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Upload speed and bitrate for multistreaming

YouTube's bitrate table for 720p to 4K, the upload you need to multistream from OBS vs a relay, CBR and 2-second keyframes, and how to test your connection.

Updated November 4, 2026 · 9 min read

A 1080p broadcast at 30 frames per second needs between 5 and 14 megabits per second of video, depending on how much quality you want, according to YouTube's own encoder settings page. Send that same stream to three platforms straight from your computer and your connection has to carry it three times. When a stream keeps stalling, the cause is often one of those two facts: the bitrate was set higher than the connection could hold, or the connection was asked to hold it several times over.

This guide gives you the published numbers, the arithmetic for multistreaming, and a way to test your upload that tells you something real.

Bitrate, upload speed and why they are not the same number

Bitrate is how much data your encoder (OBS, vMix, a browser studio, a hardware encoder) produces each second. You set it.

Upload speed is how much data your internet connection can send each second. Your provider sets it, and the real value changes through the day.

The rule is simple: the bitrate you send must fit inside your upload, with room to spare. If it does not, the encoder cannot push frames out fast enough, it starts dropping them, and viewers see stutter, freezes or a stream that disconnects and reconnects.

Both are measured in bits per second. Speed tests usually show Mbps (megabits per second); encoders usually ask for kbps (kilobits per second). 1 Mbps = 1,000 kbps, so 6 Mbps is 6,000 kbps.

What YouTube recommends, by resolution and frame rate

YouTube publishes a minimum and a recommended bitrate for each resolution. These are the H.264 values (the codec almost every encoder uses by default), as listed on YouTube's encoder settings page, checked 4 November 2026:

Source: YouTube Help, "Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions". The same page lists lower values for AV1 and H.265 (HEVC), which compress better, but check that your encoder and every destination accept them before you switch.

How to read this table:

• The recommended column is generous. It is what YouTube suggests for the best result on its platform. A talking-head lecture at 1080p30 looks fine much closer to the minimum, because little in the picture moves. Sport, games and handheld cameras need more, because every frame changes.
• 60 fps costs more than 30. Twice the frames to describe. For a lecture, a service or an interview, 30 fps is enough; save 60 for fast motion.
• The minimum is a floor, not a target. Below it the picture breaks into blocks on any movement.

Other platforms

Facebook, Twitch, LinkedIn, Kick and others each publish their own limits, and some set a maximum that is lower than YouTube's recommended values. We do not quote their numbers here. If you send one stream to several networks, read each network's current page and pick a bitrate that every one of them accepts. In practice that usually means a moderate value, for example 1080p30 at around 6 Mbps, rather than YouTube's top recommendation.

The other settings that matter

From the same YouTube page:

• Rate control: CBR (constant bitrate). For live, CBR keeps the data rate steady, so your connection never gets a sudden spike it cannot carry. VBR (variable bitrate) is good for files you upload later, where a quiet scene can use less and a busy one more; on a live connection that busy scene is exactly when the upload overflows.
• Keyframe interval: 2 seconds, and YouTube says not to exceed 4. A keyframe is a full picture; the frames between keyframes only describe changes. Platforms cut the stream into short segments at keyframes, so a wrong interval causes buffering and delay for viewers. In OBS set "Keyframe Interval" to 2, not 0 (auto).
• Audio: AAC, 128 kbps stereo, 44.1 kHz, per YouTube. Add the audio bitrate to the video bitrate when you do the arithmetic below.

The headroom rule

A speed test that says 10 Mbps upload does not mean you can stream at 10 Mbps. Three reasons:

1. Upload varies. Other people in the house, a phone backing up photos, a neighbour on the same cable segment, evening load at the provider.
2. The encoder output is not perfectly flat. Even with CBR there are small peaks around keyframes.
3. Retransmissions. RTMP runs over TCP; when a packet is lost it is sent again, which uses more of the line exactly when the line is already struggling.

A common rule of thumb among streamers is to keep your total stream at no more than about half to two thirds of your measured upload, in other words keep 30 to 50 percent spare. That is a habit, not a measured statistic. If your connection is very stable (fibre, wired) you can use more of it; if it is shared or wireless, use less.

Multistreaming arithmetic: from your computer vs through a relay

There are two ways to reach several platforms at once.

From your own computer. OBS does not multistream on its own; community plugins add extra outputs. Each output is a complete, separate upload. The connection carries the stream once per destination.

Through a relay (restreaming) service. Your computer sends one stream to a server, and the server sends copies to each platform from its own data-centre connection. Your upload carries the stream once, however many destinations there are.

Worked example, 1080p30 at 6,000 kbps video plus 128 kbps audio = 6,128 kbps, about 6.1 Mbps per copy:

The last column is the copy total divided by 0.7 (30 percent spare) and by 0.5 (50 percent spare). Through a relay, the upload you need stays in the first row (about 9 to 12 Mbps) regardless of the number of destinations.

The arithmetic also shows the CPU side: with plugins, some setups encode each output separately, which multiplies encoder load too. A relay does not touch your computer's load at all.

The trade-off: with a relay you depend on one more service between you and the platforms, and if your single upload drops, every destination drops with it. With direct outputs, one platform failing does not affect the others, but your connection has to be big enough for all of them.

How to test your upload honestly

A speed-test website measures a short burst, usually lasting only seconds, often to a server near you. A live stream is a steady load for an hour or more, to a server that may be in another country. The burst number is the best case.

A better test:

1. Run a speed test at the same time of day as your broadcast, from the computer you will stream from, connected the way it will be connected. Run it three times and take the lowest.
2. Do a private test broadcast of at least 20 minutes. YouTube lets you stream as Unlisted or Private; Facebook lets you post with "Only me". Use the exact settings you plan to use.
3. Watch dropped frames in the encoder. In OBS, the status bar shows "Dropped Frames (Network)". A few at the start is normal; a number that keeps climbing means the bitrate is higher than the connection can hold. vMix shows the same in its stream statistics.
4. Check the platform's stream health. YouTube Studio shows a health status for the incoming stream and warns when the bitrate is lower than expected.
5. Lower the bitrate by a step and repeat if frames drop. Going from 1080p to 720p at a steady bitrate looks better to viewers than a 1080p stream that stalls.

Wired, Wi-Fi and mobile

Use a cable whenever you can. Wi-Fi speed changes with distance, walls, a microwave, other networks on the same channel and other devices on yours. A short dropout that you would never notice while browsing becomes dropped frames on a live stream. A cable from the router to the streaming computer removes most of that.

If you must use Wi-Fi: stay close to the router, use the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band, and keep other devices in the building off the network during the broadcast.

Mobile 4G and 5G can work well and can also vary a lot from minute to minute, especially in a crowd where many phones share the same cell. Bonding devices and services exist that combine several mobile connections (and sometimes a wired line) into one, so a drop on one SIM does not drop the stream. They are used for news and outdoor events. If you rely on mobile, test at the actual location, at the actual time, ideally with people present.

What goes wrong

• Setting the bitrate from the speed test result. A 10 Mbps test and a 10 Mbps stream means zero spare. Leave room.
• Copying YouTube's recommended column without checking the upload. 17 Mbps for 1080p60 is a lot for many home connections, and more than some other platforms accept.
• Using VBR or "quality-based" rate control for live. Spikes in busy scenes overflow the line.
• Keyframe interval on auto. Some encoders then choose long intervals; platforms complain or buffer.
• Adding a destination in OBS and forgetting the upload doubles. The stream was fine with one output and fails with three.
• Testing on Wi-Fi in the office and streaming on Wi-Fi in a hall. Different network, different result.
• Streaming and uploading at the same time. Cloud backup, a video upload, or a large email attachment on the same line takes upload from the stream.

Where StreamLive Pro fits

StreamLive Pro is a relay of the kind described above: your computer uploads one stream, and our servers send it to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, Twitch, Kick or any RTMP or SRT server. How many destinations at once depends on the plan, listed on the pricing page. You can send that one stream from the browser studio, from a phone, or from OBS or vMix on a paid plan. In the browser studio a health indicator shows a score while you are live, and you can lower the resolution or bitrate in the quality settings if it drops.

It does not make a weak connection strong: if your one upload cannot hold the bitrate, every destination suffers together. Details on the multistream page, and the step-by-step in Live stream to multiple platforms. For the address and key part, see RTMP and stream keys explained.

Frequently asked questions

What bitrate should I use for 1080p 60fps on YouTube?

YouTube's encoder settings page lists 6 Mbps as the minimum and 17 Mbps as the recommended value for 1080p60 with H.264 (checked 4 November 2026). Pick a value your upload can hold with 30 to 50 percent spare.

What bitrate should I use for 720p?

YouTube lists 3 Mbps minimum and 8 Mbps recommended for 720p at both 30 and 60 fps with H.264. For a static talking-head shot, the lower end usually looks fine.

How much upload speed do I need to stream to multiple platforms?

From your own computer, multiply your stream bitrate by the number of destinations, then leave 30 to 50 percent of your upload free. Through a relay service, you only need enough for one stream, whatever the number of destinations.

Should I use CBR or VBR for live streaming?

CBR. YouTube's encoder page lists CBR for live. VBR is for recorded files; on a live connection its peaks can exceed your upload.

What keyframe interval should I set?

2 seconds. YouTube recommends 2 and says not to exceed 4. In OBS, type 2 instead of leaving it on 0 (auto).

Is a speed test enough to know if my connection can stream?

No. A speed test measures a short burst. Run a private test broadcast for at least 20 minutes with your real settings and watch the dropped-frames counter in the encoder.

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