For a 24/7 YouTube stream, compare monthly outbound transfer and the full regional cost before choosing between Hetzner Cloud and AWS Lightsail. A continuous 14 Mbps feed uses about 4.54 TB in a 30-day month before overhead—more than the 4 TB allowance in Lightsail’s $24 public-IPv4 Linux bundle. Hetzner lists 20 TB for specified EU plans, but much lower allowances for some US and Singapore plans. The right choice depends on stream bitrate, region, whether the VPS encodes or only relays video, and how you will recover from interruptions.
Quick comparison: where each VPS fits
| Decision point | Hetzner Cloud | AWS Lightsail |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic allowance | Location and plan dependent: listed EU CX, CPX, and CAX servers include 20 TB; listed US CX/CPX plans include 1–5 TB, and Singapore plans 0.5–5 TB, depending on plan. Hetzner traffic table | Public-IPv4 Linux bundles list 1 TB at $5/month, 2 TB at $7, 3 TB at $12, and 4 TB at $24, with larger bundles available. Some regions receive half the standard allowance. Lightsail bundles |
| Public IPv4 | Not automatically included. Hetzner lists a Primary IPv4 at €0.50/month excluding VAT; IPv6 Primary IPs are not charged in the cited documentation. Hetzner overview | Included in the listed bundle prices. Lightsail bundles |
| Cost predictability | Check the selected region’s transfer quota and add any IP and other infrastructure costs to the VM price. | Simple bundle price and allowance ladder, but excess outbound transfer and additional infrastructure can affect the bill. AWS counts inbound and outbound transfer toward an instance allowance and bills only excess outbound transfer. Lightsail transfer FAQ |
| Availability and stream continuity | The service agreement sets a 99.9% monthly Cloud Server availability target under its definitions and exclusions. This is not a YouTube stream uptime guarantee. Hetzner service agreement | The cited material does not establish an end-to-end YouTube stream uptime guarantee. |
Practical verdict: Hetzner can be attractive for a continuously relayed feed in an eligible EU location because of its listed transfer allowance, while Lightsail offers a straightforward bundle ladder with public IPv4 included. Do not choose on VM sticker price alone: calculate traffic for your actual bitrate, check the exact region and allowance, and include networking and recovery costs.
Estimate the monthly bandwidth first
A stream running continuously sends data for every second it is live. For a 30-day month, a sustained 1 Mbps is approximately 0.324 TB of traffic in decimal units. Multiply that by your bitrate to estimate outbound use before protocol overhead or other traffic.
| Continuous bitrate | Approximate traffic in 30 days | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Mbps | 2.59 TB | YouTube’s recommended H.264 rate for 720p30 |
| 10 Mbps | 3.24 TB | Calculation from bitrate and time; not a YouTube recommendation cited here |
| 14 Mbps | 4.54 TB | YouTube’s recommended H.264 rate for 1080p30 |
The estimates use bitrate × 2,592,000 seconds per 30-day month ÷ 8, and decimal terabytes. They exclude transport overhead, any second feed, monitoring traffic, and other services on the instance. YouTube’s recommended H.264 rates are 8 Mbps for 720p30 and 14 Mbps for 1080p30; your actual encoder settings may differ.
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What this means for Lightsail
A single 14 Mbps feed’s estimated 4.54 TB exceeds the 4 TB allowance of the listed $24/month public-IPv4 Linux bundle. A 1 TB plan is not enough for a continuous stream at either cited YouTube recommendation. AWS counts both inbound and outbound transfer against the allowance, but charges for excess outbound transfer; check the current regional terms and overage rates before relying on a bundle. Several regions have half the standard allowance, so a plan that appears to fit in one region may not fit in another. See AWS’s transfer allowance FAQ.
What this means for Hetzner
Hetzner’s listed 20 TB EU allowance for CX, CPX, and CAX plans is substantially above the estimated 4.54 TB monthly use of one 14 Mbps feed. However, listed US allowances range from 1–5 TB for CX/CPX plans, and Singapore allowances from 0.5–5 TB, depending on plan. At 14 Mbps, some of those lower limits would be exceeded. Confirm the exact current plan, location, transfer terms, and any applicable charges using Hetzner’s traffic table.
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Compare the complete monthly cost
Make a like-for-like estimate for the region and workload you will actually use. Published plan prices and quotas can change, so verify the selected option in each provider’s pricing interface before committing.
- Compute: price the instance for your workload, not just the least expensive VM. Relaying an already encoded feed differs from encoding video on the VPS; the appropriate CPU and memory depend on encoder, codec, source, and settings.
- Transfer: estimate sustained bitrate × running time, then include overhead and any backup feed. Compare that figure with the selected plan’s regional allowance.
- Public IP: add Hetzner’s separately priced IPv4 if your setup needs one. The cited overview lists €0.50/month excluding VAT; the listed Lightsail bundles include public IPv4.
- Other infrastructure: include only what your design uses, such as snapshots or backups, storage, and additional instances. Their cost is not specified here.
- Overage and region: check whether your traffic exceeds the quota and what the selected region’s terms say. Do not assume that the same allowance applies worldwide.
There is no established cheapest adequate instance for every 24/7 stream: the answer changes with region, whether the VPS encodes or relays, bitrate, redundancy, and source-feed design. No performance test here establishes an instance size for an unspecified encoder.
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Encoding on the VPS or relaying an existing stream?
Relaying an already encoded feed
A relay forwards an encoded stream to YouTube, so the key planning issues are sustained network throughput, transfer allowance, reconnect behavior, and how the source reaches the VPS. The VPS still needs enough capacity for the software and any processing your relay performs, but the available specifications do not determine a minimum size for an unspecified setup.
Encoding video on the VPS
Encoding adds a compute requirement that cannot be inferred from transfer quota or a low VM price. Codec, resolution, frame rate, encoder settings, and the number of simultaneous encodes all matter. Choose a candidate instance based on the actual encoding workload and verify it under your intended settings; do not treat either provider’s allowance table as proof that a VM can encode reliably.
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Configure the YouTube feed for a continuous broadcast
- Choose the output before choosing a plan. Set the intended resolution, frame rate, codec, and bitrate in your encoder, then calculate the 30-day traffic. YouTube’s cited H.264 recommendations are 8 Mbps at 720p30 and 14 Mbps at 1080p30. Check YouTube’s current encoder guidance.
- Use stable encoder settings. YouTube recommends constant bitrate (CBR), a two-second keyframe interval (not over four seconds), and RTMPS. Follow the current guidance for your codec and output format rather than assuming these values apply identically to every encoder. YouTube encoder settings
- Protect bandwidth headroom. YouTube advises leaving 20% bandwidth headroom. Make sure the VPS network path can sustain the feed with that margin, and account for other traffic on the instance. This is YouTube guidance, not a provider performance guarantee. YouTube streaming tips
- Configure the stream destination and key securely. In your YouTube live control room, use the stream URL and stream key for the event or persistent setup you intend to run, then enter them in the encoder or relay. Treat the key like a password; if it is exposed, replace it in YouTube and update the sender.
- Test before relying on the stream. Start a test broadcast, check YouTube’s stream health and the received picture and sound, and verify that the VPS can reconnect after a sender or network interruption. YouTube advises monitoring stream health and warns that connectivity disruption can break a stream. Streaming tips
- Plan restarts and alerts. Arrange monitoring for a stopped encoder, lost connection, or failed process, and decide how the service will restart and reconnect. A running VM alone does not guarantee that the encoder, network path, stream key, or YouTube ingest remains healthy.
Uptime: a VPS target is not a continuous YouTube guarantee
Hetzner’s service agreement states a commercially reasonable 99.9% monthly availability target for each Cloud Server, subject to its contract definition and exclusions. That figure concerns the Cloud Server under the agreement; it does not promise uninterrupted encoder operation, a healthy network path to YouTube, successful ingest, a valid stream key, or an uninterrupted broadcast. Read the agreement for its scope and exclusions.
YouTube’s guidance is equally operational: a connectivity disruption can break a stream, so test and monitor the encoder and connection rather than treating provider availability language as an end-to-end SLA. YouTube streaming tips
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Troubleshooting a continuous VPS stream
- The stream stops before month-end: inspect transfer usage and the selected region’s allowance. A continuous feed may consume more than a small bundle permits; calculate from bitrate and account for overhead.
- YouTube reports unstable or poor stream health: compare encoder bitrate with actual available bandwidth, preserve YouTube’s recommended 20% headroom, and check the VPS network path for congestion or competing traffic.
- The encoder connects but YouTube does not receive a valid stream: verify the stream URL and key in both YouTube and the sender, confirm the selected event or stream is active, and review the encoder’s protocol and output settings.
- The broadcast breaks after a network interruption: YouTube notes that connectivity disruption can break a stream. Check whether the encoder retries and reconnects, and configure monitoring and restart behavior rather than relying on the VM remaining powered on.
- The VPS is running but the broadcast is offline: check the encoder process, logs, source availability, stream key, and YouTube stream health. A provider’s VM availability target does not cover these components.
- The bill is higher than expected: review region-specific transfer terms, outbound overage, public IPv4, and any storage, snapshots, or additional services actually enabled.
Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is to keep uploaded videos playing on a YouTube channel rather than manage a VPS encoder or relay, StreamNeo is a separate cloud option: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. The cloud keeps the loop running without a computer or home connection left on. Every slot supports any uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps at one flat price per slot, with automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card, one free day per account. The monthly option is $9.99 per month. It streams to YouTube and plays uploaded videos; it is not a camera-live service.
Quick Recap
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