FFmpeg Cookbook

Bitrate Calculator

Recommended bitrates by resolution / FPS / quality. Compares against YouTube / Twitch / Vimeo recommendations.

Video Bitrate
kbps
Audio Bitrate
kbps
Total Bitrate
kbps

Platform Reference Values

Platform Quality Video (kbps) Audio (kbps) Total (kbps)

Platform recommendations may change. Check YouTube's official guide and Twitch's broadcasting guidelines for the latest.

Popular uses
Back-calculate from target sizePlan streaming bitrateBuild settings for social or email

What this tool does

  • Separate video / audio bitrate
  • Built-in YouTube / Twitch / Vimeo references
  • Custom calculations

How to use

  1. 1

    Pick resolution / FPS

    1080p60 / 720p30, etc.

  2. 2

    Pick quality

    High / Standard / Light.

  3. 3

    Read result

    Recommended bitrate, plus reverse-calc from a target file size.

What each setting means

Resolution / FPS
Higher needs more bitrate.
Target size
Optional — gives back-calculated bitrate.

Recommended settings

1080p30 YouTube
Video 8 Mbps + audio 128 kbps
YouTube recommendation.
1080p60 Twitch
Video 6 Mbps + audio 160 kbps
Twitch caps at 6 Mbps.
Mobile playback
720p30 · 2.5 Mbps
Plays cleanly on cellular.

Common pitfalls

Symptom: Computed bitrate doesn't hit target

Cause: Audio bitrate not subtracted.

Fix: Account for audio + ~5% container overhead.

Equivalent FFmpeg commands

Reference commands you can run on the desktop FFmpeg CLI.

Fixed-bitrate CBR
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -b:v 5000k -maxrate 5500k -bufsize 10000k -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4

Browser support & limits

  • Recommendations are general; tune for content.

Privacy

This tool only does math in your browser. Inputs stay on your device — nothing is uploaded. Read the privacy policy →

Frequently asked questions

Bitrate ↔ size?

sizeMB ≈ bitrateKbps × durationSec / 8 / 1024.

CBR or VBR?

CBR for live streaming, VBR / CRF for archival.

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