Intro

Live streaming requires two things: powerful hardware and a good internet upload speed.

You can find hardware that handles encoding for live video (and playing video games simultaneously) in a smartphone or a decent computer. Getting a proficient upload speed for streaming is trickier.

Before you start calling your Internet access provider to inquire about more bandwidth, you demand to know what a skilful upload speed for streaming is. Unfortunately, there's no straightforward answer to this question.

A good upload speed allows yous to stream the content you want to the platform of your selection without any major bug. Information technology should likewise be capable of delivering your content at a quality that will not disadvantage you or brand your stream less appealing than others.

Basically, anything between 672 kbps and 61.5 Mbps is ideal.

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

Not a great answer, right? There are some generally accepted values for good upload speeds, which are worth knowing. Just we'll also dig a bit deeper to find a good upload speed for your particular alive stream needs.

🤓 Understanding download/upload speeds

What do you think people do the nigh online? Nosotros know that the most popular website in the world is Google. It'due south followed by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia. 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, so read, mind, or watch it. To be able to practice that, their devices need to ingest information, which comes to them in the form of $.25. Your internet connection'southward download rate shows you how many $.25 of data your figurer or device can have in from the cyberspace using that connection. Usually, the charge per unit (also referred to as bitrate) is expressed in millions of $.25 — or megabits — per second (Mbps).

It's your connectedness's upload rate that matters the most.

When you create content and want to share it online, information technology's your connexion's upload charge per unit that matters the virtually. It'south the aforementioned as the download charge per unit; it just works the other manner around, showing how many $.25 of data you tin can share per 2nd. Information technology'due south 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 take up a lot of bandwidth. Just how much will depend on several factors. Encoding matters, but and then does the type of content yous desire to stream. Platforms play a office, as do the resolution (expressed in pixels, or p) and the frame charge per unit (frames per second, or fps) of your stream.

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

  • Facebook Live recommends a max bitrate of 4,000 kbps, plus a max audio bitrate of 128 kbps.
  • YouTube Live recommends a range betwixt i,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus 128 kbps for audio.
  • Twitch recommends a range between 2,500 and iv,000 kbps for video, plus upwardly to 160 kbps for audio.

If yous're streaming live video at a resolution of 720p, at 30 frames per second, yous will upload up to iv,160 kilobits, or 4.16 Mbps, of data per 2d. And so having an upload bandwidth of around four Mbps should cover you, correct?

Non quite. You lot will need to upload up to four,160 kilobits of information per second constantly. Because these speeds fluctuate, information technology's a good idea to take a 35% to 40% buffer. That puts united states of america at an upload charge per unit of around 5,700 kilobits per 2nd, or five.7 Mbps. However, if yous are sure your internet connection is stable, such a buffer might not be needed. Remember, a stable connexion is equally of import as upload speed!

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

For diverse reasons, your ISP's declared upload bandwidth and the actual upload speed y'all can reach with your connection tin be very different. That's why you should ever examination your upload speed using online speed tests. The number you become from these tests should be up to 5.7 Mbps if y'all desire to stream 720p video at 30 frames per second.

Read after: The just multistreaming guide you'll ever need 📍

💁‍♂️ The many variables affecting upload speed requirements

The five.7 Mbps upload speed for 720p video at xxx frames per second is the upper limit. You can still live stream 720p video with a lower upload speed. If the whole video is a single shot of you talking, 4,000 kbps might exist too high of a bitrate. You would probably exist fine if you reduced it past half.

If, on the other hand, you desire to stream video games or events with tons of visual information, iv,000 kbps is necessary. The faster the pace of the visuals, the college your bitrate should exist. The type of content you stream affects what a good upload speed is for y'all.

Let's stay with video games. If you're streaming games with fast-paced activeness, you should ensure that your viewers encounter what'south going on every bit conspicuously as possible. Yous might want to stream at more than xxx frames per second.

Still, more frames per second requires a higher bitrate. For Twitch, it pushes the range for 720p video to between three,500 and five,000 kbps. YouTube Live recommends 2,250 to half dozen,000 Kbps. When you factor in these requirements, that's a 6.2 Mbps upload speed for Twitch and seven.four Mbps for YouTube Live if you want to stream 720p video at 60 frames per second. Also, continue in mind that these are just the highest optimal values.

A good upload speed for your alive streaming volition vary from one platform to another.

On Facebook, beginning streamers can just stream upwards to 720p video, so there'southward no need to take more than 5 Mbps. In order to alive stream Full HD videos, you lot need to utilize for their Level Upwards affiliate program.

Twitch allows upwardly to 1080p video at lx frames per second. Y'all'll need an upload speed of up to 7.four Mbps to back up that.

YouTube Live supports 4k live streaming at lx frames per second. It recommends a bitrate in the range of 20,000 to 51,000 kbps. You'd need an upload speed of 68.8 Mbps to pull that off. That'southward merely higher up the average upload speed in the District of Columbia, the expanse with the highest median upload speed in the United States.

Finally, your competitors might affect your upload speed requirements. Twitch and YouTube are crowded with streamers trying to use the platforms to generate income. If you're streaming likewise, y'all cannot beget to fall behind on video quality. Better quality requires higher upload speeds, and then the contest will somewhen push button you lot to increase your upload rate.

🤩 What upload speeds should I be aiming for?

With all these variables in heed, yous shouldn't ask what a "practiced" upload speed is. Instead, it's amend to enquire which speed you should aim for in your circumstances.

Which bitrates and corresponding upload rates do 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 iv,000 kbps for video.
  • Recommended audio bitrate is upwardly to 128 kbps.
  • Maximum resolution is 1080p, with 60 frames reproduced per second. Aim for an upload speed of 6 to 7 Mbps (although Facebook limits most accounts to 720p resolution).
  • For 720p video at 30 or 60 frames per second, aim for an upload speed of roughly iii 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 betwixt iii.2 Mbps and 5 Mbps.
  • For 720p video at sixty frames per 2nd, the bitrate should be between iii,500 and 5,000 kbps. Required upload speeds are between iv.4 Mbps and half-dozen.2 Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at 30 frames per second, the bitrate should exist 3,500 to 5,000 kbps – same as for 720p video at sixty fps. The required upload speeds are the aforementioned too, betwixt iv.4 Mbps and half dozen.2 Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at sixty frames per second, the recommended bitrate is between 4500 and 6000 kbps. The required upload speeds are between 5.6 Mbps and 7.four Mbps.

YouTube:

  • For 720p video at 30 frames per second, the range is 1,500 to four,000 kbps. That's an upload speed between roughly 2 Mbps and 5 Mbps.
  • For 720p video at threescore frames per second, the range is 2,250 to vi,000 kbps. Required upload speeds are between 2.9 Mbps and seven.4 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.viii Mbps and 7.4 Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at 60 frames per second, the bitrate range is four,500 to nine,000 kbps. In upload speeds, that ways betwixt 5.half-dozen Mbps and 11 Mbps.
  • For 1440p video at xxx frames per second, the bitrate range is 6,000 to xiii,000 kbps. That's between seven.4 Mbps and 15.8 Mbps in recommended upload speeds.
  • For 1440p video at threescore frames per second, the range is 9,000 to 18,000 kbps. In upload speeds, that'due south betwixt 11 Mbps and 21.8 Mbps.
  • If you actually want to live stream 4k video, doing it at thirty frames per second volition require a bitrate between xiii,000 and 34,000 kbps. In terms of upload speed, that's 15.viii Mbps and 41 Mbps.
  • To stream 4k video at 60 frames per second, the recommended bitrate range is xx,000 to 51,000 kbps. Yous'll demand an upload speed between 24.ii Mbps and 61.5 Mbps.

Every bit you tin come across, YouTube offers the highest-quality live streaming. Facebook is the most accessible, while Twitch is still 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 ane thing, but getting admission to that speed is something completely different.

The upload speed you tin can achieve depends on the service packages your Internet access provider offers. For residential users, the download speed will always exist higher than the upload speed. The best way to get symmetry between the two is to sign upwards for a concern-level service if possible. It will guarantee you the ISP's declared upload speed at any time. This, in turn, provides stability and reliability to ensure smooth live streams.

In terms of sheer speed, the proficient news is that internet connections are becoming faster across the lath. Technologies such equally fiber-optic internet are bringing college speeds to your workplace or home — if fiber is offered in your area, that is.

And then, the first footstep in obtaining a good upload speed for streaming is to switch to an Internet service provider that offers the speed y'all need. Be prepared to pay more for more speed, though. Also, make sure you ask around about the quality of their service.

If you're stuck with a provider that offers suboptimal speeds, you tin can however practise a couple of things to improve your situation:

  • Get a wired connection. Your WiFi might be great when it comes to watching YouTube videos on your smartphone or checking social media. But when live streaming, a wired connectedness with an ethernet cable is better. It gives you less interference and more than stability, which leads to amend stream quality.
  • Remove excess devices from your network. You don't want your internet connection to exist crowded when y'all kickoff 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.
  • Close excess programs and apps on your computer. The simply matter that should exist uploading when you stream is your encoder. Peer-to-peer networking has probably ruined its off-white share of alive streams, and then wait until you lot're off the air.
  • Use deject-based multistreaming. Multistreaming, or streaming live to several platforms at the aforementioned fourth dimension, is incredibly useful for content creators. Information technology helps reach new audiences, saves fourth dimension, and offers bully tools from various platforms. Unfortunately, information technology can also be demanding on your CPU and bandwidth. To bargain with information technology, use a cloud-based multistreaming service to bear some of that load.
  • Remove malware; use advertizement blockers and privacy tools. Malware, ads, and online tracking tin use up some of your upload bandwidth. Remove, cease, or block whatever of these speed-leeching undesired programs.
  • Use up-to-appointment software and hardware. Former drivers tin can dull your calculator down, and old modems can clogging your upload speed. Make certain your hardware and software are up to the task of streaming live video.

🔥 How to stream with a low upload speed

With Restream Events, you can bypass the upload speed inconveniences. How? Our characteristic allows you to upload your pre-recorded videos, schedule them, and gear up them to go live after as if they were regular streams. With this method, your upload speed doesn't matter. After you upload your video, Restream will broadcast it at the scheduled time automatically, so you don't even take to exist online.

Learn more than 👉 Restream Events: Everything y'all need to know

Bonus tip: Cheers to our multistreaming engineering science, you lot can schedule and alive stream your pre-recorded content to top platforms, like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and more than, all at the same time.

restream

Multiply your views and engagement

Attain a wider audience past streaming to multiple platforms simultaneously.

Become Started

Conclusion

As a live video streamer, the quality of your content will depend on the quality of your broadcast. That's a fact. You can have the best skills in the most popular games, or the best banter, or the greatest sense of humor. Just if people tin can't see and hear you well, they're non going to stick effectually to lookout man your stream.

Upload speeds can significantly affect the quality of your broadcasts. Utilise a connexion with enough upload speed for the type of content y'all broadcast.

Call up, y'all shouldn't go for the highest possible upload speed by default. You only need information technology if you're planning to stream at a very high bitrate. A good upload speed is the one that's appropriate for your goals.