How much does a 24/7 YouTube stream cost on Amazon EC2 with a reserved instance? For one illustrative configuration—Linux/Unix t2.medium in US East (Northern Virginia), running 730 hours—the compute portion is about $22.63 per month with a one-year Reserved Instance or $15.33 with a three-year Reserved Instance, using AWS’s published effective hourly examples. Those are not all-in totals: internet data transfer out, storage, networking, other services, and taxes can add to the bill.
What the example price includes—and what it does not
AWS lists Linux/Unix t2.medium example rates in US East (Northern Virginia) of $0.0464 per On-Demand hour, $0.031 per effective hour for a one-year Reserved Instance, and $0.021 per effective hour for a three-year Reserved Instance. At an illustrative 730 hours, those rates work out to the following compute-only estimates. AWS describes the Reserved Instance effective hourly price as the term cost amortized over the term, including any upfront payment; it is not necessarily the cash charged each month.
| Purchase option | Displayed hourly rate | Estimated compute for 730 hours |
|---|---|---|
| On-Demand | $0.0464/hour | About $33.87 |
| One-year Reserved Instance | $0.031/effective hour | About $22.63 |
| Three-year Reserved Instance | $0.021/effective hour | About $15.33 |
These figures are AWS examples, not a universal quote. The instance family and size, Region, operating system, term, and payment option affect the price. The page’s figures were accessed October 3, 2026, and may change; confirm the live price and exact purchase terms before committing. AWS advertises savings of up to 72% for Standard Reserved Instances compared with On-Demand, but that is a maximum, not a discount guaranteed for every instance or purchase.
A Reserved Instance is a billing commitment. Its discounted price does not establish that t2.medium has enough CPU or network capacity for a particular stream, especially if it must encode video in real time.
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Estimate the full monthly EC2 cost
For an EC2 host sending one contribution feed to YouTube, use this cost model:
Estimated monthly total = EC2 compute + internet data transfer out + EBS storage + public IPv4/networking + additional AWS services + applicable taxes.
Estimate stream data transfer out
AWS bills internet data transfer out separately from instance usage. Estimate the outbound volume from the stream’s bitrate and hours, then apply the current rate tiers for your Region and account. AWS describes a 100 GB monthly internet data-transfer-out allowance aggregated across AWS services and Regions, with China and GovCloud exclusions. Check the current terms and your eligibility; do not treat it as a guaranteed allowance for each instance.
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A useful planning conversion is decimal Mbps × 0.45 = approximate GB per hour, before protocol overhead. For example, a 6 Mbps contribution stream sends about 2.7 GB per hour. Multiply that by the hours streamed to estimate the outbound data volume. A 24/7 stream runs roughly 720–744 hours in a calendar month, depending on the month; 730 hours is a planning convention, not every month’s actual duration.
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Include attached EBS storage and any public IPv4 address, monitoring, logging, or other services in use. Their prices depend on configuration and need to be checked separately. Applicable taxes may also affect the final bill.
Compare Reserved Instance offers on equal terms
When comparing one-year and three-year offers, keep Region, operating system, instance type and size, and usage hours constant. Compare the term, upfront cash required, effective hourly cost, and added storage and networking costs. AWS’s effective hourly figure spreads term cost over the term, so consider it alongside the selected payment option rather than mistaking it for the payment schedule. AWS explains how to find prices by term, purchase option, offering class, and usage type in its service price list guidance.
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Keep an EC2-to-YouTube feed separate from viewer delivery
This estimate assumes EC2 sends one encoded contribution stream to YouTube. It does not assume AWS sends video to every person watching the YouTube channel; YouTube handles viewer delivery and its own playback behavior. If instead you build an AWS service that distributes playback to viewers, viewer egress and other services can change the cost substantially. AWS’s Live Streaming on AWS deployment examples describe a different managed architecture using MediaLive, MediaPackage, and CloudFront, including an example with approximately 1,000 viewers for one hour at SD-540p. That is not the price of an EC2-to-YouTube contribution feed.
Choose a YouTube-compatible stream profile
Your stream profile determines the bitrate—and therefore has a direct effect on estimated egress. YouTube’s encoder guidance lists RTMP/RTMPS, H.264, H.265, or AV1 video, up to 60 fps, constant bitrate (CBR), and a recommended two-second keyframe interval that should not exceed four seconds. YouTube recommends RTMPS: “We recommend streaming to YouTube Live with RTMPS, a secure extension to the popular RTMP streaming video protocol.”
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| Profile example | Codec | YouTube bitrate recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p at 30 fps | H.264 | 5–14 Mbps |
| 1080p at 30 fps | AV1 or H.265 | 4–10 Mbps |
These are YouTube Help recommendations, accessed October 3, 2026; check the current guidance for your exact resolution, frame rate, and codec. Pick the profile for the material and quality you want, then use its target bitrate to estimate outbound data. The recommendations do not establish how well a t2.medium can encode that profile. Confirm CPU capacity for the chosen codec, resolution, and frame rate; relaying pre-encoded media is a different workload from live encoding.
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Set up and operate the 24/7 feed
- Choose the stream profile and EC2 configuration. Decide whether EC2 will encode or relay pre-encoded media. Select the video codec, resolution, frame rate, CBR bitrate, and keyframe interval, then verify that the instance can sustain the workload. The sample price alone is not a performance test.
- Check the YouTube encoder settings. Configure the encoder for a supported protocol and the chosen video settings. YouTube recommends RTMPS, CBR, and a two-second keyframe interval that does not exceed four seconds. Leave adequate network headroom: YouTube’s streaming tips recommend 20% upload bandwidth headroom.
- Enter the YouTube stream URL and key in the encoder. YouTube’s encoder workflow requires both. Treat the stream key as a credential; do not expose it in a public configuration or recording.
- Calculate expected egress and other AWS charges. Convert the bitrate to approximate hourly data, multiply by planned stream hours, and check current regional transfer pricing and the AWS allowance terms. Add EBS, public IPv4/networking, monitoring, logging, other services, and taxes as applicable.
- Plan continuous operation and archive behavior. YouTube says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived. A continuous 24/7 broadcast needs an operational plan for how sessions are handled, including monitoring and restarting as appropriate; do not assume a single uninterrupted session will be archived under that rule.
- Verify the bill and stream after launch. Review AWS usage and charges against the selected Region, purchase terms, resource configuration, and actual data transfer. Check that the YouTube stream remains healthy and that recovery procedures work for the chosen setup.
For exact regional pricing, check AWS EC2 Reserved Instance pricing, EC2 On-Demand pricing and transfer information, and the Amazon EC2 T2 instance examples. For video settings and setup, consult YouTube’s encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions, encoder stream setup, and streaming tips.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does AWS bill a Reserved Instance as a monthly subscription?
The displayed effective hourly price amortizes the term cost; the actual cash outlay and billing timing depend on the payment option you choose.
Does the 100 GB data-transfer allowance apply to each EC2 instance?
No. AWS describes it as a monthly allowance aggregated across AWS services and Regions, subject to stated exclusions and current eligibility terms.
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