Video Bitrate Calculator

They follow YouTube's published recommended upload encoding settings for standard dynamic range video. Frame rates of 30 or below use the standard rates and rates above 30 use the high-frame-rate rates.

The rule is strictly greater than 30. So 24, 25 and 30 fps all use the standard rate, while 48, 50 and 60 fps use the higher rate. At 1080p that is 8 Mbps standard versus 12 Mbps for high frame rate.

Standard then high per resolution: 720p is 5 and 7.5 Mbps, 1080p is 8 and 12, 1440p is 16 and 24, and 4K is 45 and 68. Those are the exact figures this tool looks up rather than a formula it computes.

Beyond the recommended range the visible gain shrinks while upload time and storage grow. These figures are a strong default that balances quality against file size for most footage, and modern codecs hit good quality without pushing far past them.

Twice the frames means roughly twice the motion detail per second, so more bits are needed to keep fast movement sharp. That is why the high-fps column sits well above the standard one at every resolution.

These are standard dynamic range targets. HDR uploads generally need a higher bitrate to carry the extra tonal range, so treat these numbers as a floor if you are mastering in HDR.

The table assumes a modern H.264 style encode. More efficient codecs such as HEVC or AV1 can reach the same quality at a lower bitrate, so these figures are a safe upper baseline rather than a strict requirement for every codec.

They are a good general baseline for most platforms and self-hosted video. Some services publish their own recommendations, so check the target platform if it lists different numbers.

No. It only looks up a recommended bitrate from the resolution and frame rate you choose, entirely in your browser. No file is uploaded and nothing is sent to a server.