Guides · 5 min read
What bitrate should you stream IRL at on 4G and 5G?
The right bitrate is not the highest your phone allows. It is the highest your connection can hold on the worst stretch of the route.
Upload is the number that counts
A phone streaming IRL is uploading. The big figure a speed test leads with is the download, which tells you nothing about it, and on mobile networks upload is usually a fraction of download.
Upload also moves. A crowd, a building or the far side of a hill can cut it sharply, so a speed test is a snapshot of one spot at one moment, not a promise for the route.
Where to start
These are starting points for the maximum you set in your app, not targets. Turn adaptive bitrate on, then watch what actually arrives.
| Phone sends | Maximum to start at |
|---|---|
| 720p 30fps, H.264 | 2,500 to 3,500 kbps |
| 720p 30fps, HEVC | 1,500 to 2,500 kbps |
| 1080p 30fps, H.264 | 4,000 to 6,000 kbps |
| 1080p 30fps, HEVC | 3,000 to 4,500 kbps |
| 1080p 60fps, HEVC | 4,500 to 6,000 kbps |
More than goes out is wasted
Your cloud OBS re-encodes the feed for Twitch, Kick or YouTube at the output bitrate in the toolkit's settings. A phone feed far above that spends signal you may not have on detail that is about to be squeezed out again.
Use HEVC if your phone has it
HEVC, also called H.265, carries the same picture in noticeably less data than H.264. On a mobile connection that means a sharper stream at the same bitrate, or the same stream with room to spare.
Recent iPhones and many Android phones encode HEVC in hardware, and the LIVE Toolkit takes it over SRT and SRTLA.
Let the app move it
Turn on your app's adaptive bitrate, which some apps call dynamic bitrate. It lowers the bitrate when the network cannot keep up and raises it again when it can, which beats a fixed bitrate that holds until it breaks.
Give it a maximum from the table and a floor you are still happy to show. When the network falls below that floor for long, no setting saves the picture, and that is when bonding a second network helps.
Measure the route, not your sofa
- Run a speed test at a few points on the route, at the time of day you will stream, and note the upload each time.
- Set the maximum at no more than about half the slowest upload you saw. A mobile connection dips without warning, and that headroom is what absorbs it.
- Expect crowds to cost you. A stadium, a festival or a packed street shares the same towers between thousands of phones.
- If one network is not enough, bond two. SRTLA spreads the stream over both.
5G helps less than the icon suggests
The speeds 5G is sold on are download speeds. Upload on 5G is often much closer to 4G than the download suggests, and the fastest 5G signals fade quickly indoors and around buildings. Test it on the route rather than trusting the icon.
Set the toolkit's low bitrate line
The LIVE Toolkit watches the bitrate arriving from your phone. If it stays under your line for three seconds, a message goes up on stream, Low bitrate, please wait, or your own words, at the top or the bottom of the screen. If the feed keeps breaking up, the toolkit cuts to your BRB screen, and it comes back once the feed has held above the line for three seconds.
The line starts at 1,000 kbps, and you can set it anywhere from 100 to 20,000 in the Bitrate alert settings. Put it just under the floor you gave your app's adaptive bitrate, so the message means the network is failing, not that the app is doing its job.
Common questions
What is a good bitrate for IRL streaming on 4G?
Start at 3,000 to 4,500 kbps for 1080p 30fps in HEVC, or 2,500 to 3,500 for 720p in H.264, with adaptive bitrate on. Then keep the maximum under about half the slowest upload you measured on the route.
Should I stream IRL in 1080p or 720p?
720p on a connection you have not tested, or in a crowd, where it holds up better. 1080p when you have measured the headroom, ideally in HEVC.
Does 60fps need more bitrate?
Yes. More frames means more data for the same sharpness. On a mobile connection 30fps is usually the better trade unless the action is fast.
What happens on stream when my bitrate drops?
Under your line for three seconds, the low bitrate message goes up. If the feed keeps breaking up, the toolkit cuts to your BRB screen and switches back once the feed has held above the line for three seconds.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026. Rates in this guide are the live ones, not a snapshot.