Stream Size
Work out how big your stream recording is, and what a video package of it costs
Your bitrate and hours in: the recording's size, whether YouTube takes it, and about what a YouEdit video package of it costs in credits.
Free. Works in any browser, on a phone or a computer. What you put here stays on your device.
About Stream Size
Size of an hour of recording
- 3,000 kbps: about 1.42 GB an hour.
- 4,500 kbps: about 2.10 GB an hour.
- 6,000 kbps: about 2.77 GB an hour.
- 8,000 kbps: about 3.67 GB an hour.
- 17,000 kbps: about 7.72 GB an hour.
With one 160 kbps audio track. Each extra audio track adds about 0.07 GB an hour.
The figures it uses
- YouTube takes an upload of up to 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
- Twitch recommends 6,000 kbps for 1080p at 60 fps, and 4,500 for 1080p at 30 fps or 720p at 60.
- YouTube Live recommends 17,000 kbps for 1080p at 60 fps with H.264, and 14,000 at 30 fps.
- In OBS, a Recording Quality of "Same as stream" records at the stream's quality, so the recording's size follows the stream's bitrate.
- Exporting the edit for YouTube: it recommends 8 Mbps for 1080p at 24 to 30 fps, and 12 Mbps at 48 to 60 fps.
How to use it
- Pick your bitrate, or type it: in OBS it is under Settings, Output.
- Set how long you stream and how many audio tracks you record.
- Or drop the recording itself: its exact size, length and bitrate are read on this device.
Rules as read on October 3, 2026 from YouTube Help: Upload videos longer than 15 minutes, Twitch Help: Broadcasting Guidelines, YouTube Help: Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions, YouTube Help: YouTube recommended upload encoding settings, OBS: Standard Recording Output Guide.
Questions
- How big is an hour of stream recording?
- At 6,000 kbps, about 2.77 GB; at 4,500 kbps, about 2.10 GB. The bitrate decides it, not the resolution.
- Why is my recording a different size?
- In OBS, a Recording Quality other than "Same as stream" records with settings of its own, and the size follows those. Drop the file to read its real size.
- What does a video package of it cost?
- A package (the main video, 5 to 25 Shorts, ten thumbnail and title pairs and the upload text) is quoted in Sucia credits from the recording's length, not its size, before anything is made. This page shows about what one of this length costs at today's rates; the chat quotes yours after a first look, and the real charge never passes one and a half times the quote. One credit is one US cent.
- Is there a size limit for a package?
- Up to 25 GB a file in the YouEdit chat. A longer stream at a high bitrate can pass that: Stream Size flags it, so you can record at a lower bitrate, or split the recording into parts, each its own package.