The universal video encoding tool for streamers, creators, and CCTV engineers. Calculate recommended bitrates, estimate output file sizes, verify stream bandwidth, and plan multi-camera NVR storage with zero ads or tracking.
Last Updated: November 4, 2026
Targeted tools for specific media workflows
Calculate exact output file size from video and audio bitrates and duration. Decimal (SI 1000) and Binary (IEC 1024) toggles.
Solve for the maximum video bitrate needed to squeeze under Discord (25MB), TikTok (287MB), email, or USB storage caps.
Determine how many hours or minutes of video can be stored on camera SD cards or drives at various bitrates and codecs.
Calculate required internet upload bandwidth with 20% to 40% safety headroom to eliminate dropped frames and buffering.
Capacity planning for IP camera surveillance. Factor camera channels, retention days, H.265+ Smart Codecs, and RAID parity.
Side-by-side comparative benchmark. Calculate bandwidth savings % and Bits Per Pixel (BPP) deltas between H.264, HEVC, and AV1.
1080p60, 900p & VOD Track 2/6
4K, 1440p VP9 & Live HLS
Reels, Feed 4:5 & 25M Cap
9:16 Vertical & 4GB Web Cap
1080p60 & 8,000k Hard Cap
720p Standard & Level Up 1080p
1080p HD & 512MB/1GB Limit
1:1 Square & 16:9 Business
Reference 4K & Multi-pass VBR
NVR Planning & RAID Parity
Compare recommended target bitrates and codecs across popular streaming, upload, and surveillance destinations:
| Destination | 720p HD | 1080p Full HD | 1440p (2K) | 4K UHD (2160p) | Enforced Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twitch Live | 3,500 – 4,500 kbps | 6,000 – 8,000 kbps | 9,500 kbps (Enhanced) | Unsupported | 8,500 kbps combined |
| YouTube Live | 3,000 – 6,000 kbps | 6,000 – 9,000 kbps | 13,000 – 18,000 kbps | 20,000 – 51,000 kbps | Dynamic (~60 Mbps) |
| YouTube Upload (SDR) | 5.0 – 7.5 Mbps | 8.0 – 12.0 Mbps | 16.0 – 24.0 Mbps | 45.0 – 68.0 Mbps | 256 GB / 12 Hours |
| Instagram Reels | N/A (Downscales) | 6,000 – 10,000 kbps | Downscales to 1080p | Downscales to 1080p | 25 Mbps Hard Cap |
| TikTok Upload | N/A (Downscales) | 5,000 – 8,000 kbps | Downscales to 1080p | Downscales to 1080p | 287MB App / 4GB Web |
| Kick.com Live | 3,500 – 5,000 kbps | 6,000 – 7,500 kbps | Unsupported | Unsupported | 8,000 kbps Hard Cap |
| CCTV NVR (H.265) | 1,024 kbps (1 Mbps) | 2,048 kbps (2 Mbps) | 4,096 kbps (4 Mbps) | 8,192 kbps (8 Mbps) | HDD Disk Capacity |
Eliminate stream buffering and pixelated motion. Master 1080p60 vs 900p60 BPP math, NVENC encoder settings, upload headroom, and Twitch VOD Track DMCA isolation.
Deep dive into Bits Per Pixel (BPP) formulas, H.264 vs HEVC vs AV1 efficiency curves, rate control models (CBR vs VBR vs CRF), and FFmpeg production recipes.
Every calculation is computed locally in pure TypeScript with zero cloud latency. Audio track bitrates are subtracted accurately from file size limits, and Bits Per Pixel (BPP) metrics adapt dynamically to resolution and motion levels.
Never get disconnected or aggressively re-compressed. Real-time safety badges warn you if your parameters violate Twitch's 8,500 kbps limit, Kick's 8,000 kbps ceiling, or Instagram's 25 Mbps downscale threshold.
No cookies, no analytics tracking, no external server requests. Your configuration settings, custom bitrates, and hardware parameters remain strictly inside your browser's memory.
Unlike black-box calculators, Bitrate Calculator Free is transparent about every formula and constant applied.
Size (Bytes) = (Video_kbps + Audio_kbps) × 1,000 × Duration_s / 8
Divided by 1,000,000 for Decimal MB (storage disk manufacturers and YouTube specifications) or 1,048,576 for Binary MiB (Windows Explorer file property displays).
BPP = (Bitrate_kbps × 1,000) / (Width × Height × FPS)
BPP benchmarks allow encoders to predict visual artifacting before rendering. A BPP between 0.08 and 0.12 provides clean detail for H.264; modern AV1 achieves identical clarity at 0.045 to 0.065 BPP.
Required Upload = (Stream_kbps) / (1 - Headroom_Ratio) / 1,000
ISP upload speeds fluctuate. Reserving 25% headroom guarantees that unexpected TCP retransmissions or game multiplayer traffic won't cause dropped frames on your stream.
Total TB = Cameras × Bitrate × 86,400s × Days × Duty_Cycle / 8 / 10^12
Includes automatic multipliers for Smart H.265+ (65% static scene reduction) and hardware RAID 1/5/6 disk parity deductions.
CBR (Constant Bitrate) maintains an unvarying data rate regardless of scene complexity. It is strictly required by live streaming platforms (Twitch, Kick, Facebook) because RTMP video ingestion breaks down if bitrates fluctuate unpredictably.
VBR (Variable Bitrate) lowers data usage during quiet scenes and increases bitrates during rapid motion. It is ideal for pre-recorded YouTube and TikTok video uploads, maximizing visual quality per megabyte.
Storage drive manufacturers define 1 Terabyte using the decimal SI standard: 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. However, Microsoft Windows measures capacity using the binary IEC standard: 1 TiB = 1,024 × 1,024 × 1,024 × 1,024 bytes = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes. Because of this 7.3% discrepancy, a physical 4 TB drive appears as approximately 3.63 TB in Windows Explorer. Our calculator provides a one-click toggle between both standards.
Yes, through Twitch's Enhanced Broadcasting initiative using OBS Studio 30+. Enhanced Broadcasting allows creators with modern NVIDIA RTX or AMD GPUs to encode multiple resolutions (including 1440p using HEVC or AV1) client-side and push them directly to Twitch at bitrates up to 10,000 kbps.