Video File Size Calculator
Determine the exact disk space required for any video recording, render, or camera export before rendering. Switch seamlessly between Decimal (SI 1000) and Binary (IEC 1024) units.
Last Updated: November 4, 2026
The Video File Size Formula Explained
Digital video file size is mathematically deterministic. Regardless of whether the footage was captured on an iPhone, Sony Alpha camera, or rendered in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve, file size is the product of total stream bitrate and duration.
Total Bitrate (bps) = (Video Bitrate kbps × 1,000) + (Audio Bitrate kbps × 1,000)
File Size (Decimal MB) = (Total Bitrate in bps × Duration in seconds) ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000,000
File Size (Binary MiB) = (Total Bitrate in bps × Duration in seconds) ÷ 8 ÷ 1,048,576
Decimal Standard (SI 1000)
Used by hard drive manufacturers (Seagate, Western Digital), cloud storage providers (Google Drive, AWS S3), YouTube upload guidelines, and macOS (version 10.6+). 1 Megabyte (MB) = 1,000,000 Bytes.
Binary Standard (IEC 1024)
Used natively by Microsoft Windows File Explorer, Linux filesystems, and RAM architectures. 1 Mebibyte (MiB) = 1,048,576 Bytes. This causes Windows to display a value approximately 7.37% lower than the Decimal rating.
Video File Size Reference Matrix
Estimated output file sizes (Decimal SI) with 160 kbps audio included:
| Preset / Resolution | Typical Bitrate | 1 Minute | 10 Minutes | 30 Minutes | 1 Hour | 2 Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 720p HD (30 FPS) | 3,000 kbps | 23.7 MB | 237 MB | 711 MB | 1.42 GB | 2.84 GB |
| 1080p Full HD (60 FPS) | 6,000 kbps | 46.2 MB | 462 MB | 1.39 GB | 2.77 GB | 5.54 GB |
| 1080p High Quality (Master) | 12,000 kbps | 91.2 MB | 912 MB | 2.74 GB | 5.47 GB | 10.94 GB |
| 1440p 2K (60 FPS) | 16,000 kbps | 121.2 MB | 1.21 GB | 3.64 GB | 7.27 GB | 14.54 GB |
| 4K UHD (60 FPS Standard) | 45,000 kbps | 338.7 MB | 3.39 GB | 10.16 GB | 20.32 GB | 40.64 GB |
| 4K ProRes 422 (Broadcast) | 500,000 kbps | 3.75 GB | 37.5 GB | 112.5 GB | 225.0 GB | 450.0 GB |
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Frequently Asked Questions: Video File Size
What is the formula to calculate video file size from bitrate?
File Size (in Megabytes) = (Video Bitrate in kbps + Audio Bitrate in kbps) × Duration in seconds / 8 / 1,000 (decimal SI) or / 8 / 1,024 (binary IEC). For example, a 6,000 kbps video stream with 160 kbps audio for 1 hour (3,600 seconds) equals 2,772 MB (2.77 GB) in decimal or 2,643 MiB (2.58 GiB) in binary.
Why does Windows File Explorer report smaller file sizes than hard drive packaging?
Hard drive manufacturers and video streaming platforms calculate storage using the decimal SI system (1 KB = 1,000 Bytes, 1 MB = 1,000,000 Bytes). Windows File Explorer calculates sizes using the binary IEC system (1 KiB = 1,024 Bytes, 1 MiB = 1,048,576 Bytes). This ~7.37% difference is purely a unit convention, not lost data or filesystem corruption.
How much file size does audio consume in a video?
Standard stereo AAC audio at 160 kbps consumes exactly 20 Kilobytes per second (1.2 MB per minute, or 72 MB per hour). In high-bitrate 4K videos, audio represents under 1% of total size. In low-bitrate talking-head videos (e.g. 1,000 kbps), audio accounts for nearly 14% of the total file size.
Does container format (MP4, MKV, MOV) affect the final file size?
Container overhead is negligible, typically contributing less than 0.1% to 0.5% of the file size (metadata, index tables, and packet headers). File size is fundamentally governed by bitrate and duration, not whether the file is wrapped in MP4, MKV, WebM, or MOV.