Streaming Bitrate Calculator — File Size & Data Usage
Enter video bitrate, audio bitrate and duration to instantly find the file size and storage needed — useful for video production, streaming server capacity and mobile data budgeting.
Mbps
kbps
min
Uncompressed stream size for the chosen duration
5.19 Mbps
total bitrateVideo (5 Mbps)
96.3%
Audio (192 kbps)
3.7%
- 1
Audio bitrate in Mbps
192 kbps ÷ 1000 = 0.192 - 2
Total bitrate
5 + 0.192 = 5.192 Mbps - 3
Duration in seconds
60 × 60 = 3,600 s - 4
File size (GB)
5.192 × 3,600 ÷ 8 ÷ 1000 = 2.34
How does this calculator work?
File size (MB) = total bitrate (Mbps) × duration (s) ÷ 8. Total bitrate = video Mbps + audio kbps ÷ 1000. Example: 5 Mbps video + 192 kbps audio × 3 600 s ÷ 8 = 2 336 MB (2.34 GB) for a 60-minute HD stream. The same number is also the minimum internet speed needed to stream without buffering.
Formula
How this is calculated
Bitrate is the number of bits transmitted or stored per second. Total bitrate is the sum of video bitrate (in Megabits per second, Mbps) and audio bitrate (in kilobits per second, kbps, converted to Mbps by dividing by 1 000). File size in bytes equals total bits ÷ 8; in megabytes it is (total Mbps × duration in seconds) ÷ 8. One gigabyte is 1 000 MB (using SI decimal prefixes, as used by storage vendors and network providers).
For reference: standard-definition (SD) video is typically encoded at 1–3 Mbps; HD 1080p at 4–8 Mbps; 4K at 15–35 Mbps. Audio uses 128–320 kbps, which adds only 0.06–0.16 GB per hour — negligible next to video at high resolutions. Streaming platforms often use adaptive bitrate (ABR), which means the actual average bitrate depends on your connection speed and content complexity.
The result assumes constant bitrate (CBR). Variable-bitrate (VBR) encoded files vary around an average, so treat the output as a representative estimate rather than an exact file size. Container overhead (MP4, MKV) and codec metadata add a few percent to the raw bitrate-derived size.
Frequently asked questions
At 15 Mbps video + 0.192 Mbps audio the formula gives (15.192 × 3600) ÷ 8 ≈ 6 840 MB ≈ 6.84 GB per hour. At 25 Mbps it rises to about 11.3 GB per hour. Netflix 4K typically uses around 7 GB/hr on its "Ultra HD" setting.
For live streaming or online delivery, 4–6 Mbps video is standard for 1080p at 30 fps. For archival or editing use 15–50 Mbps (H.264) or 8–15 Mbps (H.265/HEVC), which delivers the same perceptual quality at roughly half the file size.
No — the total bitrate in Mbps is both the storage throughput rate and the internet bandwidth you need to stream in real time without buffering. For example, a 5.192 Mbps stream requires at least 5.2 Mbps of sustained download speed plus some headroom for protocol overhead.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Streaming Bitrate Calculator — File Size & Data Usage [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/streaming-bitrate-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Streaming Bitrate Calculator — File Size & Data Usage." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/streaming-bitrate-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Streaming Bitrate Calculator — File Size & Data Usage," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/streaming-bitrate-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_streaming_bitrate_calculator, title = {Streaming Bitrate Calculator — File Size & Data Usage}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/streaming-bitrate-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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