--- title: "What Is Bitrate? Definition and Examples | RentAnOTT" description: "Bitrate is the amount of data used per second of video. See how it relates to quality, file size and delivery cost, with typical figures by resolution." url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/bitrate" markdown_url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/bitrate.md" category: "Streaming technology" updated: "2026-10-05" --- # What is bitrate? Bitrate is the amount of data used to represent one second of video or audio, measured in kilobits or megabits per second (kbps or Mbps). A higher bitrate carries more detail and produces larger files and higher delivery costs. ## Bitrate and quality At a given resolution and codec, raising the bitrate improves the picture up to a point, after which the gain becomes invisible. Too low a bitrate shows as blockiness, smeared detail and banding, especially in fast motion and dark scenes. The right bitrate depends on the content. A talking head or animation compresses far more easily than sport, rain or confetti, so the same number can look excellent on one and poor on another. ## Typical video bitrates These are rough ranges for H.264 at 24 to 30 frames per second. Newer codecs such as H.265 and AV1 reach the same quality at roughly 30% to 50% less. Higher frame rates need more. - 480p: about 1 to 2 Mbps - 720p: about 2.5 to 4 Mbps - 1080p: about 4 to 8 Mbps - 4K: about 12 to 25 Mbps ## Bitrate, file size and cost Size is bitrate multiplied by duration. One hour at 5 Mbps is 5 megabits × 3,600 seconds = 18,000 megabits, or about 2.25 GB. Every viewer who watches that hour pulls about that much through your CDN. This is why bitrate is the main control on delivery cost. Trimming the average bitrate across your audience by 20% cuts the delivery bill by the same amount. ## Constant and variable bitrate A constant bitrate (CBR) uses the same amount of data every second, which is predictable and suits live contribution. A variable bitrate (VBR) spends more on complex scenes and less on simple ones, giving better quality for the same average size, and is normal for on-demand. ## Bitrate on RentAnOTT The video bitrate calculator estimates the bitrate and file size for your resolution and content. RentAnOTT encodes up to 1080p on Launch and up to 4K on Growth and Scale. [Try the bitrate calculator](https://www.rentanott.com/tools/video-bitrate-calculator). ## Related terms - [Adaptive bitrate streaming](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/adaptive-bitrate-streaming) — Adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR) is a delivery method in which a video is encoded at several quality levels and the player switches between them during playback, choosing the highest quality the viewer's connection can sustain without stalling. - [Bitrate ladder](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/bitrate-ladder) — A bitrate ladder, or encoding ladder, is the list of versions a video is encoded into for adaptive streaming. Each rung pairs a resolution with a bitrate, and the player moves up and down the rungs as the viewer's connection changes. - [Video encoding](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/video-encoding) — Video encoding is compressing video with a codec, such as H.264, H.265 or AV1, so that it is small enough to store and stream. It removes detail the eye will not miss and describes each frame by how it differs from its neighbors. - [Codec](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/codec) — A codec is the algorithm used to compress video or audio for storage and delivery and to decompress it for playback. The name combines coder and decoder. The choice of codec determines how small a file is at a given quality and which devices can play it. - [Video resolution](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/video-resolution) — Video resolution is the number of pixels that make up each frame of a video, written as width by height, such as 1920 × 1080. More pixels can show finer detail, and require more data to store and deliver. - [Bandwidth](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/bandwidth) — Bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be transferred over a connection, measured in megabits per second (Mbps). In streaming the word is also used for the total volume of video delivered to viewers in a month, measured in gigabytes or terabytes. - [Egress cost](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/egress-cost) — Egress cost is the charge for data leaving a cloud provider's or CDN's network, billed per gigabyte transferred. For a streaming service it is the cost of delivering video to viewers, and it is usually the largest variable cost of the service. - [H.264](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/h264) — H.264, also called AVC (Advanced Video Coding), is the most widely supported video compression standard. Finalized in 2003, it plays on practically every phone, computer, television and browser in use, which makes it the baseline codec for streaming. - [H.265](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/h265) — H.265, also called HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), is the successor to H.264. It delivers the same picture quality at roughly 40% to 50% lower bitrate and is the standard codec for 4K and HDR streaming. ## Further reading - [Streaming bandwidth cost calculator](https://www.rentanott.com/tools/streaming-bandwidth-cost-calculator) - [2K video resolution explained](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/2k-video-resolution) - [Matroska vs MP4](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/matroska-vs-mp4) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is a higher bitrate always better? No. Beyond the point where the picture looks clean, extra bitrate adds cost and buffering risk without visible benefit. ### What is the difference between bitrate and resolution? Resolution is the number of pixels in each frame. Bitrate is how much data is spent describing them each second. A high resolution at too low a bitrate looks worse than a lower resolution encoded well. ### How much data does an hour of streaming use? Multiply the bitrate in Mbps by 0.45 to get gigabytes per hour. At 5 Mbps that is about 2.25 GB; at 2 Mbps, about 0.9 GB. All 163 terms: [Streaming and OTT glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary). ## Book a demo Tell RentAnOTT what you are launching. The team walks through the platform and maps the path to go-live around your catalog, markets and revenue model. Book a demo: https://www.rentanott.com/contact ## More from RentAnOTT - [Home](https://www.rentanott.com/index.md) — What RentAnOTT is, what every plan includes, and how launch works - [Features](https://www.rentanott.com/features.md) — Every core feature and optional add-on - [Pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing.md) — Platform tiers, apps, add-ons, usage rates and example bills in INR and USD - [Free tools](https://www.rentanott.com/tools.md) — OTT app builder and calculators for streaming revenue, bandwidth, bitrate and pricing - [Insights](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs.md) — All streaming business articles - [Glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary.md) — Definitions of streaming and OTT terms - [Book a demo](https://www.rentanott.com/contact.md) — Talk to RentAnOTT about your launch Full site in one file: https://www.rentanott.com/llms-full.txt