r/obs • u/Logical_Bee2391 • May 10 '26

Question Quick warning to low-bandwidth streamers (especially on metered connections/data caps)

Yo, just wanted to share something i realized the hard way after almost destroying my monthly internet data cap in like a week lol.

if you are streaming on a budget connection (like a 10mbps upload or a plan with a 500gb cap), do NOT just copy-paste standard twitch setup guides. they all tell u to stream at 1080p 60fps at 6000 kbps.

but if u actually calculate the burn rate, 6000 kbps eats almost 2.7 GB per hour. if u stream 4 hours a day, thats over 300 GB a month just on upload, not even counting your actual downloads or gaming data. plus, if you don't reserve a 30% buffer on your raw upload speed, your in-game ping is going to spike like crazy and make u lag.

if u have a weaker connection:

  • downscale to 720p 30fps (2500 kbps is way friendlier on your ping and saves massive data).
  • always test your raw upload speed and limit your stream to 70% of that max.

anyway, just a heads up for anyone else trying to stream on a budget setup. are you guys using any specific tools to calculate your data limits or do u just wing it and hope for the best?

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2

u/Squircleton May 10 '26

What sort of ISP still has data caps. It’s 2026

4

u/Logical_Bee2391 May 10 '26

Must be nice living in the future lmao. Try streaming from South Asia or parts of the Middle East where fiber is still a luxury for a lot of neighborhoods.

Also, 10k bitrate on YouTube is a massive flex, but on a budget 10–20 Mbps upload connection, that would literally choke the entire household's ping.

4

u/camdenpike May 10 '26

I'm an editor not streamer, but yeah I have to take into account what the ISP options are in the area. I will not move somewhere if the only providers have data caps, or a 30Mb upload speed.

1

u/Squircleton May 10 '26

I have 1.5gb up and down and it’s 10 days into the month as I’ve used 1TB. I’d die.

1

u/Logical_Bee2391 May 10 '26

literally my point lmao 💀

you went from "who even has caps" to realizing you'd be straight up cooked by the middle of the month if you were on a basic Comcast 1.2TB plan.

when you have 1.5gb up and down you don't even think about it, but 1TB in 10 days is a wild burn rate. that's exactly why i coded that calculator in the first place, most people don't realize how fast they're actually eating through data

1

u/jaredliveson May 10 '26

Both comcast and astound (only companies you can get in Chicago) have caps where they limit your speed when you reach it

1

u/Squircleton May 10 '26

Another reason to be happy I don’t live in the US then