Intro

Live streaming requires ii things: powerful hardware and a expert net upload speed.

Y'all can observe hardware that handles encoding for live video (and playing video games simultaneously) in a smartphone or a decent computer. Getting a good upload speed for streaming is trickier.

Before yous kickoff calling your Isp to inquire about more bandwidth, you lot need to know what a skilful upload speed for streaming is. Unfortunately, there's no straightforward reply to this question.

A good upload speed allows you to stream the content you want to the platform of your pick without whatsoever major issues. It should also be capable of delivering your content at a quality that will non disadvantage you or make your stream less appealing than others.

Basically, anything between 672 kbps and 61.five Mbps is ideal.

A good upload speed for streaming is between 672 kbps and 61.5 Mbps

Not a dandy answer, right? There are some generally accepted values for proficient upload speeds, which are worth knowing. But we'll also dig a bit deeper to find a practiced upload speed for your particular live stream needs.

🤓 Understanding download/upload speeds

What do you think people do the most online? We know that the near popular website in the earth is Google. It'southward followed by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia. And so that's one search engine, an encyclopedia, two social networks, and a video platform/social network.

People consume content online. They seek it out, identify it, and so read, listen, or watch it. To be able to do that, their devices need to ingest information, which comes to them in the form of bits. Your internet connection'south download rate shows you lot how many $.25 of data your computer or device can take in from the net using that connection. Usually, the charge per unit (also referred to as bitrate) is expressed in millions of bits — or megabits — per 2d (Mbps).

Information technology's your connection'due south upload charge per unit that matters the most.

When you create content and want to share it online, it's your connectedness's upload rate that matters the about. It's the same as the download charge per unit; it just works the other way around, showing how many bits of data yous can share per 2nd. It's also expressed in Mbps. Data shows that, globally, upload rates are slower than download rates.

👀 What is a good upload speed for streaming?

Streaming live video can accept up a lot of bandwidth. Just how much will depend on several factors. Encoding matters, but so does the type of content you want to stream. Platforms play a part, as practise the resolution (expressed in pixels, or p) and the frame rate (frames per second, or fps) of your stream.

Say y'all want to alive stream a video of yourself interviewing someone. You're choosing between Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Twitch. Since all these platforms support live streaming video resolution of 720p, we'll utilise the bitrate recommendations from each platform:

  • Facebook Alive recommends a max bitrate of 4,000 kbps, plus a max sound bitrate of 128 kbps.
  • YouTube Live recommends a range between one,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus 128 kbps for audio.
  • Twitch recommends a range between 2,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus up to 160 kbps for audio.

If yous're streaming alive video at a resolution of 720p, at thirty frames per second, you lot will upload upward to 4,160 kilobits, or 4.16 Mbps, of information per 2nd. And so having an upload bandwidth of around 4 Mbps should comprehend you, right?

Not quite. You will need to upload upwardly to 4,160 kilobits of data per 2d constantly. Because these speeds fluctuate, it's a proficient idea to take a 35% to 40% buffer. That puts us at an upload rate of around 5,700 kilobits per second, or v.seven Mbps. All the same, if you are sure your internet connection is stable, such a buffer might not be needed. Think, a stable connection is as important as upload speed!

It's generally a good idea to have a 35% to 40% buffer

For various reasons, your ISP's alleged upload bandwidth and the actual upload speed you tin accomplish with your connectedness can be very different. That's why you should e'er test your upload speed using online speed tests. The number you become from these tests should exist upwards to 5.7 Mbps if you lot want to stream 720p video at thirty frames per second.

Read subsequently: The only multistreaming guide you'll ever need 📍

💁‍♂️ The many variables affecting upload speed requirements

The 5.vii Mbps upload speed for 720p video at xxx frames per second is the upper limit. You tin still live stream 720p video with a lower upload speed. If the whole video is a single shot of y'all talking, 4,000 kbps might be too loftier of a bitrate. You would probably be fine if you reduced it past half.

If, on the other hand, you desire to stream video games or events with tons of visual data, iv,000 kbps is necessary. The faster the stride of the visuals, the higher your bitrate should exist. The blazon of content you stream affects what a good upload speed is for you.

Let's stay with video games. If you're streaming games with fast-paced action, you should ensure that your viewers run into what'southward going on as clearly as possible. You might want to stream at more than 30 frames per 2d.

However, more than frames per second requires a higher bitrate. For Twitch, information technology pushes the range for 720p video to betwixt iii,500 and 5,000 kbps. YouTube Alive recommends 2,250 to 6,000 Kbps. When you factor in these requirements, that'southward a six.2 Mbps upload speed for Twitch and 7.4 Mbps for YouTube Alive if you want to stream 720p video at sixty frames per second. Also, proceed in mind that these are just the highest optimal values.

A proficient upload speed for your live streaming will vary from one platform to another.

On Facebook, beginning streamers tin only stream upward to 720p video, and so in that location'southward no demand to accept more than v Mbps. In gild to live stream Total HD videos, you demand to apply for their Level Up chapter program.

Twitch allows up to 1080p video at lx frames per second. You'll demand an upload speed of up to seven.iv Mbps to back up that.

YouTube Live supports 4k live streaming at 60 frames per 2d. It recommends a bitrate in the range of xx,000 to 51,000 kbps. You'd need an upload speed of 68.8 Mbps to pull that off. That's just above the average upload speed in the District of Columbia, the expanse with the highest median upload speed in the Usa.

Finally, your competitors might impact your upload speed requirements. Twitch and YouTube are crowded with streamers trying to use the platforms to generate income. If you're streaming as well, you cannot afford to fall behind on video quality. Amend quality requires higher upload speeds, so the contest will eventually push you to increment your upload charge per unit.

🤩 What upload speeds should I be aiming for?

With all these variables in mind, you shouldn't ask what a "good" upload speed is. Instead, it's better to inquire which speed you should aim for in your circumstances.

Which bitrates and respective upload rates practise the 3 major streaming platforms suggest streamers to use? We'll segment by platform, resolution, and frames per second, where applicable.

Facebook Live:

  • Recommended max bitrate of 4,000 kbps for video.
  • Recommended audio bitrate is up to 128 kbps.
  • Maximum resolution is 1080p, with 60 frames reproduced per 2d. Aim for an upload speed of 6 to 7 Mbps (although Facebook limits most accounts to 720p resolution).
  • For 720p video at 30 or threescore frames per second, aim for an upload speed of roughly three to 4 Mbps.

Twitch:

  • For 720p video at 30 frames per second, bitrate should be between 2,500 and 4,000 kbps. That requires upload speeds between iii.2 Mbps and 5 Mbps.
  • For 720p video at 60 frames per second, the bitrate should exist betwixt three,500 and five,000 kbps. Required upload speeds are between four.4 Mbps and 6.two Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at xxx frames per second, the bitrate should be three,500 to 5,000 kbps – aforementioned as for 720p video at 60 fps. The required upload speeds are the same too, between 4.4 Mbps and half dozen.two Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at lx frames per second, the recommended bitrate is between 4500 and 6000 kbps. The required upload speeds are between five.6 Mbps and 7.4 Mbps.

YouTube:

  • For 720p video at 30 frames per second, the range is one,500 to 4,000 kbps. That's an upload speed between roughly 2 Mbps and v Mbps.
  • For 720p video at 60 frames per second, the range is two,250 to 6,000 kbps. Required upload speeds are between 2.9 Mbps and seven.four Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at 30 frames per second, the bitrate range is 3,000 to 6,000 kbps. Required upload speeds are between 3.8 Mbps and seven.4 Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at lx frames per 2nd, the bitrate range is 4,500 to 9,000 kbps. In upload speeds, that means between 5.half-dozen Mbps and eleven Mbps.
  • For 1440p video at thirty frames per second, the bitrate range is 6,000 to thirteen,000 kbps. That's between vii.4 Mbps and 15.8 Mbps in recommended upload speeds.
  • For 1440p video at threescore frames per second, the range is ix,000 to eighteen,000 kbps. In upload speeds, that's betwixt 11 Mbps and 21.viii Mbps.
  • If you actually desire to live stream 4k video, doing it at 30 frames per second volition require a bitrate between xiii,000 and 34,000 kbps. In terms of upload speed, that's xv.8 Mbps and 41 Mbps.
  • To stream 4k video at sixty frames per second, the recommended bitrate range is 20,000 to 51,000 kbps. You'll need an upload speed between 24.2 Mbps and 61.5 Mbps.

As you can see, YouTube offers the highest-quality live streaming. Facebook is the most attainable, while Twitch is yet the gamer's haven.

What is a good upload speed for streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch?

👉 How to get a skillful upload speed for streaming

Calculating your desired upload speed is one thing, but getting access to that speed is something completely unlike.

The upload speed y'all can achieve depends on the service packages your Isp offers. For residential users, the download speed will e'er be higher than the upload speed. The best way to get symmetry betwixt the two is to sign up for a business-level service if possible. It will guarantee you the Isp's alleged upload speed at whatsoever time. This, in turn, provides stability and reliability to ensure smooth live streams.

In terms of sheer speed, the good news is that internet connections are becoming faster beyond the board. Technologies such as cobweb-optic net are bringing college speeds to your workplace or abode — if fiber is offered in your area, that is.

And then, the first stride in obtaining a expert upload speed for streaming is to switch to an ISP that offers the speed you need. Exist prepared to pay more for more than speed, though. As well, make sure you enquire effectually about the quality of their service.

If y'all're stuck with a provider that offers suboptimal speeds, you tin can still do a couple of things to amend your state of affairs:

  • Get a wired connection. Your WiFi might exist great when it comes to watching YouTube videos on your smartphone or checking social media. Simply when live streaming, a wired connection with an ethernet cable is ameliorate. Information technology gives you less interference and more stability, which leads to better stream quality.
  • Remove excess devices from your network. You don't desire your internet connection to be crowded when you start streaming. Don't let any other device hog your upload speed, and disconnect them from your network or turn off their WiFi capabilities during your stream.
  • Shut backlog programs and apps on your computer. The just matter that should be uploading when you stream is your encoder. Peer-to-peer networking has probably ruined its fair share of live streams, then await until you're off the air.
  • Use cloud-based multistreaming. Multistreaming, or streaming live to several platforms at the aforementioned fourth dimension, is incredibly useful for content creators. It helps achieve new audiences, saves time, and offers dandy tools from various platforms. Unfortunately, it tin can too exist demanding on your CPU and bandwidth. To deal with it, use a cloud-based multistreaming service to deport some of that load.
  • Remove malware; utilize ad blockers and privacy tools. Malware, ads, and online tracking tin apply up some of your upload bandwidth. Remove, terminate, or cake whatsoever of these speed-leeching undesired programs.
  • Use up-to-appointment software and hardware. Old drivers can slow your computer down, and former modems tin can bottleneck your upload speed. Brand certain your hardware and software are upwards to the chore of streaming live video.

🔥 How to stream with a low upload speed

With Restream Events, you can bypass the upload speed inconveniences. How? Our feature allows you to upload your pre-recorded videos, schedule them, and fix them to become live later as if they were regular streams. With this method, your upload speed doesn't matter. After yous upload your video, Restream will broadcast it at the scheduled time automatically, and then you don't fifty-fifty accept to exist online.

Learn more 👉 Restream Events: Everything you need to know

Bonus tip: Thanks to our multistreaming applied science, y'all can schedule and live stream your pre-recorded content to top platforms, like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and more than, all at the same time.

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Conclusion

As a live video streamer, the quality of your content will depend on the quality of your broadcast. That's a fact. Yous can have the best skills in the almost pop games, or the all-time banter, or the greatest sense of humor. But if people tin't see and hear you well, they're not going to stick around to sentinel your stream.

Upload speeds can significantly affect the quality of your broadcasts. Employ a connectedness with enough upload speed for the type of content yous circulate.

Retrieve, you shouldn't go for the highest possible upload speed by default. You lot just need it if you're planning to stream at a very high bitrate. A good upload speed is the one that's appropriate for your goals.