Streaming bitrate and gear price index
This page exists to be quoted. The tables below are the reference data behind every verdict on the site, published openly under CC BY 4.0, which means you may reuse any of it with a link back to StreamPartPicker. Last rebuilt 2026-08-04.
Bitrate needed per quality tier
Recommended H.264 bitrate, the upload needed to carry it with headroom, and the H.265 equivalent.
| Tier | H.264 kbps | H.265 kbps | Upload needed | Data per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4K60 | 20,000 | 14,000 | 28.6 Mbps | 9.0 GB |
| 4K30 | 13,000 | 9,100 | 18.6 Mbps | 5.8 GB |
| 1440p60 (2K) | 9,000 | 6,300 | 12.9 Mbps | 4.0 GB |
| 1440p30 (2K) | 6,000 | 4,200 | 8.6 Mbps | 2.7 GB |
| 1080p60 | 6,000 | 4,200 | 8.6 Mbps | 2.7 GB |
| 1080p30 | 4,500 | 3,150 | 6.4 Mbps | 2.0 GB |
| 720p60 | 4,500 | 3,150 | 6.4 Mbps | 2.0 GB |
| 720p30 | 3,000 | 2,100 | 4.3 Mbps | 1.4 GB |
| 480p30 | 1,500 | 1,050 | 2.1 Mbps | 0.7 GB |
| 360p30 | 800 | 560 | 1.1 Mbps | 0.4 GB |
Platform ingest caps
What each platform accepts, and the highest resolution it actually delivers to viewers.
| Platform | Max ingest | Max delivered | Highest tier it can carry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twitch (standard) | 6,000 kbps | 1080p | 1080p60 |
| Twitch Enhanced (HEVC) | 9,000 kbps | 1440p | 1440p60 (2K) |
| YouTube | 24,000 kbps | 2160p | 4K60 |
| Kick | 8,000 kbps | 1080p | 1080p60 |
| TikTok LIVE | 8,000 kbps | 1080p | 1080p60 |
| Instagram Live | 6,000 kbps | 720p | 720p60 |
| X (Twitter) | 9,000 kbps | 1080p | 1080p60 |
| Rumble | 8,000 kbps | 1080p | 1080p60 |
| Facebook Live | 4,000 kbps | 1080p | 720p30 |
| Whatnot | 3,500 kbps | 1080p | 720p30 |
Caps reflect each platform's published ingest specs and are rechecked when a platform announces a change. Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting is listed separately from Twitch standard because the difference is the whole reason 1440p is possible there.
Gear price index by category
Median, cheapest, and most expensive tracked price per category, across 233 published parts and 693 recorded price points.
| Category | Tracked | Median | Cheapest | Most expensive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interface / Mixer | 55 | $200 | $40 | $1,649 |
| Camera | 44 | $149 | $15 | $2,198 |
| Audio | 44 | $159 | $23 | $439 |
| Power Bank / Portable Battery | 31 | $60 | $21 | $199 |
| Capture Card | 27 | $100 | $16 | $345 |
| Headphones / Headset | 26 | $199 | $30 | $355 |
| Backpack / Case | 15 | $34 | $20 | $60 |
| Lighting | 10 | $90 | $19 | $199 |
| Mount / Stabilizer | 7 | $99 | $12 | $150 |
| Encoder | 3 | $995 | $150 | $18,000 |
| Connection | 3 | $215 | $60 | $517 |
| Rigging | 3 | $12 | $10 | $20 |
| Control Deck | 3 | $110 | $59 | $180 |
Medians, not averages, so a single broadcast-tier item does not distort a category. Prices are tracked estimates rather than a live feed. 2 items currently sit at least 10% below their own tracked average, listed on deals.
Citing this data
Free to reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0. A machine-readable copy of this page lives at /md/data.md. Suggested credit:
StreamPartPicker, "Streaming Bitrate and Gear Price Index", 2026-08-04. https://streampartpicker.com/data
How these numbers are derived is documented on the methodology page.