A 24/7 FFmpeg stream uses about 324 GB of outbound data per month for every 1 Mbps of sustained bitrate, using decimal units and a 30-day month. At 4.5 Mbps, that is about 1.458 TB; at 10 Mbps, about 3.24 TB. These estimates cover the VPS sending one live ingest stream to YouTube—not viewers watching the stream.
Calculate monthly transfer from your FFmpeg bitrate
For a continuous stream, multiply the output bitrate in megabits per second (Mbps) by the number of seconds streamed, then divide by eight to convert megabits to megabytes. For a 30-day month:
Monthly GB ≈ bitrate in Mbps × 2,592,000 seconds ÷ 8,000
This yields about 324 GB per month per 1 Mbps, or about 302 GiB per Mbps. GB and TB below are decimal units (1 TB = 1,000 GB); GiB uses binary units. For example, 4.5 Mbps × 2,592,000 ÷ 8,000 = 1,458 GB, or 1.458 TB. A 10 Mbps stream uses about 3.24 TB.
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The relevant bitrate is the stream FFmpeg actually sends, not the resolution label by itself. Check the configured video and audio bitrates and whether the output is constant bitrate (CBR). If bitrate varies, use a representative sustained average for planning, then leave allowance for overhead and other traffic.
Estimated 30-day usage at YouTube’s H.264 recommendations
YouTube’s live encoder settings recommend different bitrates by resolution and frame rate. The table applies the 30-day formula to YouTube’s H.264 recommendations; these are arithmetic estimates, not measured VPS bills or transfer guarantees.
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| H.264 live resolution and frame rate | YouTube recommended bitrate | Estimated outbound data per 30 days |
|---|---|---|
| 360p30 or 480p30 | 4 Mbps | About 1.30 TB |
| 720p30 or 720p60 | 8 Mbps | About 2.59 TB |
| 1080p30 | 10 Mbps | About 3.24 TB |
| 1080p60 | 17 Mbps | About 5.51 TB |
| 1440p30 | 21 Mbps | About 6.80 TB |
| 1440p60 | 34 Mbps | About 11.02 TB |
| 2160p30 (4K) | 42 Mbps | About 13.61 TB |
| 2160p60 (4K) | 50 Mbps | About 16.20 TB |
The figures assume the recommended bitrate is held continuously for exactly 30 days. Actual transfer can differ because of audio and container overhead, protocol behavior, retries or reconnects, other outbound server traffic, and how the VPS provider accounts for transfer. YouTube lists separate recommendations for AV1 and H.265; use the chosen codec’s recommendation rather than treating these H.264 figures as universal.
Why viewers do not multiply the VPS transfer
The VPS sends one outgoing ingest stream to YouTube. YouTube then transcodes the incoming live stream into output formats for viewers, as explained in its live encoder guidance. Viewers’ playback data is served by YouTube, not sent individually from your VPS. The VPS transfer estimate therefore follows the outgoing ingest bitrate and runtime, rather than the audience size.
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Adjust for the billing period and leave headroom
Longer months use more data
A 30-day month is 720 hours; a 31-day month is 744 hours and uses about 4.4% more data at the same bitrate. A stream running for fewer hours uses proportionally less.
Other traffic counts too
Plan for the FFmpeg stream plus any other outbound traffic the provider counts. Uploads, backups, monitoring, or additional streams can use part of the allowance. If multiple streams leave the VPS, their outgoing bitrates add together for transfer planning.
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An Indian Council for Cultural Relations procurement document gives an event-specific example of a 1.5 Mbps target with 3.0–4.5 Mbps required upload bandwidth. That is an example of headroom for a particular event setup, not a general VPS transfer allowance or a current standard.
Verify the provider’s accounting and limits
Before choosing an Indian VPS plan, check its included outbound transfer, billing period, and what happens at the limit—such as overage charges, throttling, or suspension. Add a buffer suited to your actual bitrate and operating pattern. There is no single allowance that applies to every Indian VPS provider, and the estimates here do not identify a particular provider’s plan.
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Keep the encoder settings and network stable
Transfer math does not guarantee a healthy stream: the VPS must sustain the configured upload bitrate, and FFmpeg must encode reliably. YouTube’s official guidance recommends CBR, RTMP or RTMPS ingestion, and keyframes at a two-second frequency (not exceeding four seconds). Its audio guidance is 128 Kbps for stereo or 384 Kbps for 5.1. Include audio in the total output bitrate you use for planning. YouTube recommends testing upload bitrate and monitoring stream health; a speed test can reveal whether the VPS connection has enough sustained capacity.
For a 24/7 setup, also check that FFmpeg restarts after a process or host interruption and that reconnects do not leave the stream offline. Those interruptions can affect continuity and add some transfer through retries, though they do not change the basic bitrate-times-runtime estimate.
Or let it run in the cloud
If you would rather not maintain an FFmpeg process and VPS, StreamNeo keeps an uploaded video or playlist streaming to YouTube from the cloud: upload the recording, add your YouTube stream key, and go live. Nothing has to stay on at home; the service streams the upload at its original quality up to 4K 60fps at one flat price per slot, with automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. Start the free day on StreamNeo.
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