Skip to content
CornetaPortuguês

Corneta guides · Guide

What bitrate should you use on Twitch, YouTube and Kick?

There is no perfect bitrate for all three platforms. In H.264, 1080p60 calls for 6 Mbps on Twitch, 17 Mbps recommended on YouTube (6 minimum) and up to 8 Mbps on Kick; use the lowest common profile or transcode only the destinations that need it.

Published
Reading time
2 min read
Corneta version
0.11.0
Tested with
Corneta 0.6.0 (Windows 11)

The matrix that matters

Values reviewed on October 18, 2026 for H.264 video. They are a starting point, not an order to fill all the bandwidth you have.

OutputTwitchYouTubeKick
720p303,000 kbps8,000 recommended (min. 3,000)2,500–4,500 kbps
720p604,500 kbps8,000 recommended (min. 3,000)3,500–5,000 kbps
1080p304,500 kbps14,000 recommended (min. 5,000)4,500–6,000 kbps
1080p606,000 kbps17,000 recommended (min. 6,000)6,000–8,000 kbps

All three accept CBR and a keyframe every 2s. Kick caps H.264 at 8,000 kbps, 1080p and 60 FPS. Kick's per-resolution ranges come from the guide for the KICK - Go Live app; in its OBS guide, it only sets 1,000 to 8,000 kbps. YouTube accepts more bitrate and creates smaller versions for viewers; in AV1 or HEVC, its recommended values are lower. On Twitch, 6,000 kbps is still the official reference for 1080p60.

One signal, or one per platform?

If OBS sends 1080p60 at 6,000 kbps, Straight up is the lightest path: all three get the same signal. YouTube sits well below its recommended 17 Mbps, but still within the minimum it asks for 1080p60 in H.264.

If you want more quality on YouTube without going over the limits of Twitch and Kick, use All out and send a stronger signal from OBS: Corneta transcodes each platform to its own preset. YouTube goes out at 9,000 kbps by default, and you can raise it in fine-tuning. Smart doesn't do this on its own: it copies OBS to Twitch, YouTube and Kick and only transcodes destinations that need vertical video, like TikTok and Instagram. Each mode shows the total upload and the load on your PC; if the transcodes go beyond what your graphics card can handle, the screen warns you.

Enlarge image

Fit
Quality screen after the test, showing 27 Mbps available and the bandwidth each mode needs.

The math only works when your available bandwidth stays above the total shown for the mode you picked.

The math only works when your available bandwidth stays above the total shown for the mode you picked.Source: CornetaCorneta version: 0.11.0

Do the math before you hit GO LIVE

Add up video and audio for every platform that is turned on: copied or transcoded, each output goes up separately. Then compare the total with a test run while the scene has motion. As a practical margin, YouTube itself recommends an upload between 1.5× and 2× the combined bitrate when simulcasting.

To pick a mode without memorizing this table, see Straight up, Smart or All out.