Resource usage required for Owncast
So I was wondering the bandwidth usage of Owncast and started crunching some numbers. Then I happened to find that [@[email protected]](https://social.gabekangas.com/users/gabek) had already done the work. Article linked, but here's one of the examples:
## Example Scenario[#](https://owncast.online/docs/resources-requirements/#example-scenario)
You’ve configured your broadcasting source (such as OBS) to stream to your Owncast instance at **5000kbps**. You have **25 viewers**. **5** of them are on slow or mobile networks, **17** of them have fast, stable internet, and **3** of them have fast internet most of the time but the speed fluctuates. All 25 viewers watched an entire stream that lasts two hours. You have a hosting provider that gives you 4TB of bandwidth per month.
### Offer a high and low quality option[](https://owncast.online/docs/resources-requirements/#offer-a-high-and-low-quality-option)
You decide to offer both a high and low quality option, and you set the high quality option to 5000kbps and the low quality option to 1500kbps.
**How much bandwidth is used on your server for this stream?**
| Bitrate | Duration | Viewers | Total |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------ | ------- | ------------------------- |
| 0.000625 Gigabytes per second (5000kbps) | 7200 seconds | 19 | 85 Gigabytes |
| 0.0001875 Gigabytes per second (1500kbps) | 7200 seconds | 6 | 8.1 Gigabytes |
| | | | **Total**: 93.1 Gigabytes |
**How much CPU?**
| Quality | CPU Usage |
| -------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| 5000kbps | Some (It matches the input) |
| 1500kbps | More (CPU needs to be used to compress the video) |
**How is the viewer experience?**
| Quality | Viewers | Experience |
| -------- | ------- | ---------- |
| 5000kbps | 20 | Good |
| 1500kbps | 5 | Good |
**Result**: You’ve provided both a high and low quality option for your viewers so those with a slow network have an option, and those with a fast network that might periodically slow down can dip down into the low quality when needed. Additionally, in this case you saved almost 20G of bandwidth traffic due to offering a lower quality. You’re using more CPU for a much better experience. You would be able to stream 43 times in a month before you hit your bandwidth limit.
## Example Scenario[#](https://owncast.online/docs/resources-requirements/#example-scenario)
You’ve configured your broadcasting source (such as OBS) to stream to your Owncast instance at **5000kbps**. You have **25 viewers**. **5** of them are on slow or mobile networks, **17** of them have fast, stable internet, and **3** of them have fast internet most of the time but the speed fluctuates. All 25 viewers watched an entire stream that lasts two hours. You have a hosting provider that gives you 4TB of bandwidth per month.
### Offer a high and low quality option[](https://owncast.online/docs/resources-requirements/#offer-a-high-and-low-quality-option)
You decide to offer both a high and low quality option, and you set the high quality option to 5000kbps and the low quality option to 1500kbps.
**How much bandwidth is used on your server for this stream?**
| Bitrate | Duration | Viewers | Total |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------ | ------- | ------------------------- |
| 0.000625 Gigabytes per second (5000kbps) | 7200 seconds | 19 | 85 Gigabytes |
| 0.0001875 Gigabytes per second (1500kbps) | 7200 seconds | 6 | 8.1 Gigabytes |
| | | | **Total**: 93.1 Gigabytes |
**How much CPU?**
| Quality | CPU Usage |
| -------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| 5000kbps | Some (It matches the input) |
| 1500kbps | More (CPU needs to be used to compress the video) |
**How is the viewer experience?**
| Quality | Viewers | Experience |
| -------- | ------- | ---------- |
| 5000kbps | 20 | Good |
| 1500kbps | 5 | Good |
**Result**: You’ve provided both a high and low quality option for your viewers so those with a slow network have an option, and those with a fast network that might periodically slow down can dip down into the low quality when needed. Additionally, in this case you saved almost 20G of bandwidth traffic due to offering a lower quality. You’re using more CPU for a much better experience. You would be able to stream 43 times in a month before you hit your bandwidth limit.