Recommended Bitrate for Streaming on Twitch: A Complete Guide for 2025

Has the following ever happened to you: You’ve got Twitch powered up and are using a top-of-the-line streaming setup with a high-definition camera and a powerful mic. You have a powerful encoder, and your settings are at max, yet it looks like you’re using your grandmother’s flip phone to stream. Your audience is disappointed, and you’re left wondering what you did wrong.

Well, the issue is probably not something you did but something you didn’t do – and that is to adjust your Twitch bitrate to match your setup and internet connection. The bitrate, or the amount of data transmitted and processed in a given time, determines your stream’s video and audio quality and stability. It is also known as the upload speed.

You can’t have a crystal-clear Twitch stream without adjusting the proper bitrate for your equipment and bandwidth. Like any other live streaming platform, Twitch has a recommended bitrate that varies depending on users’ specs.

Finding the perfect balance isn’t always easy, and you may need to adjust the settings if you’re streaming on different platforms. Dacast, for example, has a handy bitrate calculator to help you when using its services. Let’s find out the recommended bitrate for streaming Twitch content and how to have seamless broadcasts each time.

Table Of Contents

• What Is Twitch And Its Importance To Streaming
• What is Bitrate in Streaming?
• Video Bitrate vs. Bandwidth: Understanding the Difference
• The Official Twitch Bitrate Recommendations
• Choosing the Right Bitrate for Twitch
• Best Practices for Setting the Twitch Bitrate
• Common Bitrate Problems And How to Fix Them
• Understanding Bitrate: A Necessity For Any Streamer

What Is Twitch’s Importance To Streaming

Twitch is a platform dedicated to providing live streams to a global audience. Since its launch in 2011, it has mainly focused on gaming, but nowadays, audiences can watch all sorts of streamers, from musicians to home cooks.

It’s probably one of the most well-known streaming platforms and draws in 240 million active users each month. Twitch is the home of over 7 million streamers who use it to broadcast their live content around the world. They choose Twitch because of its:

• Interactive Community: Streamers can communicate with their audience through a live chat feature, creating a dynamic viewing experience.
• Monetization Opportunities: Streamers can build a sustainable career thanks to Twitch’s ads, donations, subscriptions, and affiliate or partner programs.
  
• Massive Reach: With millions of active viewers, Twitch offers unparalleled reach to global audiences.

Now, all of these are fantastic perks, but streamers can’t really take advantage of them if their broadcasts aren’t technically sound. Most of the time, that doesn’t involve expensive equipment but having a proper bitrate, so your stream doesn’t experience drops in video quality and buffering. Don’t let poor-quality streams drive viewers away. Instead, learn how much bitrate for Twitch you need.

What is Bitrate in Streaming?

Let’s start by explaining bitrate in terms of streaming and broadcast quality. Bitrate is how much data per second is transmitted during a live broadcast. It determines how clear the stream is and whether or not viewers experience lag. We typically measure it in kilobits per second (Kbps) or megabits per second (Mbps).

The higher you set the bitrate, the better video quality you’ll get, as more data is used to encode the video. For example, a high bitrate can help achieve 1080p or 4K resolution without pixelation or blurriness. However, not everyone in the audience can watch in such high resolution, so cranking it up each time isn’t necessary.

When streaming gameplay, fps is also something you must consider. Higher frame rates mean more frames to encode per second. Each frame requires data to represent it, so higher frame rates demand more data to maintain video quality. This, in turn, demands a higher bitrate. For a 1080p video at 30 fps, you might use a bitrate of 5 Mbps. But if you increase the frame rate to 60 fps, you need a higher bitrate, like 8 to 10 Mbps.

To allow streamers to adjust more easily to the bandwidth constraints and resolution settings and find the ideal streaming bitrate, most platforms offer two types of bitrate: CBR (Constant Bitrate) and VBR (Variable Bitrate). Let’s learn more about the similarities and differences between CBR and VBR.

CBR vs. VBR: Which Is Better For Streaming On Twitch

Now that we know what bitrate is, let’s examine why there are two types. Each serves a specific purpose, and what differentiates them is how they allocate data for each frame in the stream. 

Which one you use depends on your internet connection, the nature of your content, and the platform’s recommendations. Your two bitrate options are:

• Constant Bitrate: CBR maintains consistent data throughout the entire stream. The bitrate stays the same regardless of how complex or simple the content is, making it easy to predict and manage network usage.
• Variable Bitrate (VBR): VBR adjusts the amount of data sent depending on the complexity of the content. When streaming simple content like a talking head or a static scene, VBR reduces the bitrate, but when the action picks up, such as in a fast-paced game, VBR increases the bitrate to maintain quality.

Because Twitch wants to accommodate viewers with different internet speeds and device capabilities, it recommends using CBR during streaming. On the other hand, a platform like Dacast allows for adaptive bitrate streaming and multi-bitrate streaming so that viewers always get a smooth experience, regardless of their internet speeds. This approach is more sophisticated than simply using VBR.

Video Bitrate vs. Bandwidth: Understanding the Difference

When viewers and streamers face video quality issues during live broadcasts, they usually blame their internet connection or bandwidth. The blame most often lies in the bitrate, but not everyone realizes that the two are entirely different yet still dependent on each other.

If, as we already mentioned, bitrate is how much data a stream sends per second, what is bandwidth? Bandwidth is the most data that you can transmit over an internet connection during a given period. The typical measure is megabits per second (Mbps). Your bandwidth determines the capacity for uploading data to Twitch’s servers.

So, in short, bandwidth is your connection’s capacity, while bitrate is the data rate of your stream. Let’s say you have a bandwidth of 10 Mbps, but you set your bitrate to 8 Mbps. You can experience stream interruptions due to the overload of data. Setting a high bitrate isn’t enough. If you don’t have the bandwidth to support it, your stream can suffer from lag, buffering, and dropped frames.

The Official Twitch Bitrate Recommendations

If you’re a first-time streamer, how will you know how to adjust your bitrate settings properly? Most streaming platforms provide users with setting recommendations. Dacast even has bitrate recommendations for mobile streaming.

Twitch also recommends different bitrate settings, depending on the resolution and frame rate you want for your stream. They are:

Note that the 6000 Kbps limit, while quite sufficient for smooth streaming, is only for non-partnered streamers. Trying to exceed this limit will make any stream unstable and laggy – it might even fail to load properly for viewers.

On the other hand, Twitch’s partnered streamers have greater bitrate allowances. Still, their choice depends on the quality of the internet connection and their streaming hardware. What bitrate streamers choose depends on two factors: their internet upload speed and the capabilities of Twitch’s ingest servers.

The stream will have buffering or dropped frames if the upload speed is too low for the bitrate you want. The general recommendation is to have an upload speed of at least 1.5 times the selected bitrate. If you’re streaming at 6000 Kbps, a minimum upload speed of 9000 Kbps is ideal for smooth performance.

The bitrate recommendations are because they are what the Twitch ingest servers, or the servers that deal with incoming video streams from broadcasters to the platform, can handle. If you don’t choose a bitrate within the platform’s capacity, it can’t process and distribute the content efficiently.

Choosing the Right Bitrate for Twitch

So, how much bitrate for Twitch streaming do you need? That depends on several factors, like your internet speeds, Twitch partner status, what type of content you’re streaming, etc. A few technicalities to keep in when choosing a bitrate are:

• Internet Speed Considerations: It’s a good idea to follow the 50-75% rule. That means your bitrate should be no more than 75% of your total upload speed. If your upload speed is 10 Mbps, set a bitrate between 5000 and 7500 Kbps. This keeps the stream stable even when you’re doing other online activities, like chatting or browsing.
• Twitch Affiliation and Partner Status: Twitch affiliates usually have access to better- and higher-quality encoding options and transcoders. This provides smoother streaming for their audience, even with higher bitrates. For example, Dacast tells you the proper encoder settings for multi-bitrate streaming support.
  
• Viewer Internet Speeds: Just because you have the option to set a higher bitrate doesn’t mean your audience can handle it. Not all viewers have fast internet. High bitrates can lead to lag and buffering for viewers with slow Internet. Aim for a bitrate around 4500 Kbps for optimal accessibility.
  
• Adaptive Bitrate Streaming: Twitch does not provide adaptive bitrate or multi-bitrate for non-partnered streamers. If your viewers have different internet speeds, they may experience a dip in video and audio quality. Always aim for a bitrate high enough to provide clear video without overwhelming your viewers’ connections.

Best Practices for Setting the Twitch Bitrate

Low-resolution streams and live broadcasts that keep buffering are quick ways to lose viewership on Twitch. So, how can broadcasters strike the perfect balance? In addition to using the recommended bitrate for streaming Twitch content, here are a few more tips to improve your streams:

• Use a Speed Test: Before streaming, test your internet upload speed on sites like Speedtest.net before streaming. Providers tell you the ideal upload and download rates, but the reality is usually different. Knowing your actual bandwidth will make setting the best bitrate for streaming easier.
  
• Optimize Encoding Settings: According to Twitch, the best encoding method is CBR, which produces more stable streams. They also recommend using x264 or NVENC encoding. x264 is a CPU-based encoder that offers excellent visual quality. NVENC uses your GPU and can offload processing from your CPU.
  
• Adjust Bitrate to PC Capabilities: A high bitrate strains the CPU or GPU, causing performance issues and potential stream drops. Monitor the load on your system during the stream and adjust your settings to keep it stable. If you want better bitrates, you may need to upgrade your hardware.
• Test Streams Before Going Live: Always do a test stream before going live. Twitch has a useful tool, the Twitch Inspector, that analyzes the stream’s performance. It can help you catch potential issues like buffering or dropped frames before they cause problems for the audience.

How To Test Your Streaming Bitrate on Twitch

The most important part of determining the perfect Twitch bitrate is testing your streams before going live. Thanks to their inspector tool, doing this on Twitch is easy. The testing process usually goes like this:

1. Prepare The Streaming Setup: Open your streaming software. We usually recommend OBS, which is free and easy to use. Set up your stream scene and check if your camera, microphone, and game capture are connected.
   
2. Set a Bitrate: Choose which bitrate you want to use based on Twitch’s recommendations and your bandwidth. You can start higher and work your way down if necessary.
   
3. Start The Test Stream: Click the Start Stream button in your software. You can also log into Twitch, access the inspector, and click on “Run A Stream Test.” A pop-up will appear to give you further instructions on how to go live.
   
4. Monitor The Stream’s Health: Check the bitrate graph in Twitch Inspector. Look for signs of dropped frames or network issues. If the bitrate fluctuates too much, there may be problems with your connection or settings.
   
5. Adjust Bitrate and Encoding Settings: Now is the time to adjust your streaming software settings if you notice any issues. Test different bitrates until you find a balance between high video quality and stable stream performance.
   
6. Repeat the Test: You can run the test stream as many times as it takes for you to find your ideal bitrate and other settings.
   
7. Go Live: Once satisfied with your bitrate settings and stream stability, you can stream live to your Twitch audience.

Common Bitrate Problems And How to Fix Them

When you start testing your streams, chances are you won’t find the ideal settings and bitrate combination on the first try. What you will find are the most common bitrate issues live streamers face. Here is what they are and how to troubleshoot them.

Understanding Bitrate: A Necessity For Any Streamer

You can’t expect to have a successful career as a Twitch streamer and build an audience if the streams you provide are low-quality. The secret to high-quality, smooth live broadcasting isn’t fancy equipment; it’s something as simple as setting the correct bitrate.

Luckily, you can test your streaming setup before going live and adjust your settings based on your bandwidth and the recommended bitrate for streaming Twitch videos. If Twitch isn’t providing what you need to produce high-resolution, stable live broadcasts, you can explore Dacast’s streaming solutions.

We offer payment packages that suit various users, but you can always start with our 14-day free trial. You don’t even have to enter your credit card information.

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