs cannot be inferred from the t2.medium compute example; check the current AWS prices for your configuration. AWS explains how to locate prices by term, purchase option, offering class and usage type in its service price list guidance.
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Make sure you are pricing the right streaming architecture
EC2 sends one feed to YouTube
This is the cost model addressed here: one EC2 host runs the encoder or relays already encoded media to YouTube. Estimate the instance and its outbound contribution stream. YouTube handles its own viewer delivery and transcoding behavior; your EC2 estimate is not the cost of serving every viewer.
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AWS serves viewers directly
A different architecture uses AWS services to package and distribute a stream to an audience. Viewer delivery can make bandwidth and managed services major cost drivers. AWS’s Live Streaming on AWS deployment plan describes a MediaLive, MediaPackage and CloudFront design and includes a reference example for approximately 1,000 viewers watching for one hour at SD-540p. Its assumptions and services are not comparable to the price of one EC2-to-YouTube contribution feed.
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Choose an RI without confusing the discount with your bill
- Fix the workload assumptions. Select the Region, operating system, instance family and size, hours of use, and whether EC2 encodes live material or relays pre-encoded video.
- Compare like with like. Hold those assumptions constant when comparing one-year and three-year RI options. Include the term, payment option, upfront cash required and effective hourly cost, as well as transfer, storage and networking.
- Check the exact offer. AWS’s effective hourly number spreads the term cost across the term; it does not tell you the full timing of payments by itself. Look up the relevant term, purchase option, offering class and usage type in the AWS service price list guidance, and verify the live price before purchase.
- Decide whether the commitment fits. A longer term may show a lower effective hourly price, but it commits you for longer. Compare that commitment with how long you expect to run the stream and the payment option you can afford.
An RI is a billing commitment, not a capacity guarantee. A low compute price does not establish that the selected instance has enough CPU or network capacity for a particular codec, resolution or frame rate.
Check encoding settings and instance capacity separately
YouTube’s encoder guidance supports RTMP/RTMPS and lists H.264, H.265 and AV1 video, up to 60 fps. It recommends constant bitrate (CBR) and a two-second keyframe interval that should not exceed four seconds, and recommends RTMPS. YouTube’s exact guidance is: “We recommend streaming to YouTube Live with RTMPS, a secure extension to the popular RTMP streaming video protocol.” See YouTube’s encoder settings, bitrates and resolutions.
Those platform settings do not tell you how much CPU a particular EC2 instance will need. Live encoding workload depends on codec, resolution, frame rate and encoding settings. A relay of already encoded media is a different workload from transcoding or encoding live material. Test the intended workload on the selected instance before relying on it for continuous operation; AWS’s t2.medium price example is not an encoding benchmark.
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- Create the live stream in YouTube Studio. In the encoder workflow, use the stream URL and stream key provided by YouTube, and enter them in your encoder. Keep the key private. The steps and labels may vary with YouTube’s current interface; see YouTube’s encoder setup instructions.
- Configure the outbound stream. Select a supported protocol and codec, set CBR and the keyframe interval, and choose a bitrate suitable for the target resolution and frame rate. Confirm that the EC2 workload can sustain the settings.
- Monitor the stream and process. A 24/7 setup needs monitoring and a plan to restart the encoder or relay if it stops. YouTube’s networking recommendation to leave 20% upload-bandwidth headroom is aimed at network capacity planning; a cloud host’s route is not the same as a home upload connection, but the instance and any relevant service limits still need checking. See YouTube’s streaming tips.
- Account for archive behavior. YouTube says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived. A continuous 24/7 stream is longer than that threshold, so do not assume the whole broadcast will be automatically archived as one complete recording. Plan any recording and restart workflow around the archive behavior described in YouTube’s encoder workflow guidance.
Common cost and setup problems
- The AWS bill is higher than the RI estimate: The estimate covers compute only. Check data transfer out, EBS, public IPv4, other services and taxes; confirm that the instance, Region and OS match the example.
- The transfer estimate seems too low: Recalculate from the configured bitrate and actual broadcast hours. Check whether your calculation includes the full month, protocol overhead and the applicable AWS allowance and rate tiers.
- The stream drops or becomes unstable: Check encoder logs, instance CPU and network capacity, bitrate and connectivity. A RI does not ensure that an instance can sustain a given workload; reduce the encoding load or test a suitable instance configuration.
- YouTube does not receive the feed: Verify the stream URL, stream key, protocol and encoder settings in the current YouTube workflow. Regenerate or replace a key if it has been exposed.
- The archive is incomplete: Check the broadcast duration against YouTube’s under-12-hour automatic archive rule and plan for long-running stream recording and restart needs.
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