Intro

Live streaming requires ii 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 expert upload speed for streaming is trickier.

Before you start calling your Isp to inquire nearly more bandwidth, you demand to know what a good upload speed for streaming is. Unfortunately, there's no straightforward answer to this question.

A good upload speed allows you to stream the content you desire to the platform of your option without any major issues. Information technology should as well be capable of delivering your content at a quality that volition not disadvantage you or make your stream less appealing than others.

Basically, annihilation betwixt 672 kbps and 61.5 Mbps is ideal.

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

Non a great answer, right? There are some generally accustomed values for practiced upload speeds, which are worth knowing. But we'll also dig a bit deeper to find a good upload speed for your item alive stream needs.

🤓 Understanding download/upload speeds

What practice you recollect people do the most online? Nosotros know that the virtually pop website in the world is Google. Information technology's followed past YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia. So that's one search engine, an encyclopedia, ii social networks, and a video platform/social network.

People consume content online. They seek it out, identify it, then read, mind, or watch information technology. To be able to exercise that, their devices demand to ingest information, which comes to them in the form of bits. Your net connection'south download rate shows y'all how many bits of data your computer or device can take in from the internet using that connection. Usually, the rate (also referred to every bit bitrate) is expressed in millions of bits — or megabits — per second (Mbps).

It'due south your connection's upload rate that matters the most.

When you create content and desire to share it online, it'due south your connection's upload rate that matters the most. It's the aforementioned as the download rate; it just works the other way around, showing how many bits of data you lot can share per second. It'southward also expressed in Mbps. Data shows that, globally, upload rates are slower than download rates.

👀 What is a good upload speed for streaming?

Streaming alive video tin can take upwardly a lot of bandwidth. Just how much will depend on several factors. Encoding matters, only so does the blazon of content y'all desire to stream. Platforms play a office, equally practice the resolution (expressed in pixels, or p) and the frame charge per unit (frames per second, or fps) of your stream.

Say you 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 live streaming video resolution of 720p, we'll use 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 between 1,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus 128 kbps for audio.
  • Twitch recommends a range betwixt 2,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus upward to 160 kbps for sound.

If you're streaming live video at a resolution of 720p, at thirty frames per second, you will upload up to 4,160 kilobits, or iv.sixteen Mbps, of information per 2nd. Then having an upload bandwidth of effectually iv Mbps should embrace you, correct?

Not quite. You volition need to upload upward to 4,160 kilobits of data per 2nd constantly. Because these speeds fluctuate, it'south a proficient thought to have a 35% to twoscore% buffer. That puts u.s. at an upload rate of around v,700 kilobits per second, or 5.7 Mbps. However, if y'all are sure your cyberspace connexion is stable, such a buffer might not be needed. Remember, a stable connection is as of import as upload speed!

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

For various reasons, your Internet access provider's declared upload bandwidth and the actual upload speed you lot can achieve with your connection can be very unlike. That's why you lot should always test your upload speed using online speed tests. The number yous get from these tests should be upward to 5.7 Mbps if you want to stream 720p video at 30 frames per second.

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

💁‍♂️ The many variables affecting upload speed requirements

The v.7 Mbps upload speed for 720p video at thirty frames per second is the upper limit. You can still alive stream 720p video with a lower upload speed. If the whole video is a single shot of you talking, 4,000 kbps might be too high of a bitrate. Y'all would probably be fine if y'all reduced it by one-half.

If, on the other manus, you want to stream video games or events with tons of visual information, four,000 kbps is necessary. The faster the pace of the visuals, the higher your bitrate should be. The type of content you stream affects what a good upload speed is for you.

Let'due south stay with video games. If y'all're streaming games with fast-paced action, yous should ensure that your viewers run across what's going on equally clearly as possible. Y'all might desire to stream at more than 30 frames per second.

However, more frames per second requires a higher bitrate. For Twitch, information technology pushes the range for 720p video to between 3,500 and 5,000 kbps. YouTube Live recommends ii,250 to 6,000 Kbps. When you factor in these requirements, that'due south a six.2 Mbps upload speed for Twitch and 7.four Mbps for YouTube Live if you want to stream 720p video at 60 frames per 2nd. Also, keep in mind that these are just the highest optimal values.

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

On Facebook, beginning streamers can only stream up to 720p video, so in that location's no demand to have more than than v Mbps. In order to live stream Full HD videos, you demand to apply for their Level Upward affiliate program.

Twitch allows up to 1080p video at 60 frames per 2d. You'll demand an upload speed of up to 7.4 Mbps to support that.

YouTube Live supports 4k live streaming at 60 frames per second. It recommends a bitrate in the range of xx,000 to 51,000 kbps. You'd demand an upload speed of 68.viii Mbps to pull that off. That's just to a higher place the average upload speed in the District of Columbia, the area 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 also, you cannot afford to fall behind on video quality. Better quality requires college upload speeds, so the competition will somewhen button you to increase your upload rate.

🤩 What upload speeds should I be aiming for?

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

Which bitrates and corresponding upload rates do the three major streaming platforms advise 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 upwards to 128 kbps.
  • Maximum resolution is 1080p, with 60 frames reproduced per second. Aim for an upload speed of 6 to seven Mbps (although Facebook limits well-nigh accounts to 720p resolution).
  • For 720p video at 30 or threescore frames per second, aim for an upload speed of roughly 3 to four Mbps.

Twitch:

  • For 720p video at thirty frames per second, bitrate should be between 2,500 and 4,000 kbps. That requires upload speeds between three.2 Mbps and v Mbps.
  • For 720p video at threescore frames per second, the bitrate should be betwixt three,500 and 5,000 kbps. Required upload speeds are betwixt iv.4 Mbps and half-dozen.2 Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at 30 frames per 2d, the bitrate should be iii,500 to 5,000 kbps – same as for 720p video at threescore fps. The required upload speeds are the aforementioned likewise, betwixt 4.4 Mbps and vi.2 Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at 60 frames per second, the recommended bitrate is between 4500 and 6000 kbps. The required upload speeds are betwixt 5.6 Mbps and 7.4 Mbps.

YouTube:

  • For 720p video at thirty frames per 2nd, 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 sixty frames per 2nd, the range is 2,250 to 6,000 kbps. Required upload speeds are betwixt 2.9 Mbps and seven.four Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at 30 frames per second, the bitrate range is 3,000 to vi,000 kbps. Required upload speeds are between 3.viii Mbps and 7.iv Mbps.
  • For 1080p video at 60 frames per 2d, the bitrate range is 4,500 to nine,000 kbps. In upload speeds, that ways betwixt v.six Mbps and eleven Mbps.
  • For 1440p video at thirty frames per 2nd, the bitrate range is 6,000 to 13,000 kbps. That's between 7.4 Mbps and 15.8 Mbps in recommended upload speeds.
  • For 1440p video at 60 frames per second, the range is 9,000 to xviii,000 kbps. In upload speeds, that'southward between eleven Mbps and 21.8 Mbps.
  • If you really desire to alive stream 4k video, doing it at 30 frames per second will crave a bitrate between 13,000 and 34,000 kbps. In terms of upload speed, that'due south fifteen.eight Mbps and 41 Mbps.
  • To stream 4k video at 60 frames per 2d, 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.

Equally you can see, YouTube offers the highest-quality live streaming. Facebook is the most accessible, while Twitch is still the gamer'south haven.

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

👉 How to get a good upload speed for streaming

Calculating your desired upload speed is ane thing, merely getting admission to that speed is something completely different.

The upload speed you can achieve depends on the service packages your Internet service provider offers. For residential users, the download speed will always be higher than the upload speed. The best manner to get symmetry between the two is to sign up for a business organization-level service if possible. It volition guarantee yous the ISP's declared upload speed at whatever time. This, in turn, provides stability and reliability to ensure polish live streams.

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

And so, the first stride in obtaining a good upload speed for streaming is to switch to an ISP that offers the speed y'all need. Exist prepared to pay more for more speed, though. Also, make certain y'all ask around about the quality of their service.

If you're stuck with a provider that offers suboptimal speeds, you can still do a couple of things to amend your situation:

  • Get a wired connection. Your WiFi might exist not bad when it comes to watching YouTube videos on your smartphone or checking social media. But when live streaming, a wired connection with an ethernet cable is better. It gives y'all less interference and more stability, which leads to ameliorate stream quality.
  • Remove excess devices from your network. Y'all don't want your cyberspace connection to be crowded when y'all get-go streaming. Don't let any other device squealer your upload speed, and disconnect them from your network or turn off their WiFi capabilities during your stream.
  • Shut excess programs and apps on your figurer. The only matter that should be uploading when you stream is your encoder. Peer-to-peer networking has probably ruined its off-white share of live streams, so expect until you lot're off the air.
  • Use cloud-based multistreaming. Multistreaming, or streaming live to several platforms at the same time, is incredibly useful for content creators. It helps accomplish new audiences, saves fourth dimension, and offers great tools from various platforms. Unfortunately, it can also exist demanding on your CPU and bandwidth. To deal with it, use a deject-based multistreaming service to bear some of that load.
  • Remove malware; use advertizing blockers and privacy tools. Malware, ads, and online tracking can use upwards some of your upload bandwidth. Remove, stop, or cake any of these speed-leeching undesired programs.
  • Utilize up-to-date software and hardware. Old drivers can slow your estimator downward, and old modems can clogging your upload speed. Make sure 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 set them to get live subsequently as if they were regular streams. With this method, your upload speed doesn't matter. After you upload your video, Restream will circulate information technology at the scheduled fourth dimension automatically, and then you don't even take to be online.

Learn more than 👉 Restream Events: Everything you need to know

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Conclusion

Every bit 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. But if people can't run into and hear you well, they're not going to stick around to watch your stream.

Upload speeds tin can significantly impact the quality of your broadcasts. Use a connection with enough upload speed for the type of content y'all broadcast.

Remember, you shouldn't get for the highest possible upload speed by default. You simply need it if you lot're planning to stream at a very loftier bitrate. A good upload speed is the 1 that's appropriate for your goals.