Streaming Bandwidth Calculator
Peak bandwidth for a number of concurrent viewers, and the monthly data transfer and cost that follow from it.
Results
Bandwidth at peak
500.000
Mbps
The same in gigabits per second
0.5000
Gbps
Data one viewer uses per hour
2.2500
GB/h
Data a month
27.0000
TB
The same in gigabytes
27,000.00
GB
Cost per month
1350.00
Data an hour, everyone together
225.000
GB/h
Viewers that fit in a gigabit
200.0
Peak in megabytes per second
62.500
MB/s
What this tool does
The peak figure is the one that decides whether the stream works at all, and it is simply the bitrate times the number of people watching. The monthly figure is the one that decides the bill, and it is usually the surprise — a hundred viewers at 5 Mbps for four hours a day is twenty-seven terabytes a month. Both are here, along with the number worth remembering: how many viewers fit in a gigabit.
Formula
bandwidth = viewers × bitrate · data = bitrate × hours × 3600 ÷ 8
Variables
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
br | Bitrate of the stream | Mbps |
vw | Viewers at the same time | — |
hd | Hours per day | h |
dy | Days a month | — |
pr | Price per gigabyte | — |
BW | Bandwidth at peak | Mbps |
GB | The same in gigabits per second | Gbps |
PV | Data one viewer uses per hour | GB/h |
MT | Data a month | TB |
MG | The same in gigabytes | GB |
CO | Cost per month | — |
DH | Data an hour, everyone together | GB/h |
VG | Viewers that fit in a gigabit | — |
MB | Peak in megabytes per second | MB/s |
Worked example
- Bitrate of the stream5 Mbps
- Viewers at the same time100
- Hours per day4 h
- Days a month30
- Price per gigabyte0.05
- Bandwidth at peak500.000 Mbps
- The same in gigabits per second0.5000 Gbps
- Data one viewer uses per hour2.2500 GB/h
- Data a month27.0000 TB
- The same in gigabytes27,000.00 GB
- Cost per month1350.00
- Data an hour, everyone together225.000 GB/h
- Viewers that fit in a gigabit200.0
- Peak in megabytes per second62.500 MB/s
Limitations
- The result is an estimate based only on the values you type. Real situations often include factors this calculator does not know about.
- The calculation runs at full precision and only the display is rounded. If you copy an intermediate value and retype it, small differences can appear.