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To reduce the bandwidth a 24/7 YouTube stream uses on Hetzner Cloud, lower the encoder’s outgoing bitrate to the lowest setting that still delivers acceptable picture and audio quality. Estimate the resulting monthly traffic, check the allowance for your specific server plan and location, and monitor usage. Hetzner’s traffic alerts are notifications, not a hard cap; its Cloud Firewalls filter network connections but are not documented as bandwidth limiters.
What Hetzner counts as bandwidth use
Hetzner bills Cloud traffic by outgoing volume. Its billing FAQ says incoming and internal traffic are free, while outgoing traffic above the plan’s included allowance is billable. The accounting period is a calendar month. See Hetzner’s Cloud billing FAQ and traffic documentation for the applicable terms and current figures.
For a continuous encoder feed, the server’s outgoing stream to YouTube is the main traffic to estimate. Count other egress too, such as server traffic to mirrors or viewers if your setup redistributes the feed. YouTube transcodes livestreams into viewer formats, so viewers watching on YouTube do not ordinarily represent traffic served directly by your Hetzner server.
How much bandwidth does a 24/7 stream use?
Use this planning formula, with bitrate in bits per second and runtime in seconds:
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outgoing bytes ≈ bitrate × seconds streamed ÷ 8
A 30-day month contains 2,592,000 seconds. The following figures are arithmetic estimates in decimal terabytes, before protocol overhead and other server egress; real calendar months have 28–31 days.
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| Sustained bitrate | Estimated traffic in 30 days |
|---|---|
| 1 Mbps | About 0.324 TB |
| 6 Mbps | About 1.944 TB |
| 10 Mbps | About 3.24 TB |
| 12 Mbps | About 3.888 TB |
For example, 10,000,000 bits per second × 2,592,000 seconds ÷ 8 = 3.24 trillion decimal bytes. Add headroom for protocol overhead, audio if it is not included in the bitrate you are using, and any other outgoing traffic. For a more precise estimate, use the actual number of days in the billing month and the stream’s sustained total bitrate.
Choose a lower bitrate without guessing
Bitrate affects both traffic and picture quality. YouTube’s encoder guidance recommends settings by codec, resolution, and frame rate; do not treat a single bitrate as suitable for every stream. The figures below are YouTube recommendations in the guidance accessed on 2026-10-03. Check the current YouTube live encoder settings before configuring a production stream.
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| Codec | Resolution and frame rate | YouTube-recommended bitrate | Estimated 30-day traffic at that sustained bitrate |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.264 | 720p at 30 or 60 fps | 6 Mbps | About 1.944 TB |
| H.264 | 1080p at 30 fps | 14 Mbps | About 4.536 TB |
| H.264 | 1080p at 60 fps | 17 Mbps | About 5.508 TB |
| AV1 or H.265/HEVC | 720p at 30 or 60 fps | 6 Mbps | About 1.944 TB |
| AV1 or H.265/HEVC | 1080p at 30 fps | 10 Mbps | About 3.24 TB |
| AV1 or H.265/HEVC | 1080p at 60 fps | 12 Mbps | About 3.888 TB |
The traffic estimates in the last column are calculated from the listed sustained bitrate for a 30-day month, not measured results. If your encoder sends separate audio, include it when estimating the total outgoing bitrate. A lower resolution, frame rate, or bitrate can reduce data use, but test the resulting stream for the content you actually play.
Check the allowance for your Hetzner plan and location
Included traffic varies by Cloud product and data-center location. Hetzner’s traffic page, last changed 2024-05-21, lists 20 TB for EU CX, CPX, and CAX Cloud servers, and 20–60 TB for EU CCX plans depending on the plan. It lists lower, plan-dependent ranges for US and Singapore products. These are not universal allowances: check the current page and the details for your specific server before estimating overage or deciding that a bitrate fits.
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- Identify the server family, exact plan, and location in your Hetzner account.
- Look up the current included outgoing traffic for that product and location on Hetzner’s traffic page.
- Compare the allowance with the stream’s estimated monthly egress, leaving room for overhead and all other outgoing traffic.
- Review account usage during the calendar month rather than assuming the 30-day estimate exactly matches the billing period.
Hetzner also says Cloud server bandwidth is not guaranteed; it gives an expectation of about 300–500 Mbits, with the host connection shared among instances. That provider expectation is separate from the monthly traffic allowance and is not a promise of a sustained rate. See Hetzner’s Cloud server overview.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Configure and monitor the YouTube encoder
- Choose the target resolution, frame rate, and codec, then use the corresponding YouTube bitrate recommendation as your starting point.
- In your encoder, set a constant bitrate (CBR) and a two-second keyframe interval; YouTube says the interval should be no more than four seconds. Use RTMPS for encrypted ingestion where your encoder supports it.
- Use the YouTube stream key for the intended live stream and keep it private. Before relying on a 24/7 setup, test the encoder configuration and monitor YouTube’s stream health indicators.
- Calculate the likely monthly egress from the actual total bitrate and runtime, then compare it with the plan’s allowance and leave a margin for other traffic.
- Watch Hetzner’s usage displays and configure useful notifications so you can investigate rising usage before it becomes an overage.
YouTube’s current settings and testing guidance are at its live encoder settings page. A bitrate target alone does not guarantee a stable stream: encoding settings, server connectivity, and YouTube’s ingest health all matter.
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Does Hetzner stop traffic at the limit?
No. Hetzner says it notifies project owners at 75% and again at 100% of included traffic, but these notifications do not cap or stop use. Cost alerts are also tracking aids, not enforcement controls. Traffic is calculated by calendar month, and the traffic page describes overage in 100 MB blocks; check the current plan terms and pricing there for your account.
Can you cap outgoing bandwidth with a Hetzner Cloud Firewall?
Not according to the documented Cloud Firewall function. Firewall rules control allowed network destinations and connections; Hetzner does not describe them as a bandwidth shaper or monthly byte cap. A firewall rule is therefore not a solution for limiting stream bitrate or enforcing a monthly traffic ceiling. A separately configured server-side traffic control may be a technical avenue to investigate, but it is not a documented Hetzner Cloud product feature here.
Common bandwidth-control mistakes
- Assuming an alert is a stop: alerts at 75% and 100% are notifications only. Check usage and take action yourself.
- Planning against the wrong allowance: traffic differs by plan family and location. Verify the actual server rather than applying the EU allowance to US or Singapore instances.
- Using a bitrate without its codec and resolution context: apply YouTube’s recommendation for the encoder combination you are using, then test stream health and picture quality.
- Counting only video when audio is separate: include audio in the total bitrate if it is not already included in your estimate.
- Confusing YouTube playback with server egress: viewers watching on YouTube are not normally receiving the stream directly from your Hetzner server; count direct redistribution only if your setup does that.
- Confusing bandwidth capacity with monthly allowance: Hetzner’s approximate 300–500 Mbits expectation is not a monthly transfer allowance or a guaranteed sustained rate.
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