{
  "slug": "video-streaming-storage-calculator",
  "title": "Video Streaming Bitrate & Storage Calculator",
  "heading": "Video Streaming Bitrate & Storage Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/video-streaming-storage-calculator",
  "summary": "Convert resolution and bitrate into file size, storage cost, and bandwidth needs.",
  "description": "Video storage and delivery planning starts with bitrate, since file size and required bandwidth are both direct functions of it — a 1080p stream at 6 Mbps produces roughly 2.7 GB per hour, while 4K HDR at 25 Mbps produces over 11 GB per hour, a 4x difference that compounds fast across a content library or live-streaming audience. This calculator converts a bitrate and duration into stored file size, then applies your storage rate for monthly hosting cost, and separately computes concurrent viewer bandwidth requirements for live or on-demand delivery at scale. If you offer multiple renditions (adaptive bitrate streaming with several quality tiers), the effective storage and origin bandwidth cost is the sum across all renditions, not just your headline quality — this is the number that's easy to underestimate when budgeting a video platform.",
  "formula": "File size (GB) = bitrate (Mbps) × duration (s) ÷ 8 ÷ 1000. Delivery bandwidth = concurrent viewers × bitrate.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=video-streaming-storage-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "bitrateMbps",
      "label": "Video bitrate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "Mbps",
      "min": 0.1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "durationHours",
      "label": "Content duration",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1,
      "unit": "hours",
      "min": 0.01,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "libraryHours",
      "label": "Total library hours to store",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 500,
      "unit": "hours",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "storageRate",
      "label": "Storage rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.023,
      "unit": "$/GB-mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "concurrentViewers",
      "label": "Peak concurrent viewers",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2000,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "libraryGb",
      "label": "Total library storage needed",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "monthlyCost",
      "label": "Monthly storage cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "fileSizeGb",
      "label": "Size of one asset at this bitrate/duration",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "deliveryGbps",
      "label": "Peak delivery bandwidth needed",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Video bitrate: 6 Mbps",
      "Content duration: 1 hours",
      "Total library hours to store: 500 hours",
      "Storage rate: 0.023 $/GB-mo",
      "Peak concurrent viewers: 2000"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total library storage needed: 1,350",
      "Monthly storage cost: $31.05",
      "Size of one asset at this bitrate/duration: 2.7",
      "Peak delivery bandwidth needed: 12"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter video bitrate (Mbps).",
      "Enter content duration (hours).",
      "Enter total library hours to store (hours).",
      "Enter storage rate ($/GB-mo).",
      "Enter peak concurrent viewers.",
      "Read your total library storage needed on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "bitrateMbps": 3.5999999999999996,
        "durationHours": 0.6,
        "libraryHours": 300,
        "storageRate": 0.0138,
        "concurrentViewers": 1200
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "bitrateMbps": 6,
        "durationHours": 1,
        "libraryHours": 500,
        "storageRate": 0.023,
        "concurrentViewers": 2000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "bitrateMbps": 9.600000000000001,
        "durationHours": 1.6,
        "libraryHours": 800,
        "storageRate": 0.0368,
        "concurrentViewers": 3200
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What bitrate should I use for common resolutions?",
      "a": "Rough streaming-industry benchmarks: 720p sits around 2.5-4 Mbps, 1080p around 4-8 Mbps, and 4K around 15-25 Mbps depending on codec and content motion complexity — H.265/AV1 can hit similar visual quality at roughly 40-50% of H.264's bitrate. Check your actual encoding profile's output bitrate rather than assuming a generic number, since it varies by encoder settings."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does adaptive bitrate streaming multiply my storage cost?",
      "a": "Yes — a typical ABR ladder with 4-6 renditions (say 360p through 1080p or 4K) stores every rendition simultaneously to serve different network conditions, so total storage per asset is roughly the sum of all rendition bitrates, often 2-3x the size of a single-rendition file. Budget storage cost against the full ladder, not just your top-quality master file."
    },
    {
      "q": "How much does a CDN reduce origin bandwidth for popular content?",
      "a": "For content with meaningful repeat viewership, a CDN with a well-tuned cache can serve 90%+ of requests from edge cache, cutting origin egress bandwidth (and its cost) by a similar margin since only cache misses hit the origin. Live streaming sees less benefit from caching than on-demand VOD because there's less time for content to propagate through cache tiers before viewers request it."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/bandwidth-for-n-users",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cloud-egress-cost",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/s3-storage-tiering-cost"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Video Streaming Bitrate & Storage Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/video-streaming-storage-calculator)"
}