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Amazon EC2

Amazon EC2 Data Transfer Costs for a 24/7 YouTube Live Stream

A 24/7 EC2-to-YouTube stream at 10 Mbps sends about 3.24 decimal TB in 30 days. Learn how to estimate transfer and price AWS DTO correctly.

By VGSources Team 4 min read

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For one EC2 instance sending a continuous live stream to YouTube, the relevant network charge is AWS data transfer out to the internet (DTO). The amount of data depends mainly on the stream’s sustained bitrate: at 10 Mbps, a 30-day stream sends about 3.24 decimal TB; at 12 Mbps, about 3.888 decimal TB. The dollar cost cannot be stated universally: it depends on the EC2 source Region, applicable DTO tiers, and your account’s combined AWS data-transfer usage.

What AWS charges for the stream upload

When an encoder on EC2 sends video to YouTube, the bytes travel out from AWS to the public internet. That is internet data transfer out, not inbound data transfer. AWS says inbound data transfer is not charged; outbound DTO is priced according to the source Region and applicable usage tiers. AWS EC2 pricing and AWS data transfer pricing provide the relevant pricing context.

The 100 GB monthly free internet DTO allowance is aggregated across AWS services and Regions, except China and GovCloud. Other AWS services can therefore use some or all of it before this stream’s transfer is considered. DTO tiers also aggregate usage across multiple services. Use the allowance only to the extent it remains unused in the account for the relevant month.

Estimate monthly transfer from bitrate

For a continuously running stream over a 30-day month, a useful decimal-unit estimate is:

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Monthly decimal TB ≈ bitrate in Mbps × 0.324

This is arithmetic based on 30 days of continuous operation, not an AWS measurement. It assumes the configured bitrate is sustained throughout and excludes protocol overhead. Audio, transport overhead, and encoder behavior can make actual transferred bytes differ from the nominal video bitrate.

Configured bitrate Estimated transfer in 30 days Basis
10 Mbps About 3.24 decimal TB Continuous stream for 30 days
12 Mbps About 3.888 decimal TB Continuous stream for 30 days

For another bitrate or run length, calculate bytes as Mbps × seconds ÷ 8, then convert bytes to decimal TB or to binary units such as GiB/TiB as needed. Keep the unit clear: decimal TB and binary TiB are not interchangeable.

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Choose the bitrate for your YouTube scenario

YouTube’s live encoder guidance recommends the following H.264 bitrates for representative settings. These are recommendations, not a guarantee that a particular encoder will emit exactly that rate continuously. Confirm the actual configured bitrate and encoding behavior before estimating transfer. See YouTube’s live encoder settings.

Resolution and frame rate YouTube-recommended H.264 bitrate Approximate 30-day transfer at that rate
720p30 or 720p60 8 Mbps 2.592 decimal TB
1080p30 10 Mbps 3.24 decimal TB
1080p60 12 Mbps 3.888 decimal TB
1440p30 21 Mbps 6.804 decimal TB
1440p60 34 Mbps 11.016 decimal TB
2160p30 (4K) 42 Mbps 13.608 decimal TB
2160p60 (4K) 50 Mbps 16.2 decimal TB

The transfer figures in the final column are calculations using the same continuous 30-day assumption; they are not YouTube or AWS measurements. Other resolution, frame-rate, or codec combinations may have different recommendations. Check the live settings table for the exact combination you plan to send.

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Turn the transfer estimate into an AWS cost

  1. Identify the EC2 source Region. AWS applies DTO pricing based on the source Region; the same traffic volume can price differently in different Regions.
  2. Estimate the stream’s monthly bytes. Use the sustained configured bitrate and actual operating time, then allow for overhead if you need a closer match to network measurements.
  3. Check account-wide AWS usage. Determine how much of the aggregated monthly free allowance is already consumed by other services and Regions, and include other applicable DTO usage in the tier calculation.
  4. Price the remaining DTO in the official calculator. Enter the source Region and monthly transfer under the applicable internet data-transfer flow in the AWS Pricing Calculator.

A specific monthly dollar amount is not supportable without the source Region, current tier rates, and account-level aggregate usage. The calculator is the practical route to a current estimate rather than applying a single internet-wide EC2 price.

What this estimate does—and does not—count

This calculation covers one EC2 encoder uploading one stream to YouTube. It does not multiply the EC2 upload by the audience size. YouTube transcodes the incoming live stream into output formats for viewers, as described in its live encoder settings guidance; viewers receive YouTube’s outputs rather than separate copies uploaded from your EC2 instance.

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A different design in which AWS delivers video directly to viewers through a CDN has a separate billing profile and can incur substantial distribution charges. AWS’s managed live-streaming guidance provides examples tied to particular Regions and assumptions; those figures are not the cost of a single EC2-to-YouTube ingest feed. See Live streaming on AWS.

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Encoder settings that affect the estimate

  • Bitrate: This is the principal input to the volume calculation. Use your encoder’s configured sustained rate, not a resolution label alone.
  • Protocol: YouTube supports RTMP/RTMPS, and its guidance recommends RTMPS. Protocol choice does not by itself determine the AWS DTO tier. See YouTube’s encoder settings.
  • Keyframes: YouTube recommends a two-second keyframe interval and says not to exceed four seconds.
  • Codec and video mode: YouTube’s guidance includes H.264, H.265, and AV1, with bitrate recommendations varying by settings. Match resolution, frame rate, codec, and bitrate to the actual encoder configuration.

Common estimation mistakes

  • Counting viewers as extra EC2 uploads: For one ingest feed to YouTube, audience size does not multiply the EC2-to-YouTube transfer.
  • Using the wrong traffic direction: The stream sent from EC2 is outbound internet DTO, not AWS ingress.
  • Assuming one flat AWS monthly price: Region and aggregated account usage change which rates and allowances apply.
  • Mixing decimal and binary units: Label TB as decimal and TiB/GiB as binary when comparing estimates or monitoring data.
  • Treating a recommended bitrate as a measured byte count: Real transfer can vary with audio, overhead, and encoder behavior.

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