Live NetTV v5.0What upload speed do you need to live stream?
When you go live, your video travels up from your computer, console or phone to the platform, so upload speed is what limits your quality. YouTube publishes recommended bitrates for each resolution. Leave about 50% headroom on top, because home upload speeds dip, and a stream that briefly needs more than your connection can send drops frames.
| Live stream quality | YouTube Live bitrate (H.264) | Upload speed to aim for |
|---|---|---|
| 720p (30 or 60 fps) | 8 Mbps | 12 Mbps |
| 1080p at 30 fps | 14 Mbps | 21 Mbps |
| 1080p at 60 fps | 17 Mbps | 26 Mbps |
| 1440p at 30 fps | 21 Mbps | 32 Mbps |
| 1440p at 60 fps | 34 Mbps | 51 Mbps |
| 4K at 30 fps | 42 Mbps | 63 Mbps |
| 4K at 60 fps | 50 Mbps | 75 Mbps |
These are YouTube's recommended figures for H.264, the most widely used encoder setting. Other platforms, such as Twitch, accept lower bitrates, so you can go live at 720p or 1080p with less upload than the table shows, at some cost in picture quality. Check your platform's own guidelines before you set your encoder.
What speed do you need to watch live streams?
Watching only needs download speed. These are the figures the services themselves recommend, per stream:
| Quality | YouTube | Netflix |
|---|---|---|
| HD (720p) | 2.5 Mbps | 3 Mbps |
| Full HD (1080p) | 5 Mbps | 5 Mbps |
| 4K Ultra HD | 20 Mbps | 15 Mbps |
Several people watching at once need these speeds added together. The household bandwidth planner works out the total for your home.
How to read your results
| Result | What it means for live streaming |
|---|---|
| Upload | The number that matters most for going live. This test reports the speed your connection holds most of the time, not its best burst, because a live stream needs a steady rate. |
| Download | What you need to watch streams. It barely affects your own broadcast. |
| Ping | Under 50 ms is excellent; up to 100 ms is fine. High ping adds delay between you and your viewers. |
| Jitter | How much the ping varies. Under 20 ms is stable. High jitter causes dropped frames, and usually means weak Wi-Fi or a busy network. |
Get a reliable result before you go live
- Test on the device that streams, over the same connection: a gaming PC on a cable can see very different upload from a phone on Wi-Fi.
- Use Ethernet if you can. Wi-Fi is the most common cause of unstable upload and high jitter.
- Pause uploads elsewhere, such as cloud photo backups, game updates and video calls in your home.
- Test at the time you usually stream. Evening speeds are often lower.
- Set your encoder bitrate below your tested upload, using the headroom in the table above.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good upload speed for live streaming?
About 12 Mbps lets you go live at 720p at YouTube's recommended bitrate, and 21–26 Mbps covers 1080p. For 4K, aim for 63–75 Mbps upload. Platforms that accept lower bitrates let you stream with less.
Why is my upload so much slower than my download?
Most home broadband in the US, UK and Europe is asymmetric: cable and many DSL plans give far less upload than download. Full-fibre plans are often symmetric. Your provider's plan details list the upload speed.
Does this test work like a real live stream?
It sends and receives blocks of data to Cloudflare's speed test servers, which is a good guide to the steady upload your connection can hold. The route to your streaming platform's servers can differ slightly, so leave the headroom shown in the table.
Is my data stored?
No. The test runs in your browser against Cloudflare's public speed test servers, and no results are sent to us.