Bitrate presets by upload speed
- 12 Mbps+ upload: try 1080p60 at 6000 kbps.
- 7-10 Mbps upload: try 720p60 or 936p60 around 4500-5500 kbps.
- 4-6 Mbps upload: start with 720p30 around 2500-3500 kbps.
- Under 3 Mbps upload: use 480p30 and fix the connection before chasing quality.
What to change first
If the stream buffers or OBS reports dropped frames, lower bitrate before changing scenes. If OBS reports skipped frames from encoding lag, lower FPS or switch to hardware encoding. If rendering lag appears, cap game FPS and simplify browser sources.
Bitrate vs resolution tradeoff
Bitrate is the single most important knob for stream quality. Resolution and FPS matter, but a high-resolution stream starved of bitrate looks blocky. Use the stream bitrate calculator first; it will tell you the highest stable resolution your upload can support with 30% headroom.
Next guides and tools
- Best OBS bitrate for Twitch (the bitrate-only deep dive)
- How much upload speed do I need to stream?
- Dropped frames vs skipped frames in OBS
- Separate game, Discord, music, and mic audio in OBS
- How to stream on YouTube Live with OBS
- Best OBS settings for YouTube Live
- How to stream on Kick with OBS
- How to stream on TikTok Live with OBS
- How to stream from a Mac with OBS
- How to stream console games with OBS
- OBS scenes setup for beginners
- Free streaming music (no DMCA)
- OBS encoder comparison
- First Twitch stream checklist
- OBS settings for a low-end PC
- Best OBS plugins for new streamers
- OBS output settings generator
- Dropped frames troubleshooter