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First decide what the server is doing
A 24/7 YouTube stream can mean two different network workloads:
- Encoder-to-YouTube feed: the VPS sends one continuous stream to YouTube. Its outbound volume is driven mainly by the configured bitrate and uptime, not by how many people watch on YouTube.
- Viewer delivery: the server also sends video directly to viewers, acting as an origin or distributor. That is a separate, potentially much larger egress workload and should not be budgeted as if it were only a single YouTube feed.
The comparison below concerns the first case unless noted otherwise. Neither provider’s listed bandwidth allowance is a measure of how many viewers YouTube can serve.
Published entry-plan comparison
These are provider-published plan examples observed on October 3, 2026. DigitalOcean reports transfer in GiB, while Lightsail uses TB in the cited bundle listings; do not treat decimal GB or TB and binary GiB as interchangeable.
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| Provider and plan | Monthly price | Memory | CPU | SSD | Included transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean Basic Droplet | $6/month | 1 GiB | 1 vCPU | 25 GiB | 1,000 GiB |
| AWS Lightsail Linux/Unix, public IPv4 | $7/month | 1 GB | 2 vCPUs | 40 GB | 2 TB |
The headline prices are close, but the plans are not identical: CPU allocation, storage, and transfer units differ. DigitalOcean Basic plans start at $4/month, and another published Basic example is $24/month for 4 GiB RAM, 2 vCPUs, 80 GiB SSD, and 4,000 GiB transfer. Lightsail’s listed Linux/Unix public IPv4 bundles include a $5/month option with 0.5 GB RAM, 2 vCPUs, 20 GB SSD, and 1 TB transfer, and a $24/month option with 4 GB RAM, 2 vCPUs, 80 GB SSD, and 4 TB transfer. Prices and specifications depend on the selected plan.
How to estimate transfer for a continuous feed
Start with the resolution and frame rate you intend to send, then use YouTube’s current live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions to choose an appropriate bitrate. Do not assume one bitrate fits every resolution, frame rate, codec, or stream configuration.
- Record the encoder’s total outgoing bitrate. Include audio as well as video, and use the configured bitrate rather than the source file’s size.
- Convert bitrate and operating time into a monthly transfer estimate. A useful approximation is: bitrate in megabits per second × seconds streaming ÷ 8 = megabytes sent, before unit conversion and protocol overhead. For a 24/7 stream, use the hours in the billing month rather than assuming a short broadcast.
- Add a margin. Protocol overhead, reconnects, duplicated feeds, or other server traffic can raise actual usage. A redundant second feed may roughly double stream egress if both are sent continuously.
- Compare the estimate with the plan’s allowance and billing rules. Confirm the region, plan, and allowance on the provider’s current pages before deployment; regional terms can change the result.
If the VPS only sends one feed to YouTube, viewer growth does not multiply that VPS’s encoder-to-YouTube transfer. If it also serves viewers, model that egress separately and choose a distribution service designed for the workload.
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DigitalOcean: pooled transfer and plan considerations
DigitalOcean says included outbound transfer starts at 500 GiB per month depending on Droplet plan. Allowances are pooled across the team, inbound transfer is free, unused transfer does not roll over, and additional outbound transfer is billed at $0.01 per GiB. A team with several Droplets may therefore have a shared pool rather than a separate allowance for each server.
DigitalOcean lists CPU-Optimized Droplets for “Media streaming.” Its documentation also gives a maximum network throughput of 2 Gbps for ordinary non-premium, non-GPU Droplets and a 10 Gbps limit for premium CPU Droplets. These are published limits, not a guarantee that a particular stream will encode or run successfully. See DigitalOcean Droplet pricing, DigitalOcean bandwidth billing details, and DigitalOcean CPU-optimized Droplet guidance.
AWS Lightsail: bundle allowances and regional differences
Lightsail counts both inbound and outbound traffic against a bundle’s transfer allowance, but AWS says it charges only excess outbound transfer to the internet and certain other public-IP routes; excess inbound transfer is not charged. AWS documents a $0.09/GB excess outbound example for US regions including N. Virginia, Ohio, and Oregon. Rates vary by region. Several Asia Pacific regions and São Paulo receive half the listed transfer allowance, so a plan’s headline allowance may not apply in full where your instance is located.
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AWS bills bundles hourly up to the monthly plan maximum. Its compute-optimized bundles are described as suitable for compute-intensive workloads including video encoding, but that general guidance does not establish that a particular bundle can encode a particular resolution at a sustainable CPU load. Check current Amazon Lightsail plans, Lightsail data transfer rules, and Lightsail bundle details for your region and instance type.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which VPS should you choose?
For a relay that does not transcode
Compare the transfer allowance and region first, then verify that the chosen instance can sustain your relay software and stream configuration. The listed entry examples provide different amounts of memory, CPU allocation, and transfer; neither plan can be declared faster or more reliable from those specifications alone.
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For encoding or other video processing
Encoding can consume substantially more CPU than forwarding an already-encoded feed. Choose resolution and frame rate using YouTube’s encoder guidance, then test the actual software and settings on the instance you plan to keep. CPU and memory headroom matter more if you transcode, compose scenes, or run other services alongside the encoder. AWS identifies its compute-optimized bundles as an option for video encoding, while DigitalOcean identifies CPU-Optimized Droplets for media streaming; neither statement guarantees a specific result for your workload.
Rank #4
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For a server that also delivers video to viewers
Do not use the one-feed estimate as the distribution budget. AWS says Lightsail CDN distributions are not intended for large video-streaming workloads and recommends CloudFront for that class of use. See AWS Lightsail CDN guidance. Your audience-delivery architecture and costs need a separate assessment.
Operational costs and region checks
- Keep the instance provisioned in the budget. A server that is powered off may continue accruing charges until deleted, according to both providers’ billing guidance. Treat an always-on stream as a continuously provisioned instance.
- Choose a region deliberately. Consider latency to your source and YouTube ingest, availability of the plan, and regional transfer terms. The cited material does not establish a universally best region.
- Recheck prices and quotas before launch. The figures above are page observations from October 3, 2026, not guaranteed future prices; plan catalogs and regional allowances can change.
- Budget for your actual architecture. A simple relay, a transcoder, a redundant dual-feed setup, and a viewer-facing video origin have different compute and network needs.
Or let it run in the cloud
If you are streaming prerecorded programming to YouTube and would rather not maintain a VPS, StreamNeo’s workflow is three steps: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud; nothing has to stay on at home. It sends the upload as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one price per slot regardless of quality, and automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card.
Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. StreamNeo is for uploaded videos streamed to YouTube, not a live camera feed. To try it, start your free day with StreamNeo.
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