Streaming Bandwidth Calculator
How much internet speed you actually need for the streams running at once — and how much data a month of watching burns through.
How it works
recommended = streams × per-stream Mbps × 1.2 · monthly data = Mbps × hours/day × 3600 ÷ 8 × 30
Streaming quality maps directly to a bitrate: SD needs a few megabits, 1080p around 8, and 4K roughly 25. Multiply that by the number of screens playing at once, then add about 20% headroom so that video calls, downloads and background sync do not starve the streams and trigger buffering. The same bitrate also tells you the data cost — useful on a capped or mobile connection.
Worked example
Three 1080p streams at 8 Mbps each is 24 Mbps raw; with 20% headroom, aim for about 29 Mbps. Watching 4 hours a day, those streams move 24 Mbps × 4 × 3,600 ÷ 8 = 43.2 GB per day, or about 1.3 TB a month.
Frequently asked questions
How much speed do I need for 4K streaming?
Most services want about 25 Mbps for a single 4K stream. For two 4K screens plus normal browsing, a 100 Mbps plan is a comfortable floor.
Why add headroom instead of using the exact bitrate?
A network is never dedicated to one stream. Protocol overhead, other devices, and quality bursts during high-motion scenes all compete for the pipe — 20% spare keeps playback smooth instead of buffering at the worst moment.
Does streaming use a lot of data?
4K does — roughly 7 GB an hour per stream. SD is closer to 1 GB an hour. On a data cap, dropping resolution is the single biggest lever on your monthly usage.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.