There is no universal winner on cost. AWS Lightsail has listed Linux public-IPv4 plans from $5 per month, while a mini PC’s monthly electricity bill depends on its measured wall-power draw and your local tariff. To compare them fairly, include AWS transfer charges, the mini PC’s purchase price and running costs, and the same ownership period for both.
What a 24/7 stream costs on AWS Lightsail
AWS lists Linux/Unix public-IPv4 bundles at the following monthly maximum prices. These are plan prices, not a guarantee that a given instance can reliably encode every streaming workload.
| Listed monthly price | RAM | vCPUs | SSD | Data transfer allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5 | 0.5 GB | 2 | 20 GB | 1 TB |
| $7 | 1 GB | 2 | 40 GB | 2 TB |
| $12 | 2 GB | 2 | 60 GB | 3 TB |
| $24 | 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB | 4 TB |
A continuously running instance uses a full month of instance time. AWS bills hourly up to the plan’s monthly maximum; stopping an instance does not stop its charges. Delete it when you no longer want to incur instance billing. See AWS’s Lightsail bundle details and billing FAQ.
Check whether the transfer allowance is enough
Your stream’s contribution feed travels outbound from the instance. Estimate its monthly data use from the encoded bitrate and hours streamed, then compare that estimate with the plan allowance for the instance’s region. Do not assume a high-bitrate, always-on stream fits the smallest plan.
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AWS says inbound and outbound traffic count toward the allowance, but excess fees apply to eligible outbound transfer. The allowance is half the standard stated amount in Mumbai, Sydney, Jakarta, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and São Paulo. AWS pricing search results indicate eligible outbound overage rates vary by region and start at $0.09/GB; check the current rate for your region before estimating a bill. See the Lightsail data-transfer FAQ.
How to calculate a mini PC’s electricity cost
Measure average power at the wall while the mini PC is running the actual stream. Idle or CPU-only specifications are not a substitute: the result depends on the device, encoding settings, and workload. Then use:
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Monthly electricity cost = average watts × operating hours ÷ 1,000 × local price per kWh.
For example, a meter reading of 15 W running continuously for a 30-day month works out to 10.8 kWh. Multiply 10.8 by your electricity tariff. That is an arithmetic illustration, not a claim that mini PCs generally draw 15 W.
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Compare total cost over the same period
Electricity alone is not a fair comparison with a cloud plan. Include the mini PC’s upfront purchase price, accessories, and any assumed maintenance or replacement costs over a stated ownership period. For Lightsail, include the instance plan and any eligible transfer overage.
| Cost factor | AWS Lightsail | Mini PC |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring cost | Selected instance plan; possible eligible outbound transfer overage | Measured average watts × operating hours × local tariff |
| Upfront cost | No hardware purchase is included in the listed instance price | Device purchase price and any required accessories |
| Other costs to consider | Transfer allowance and regional overage exposure | Maintenance, replacement, and any incremental internet or backup-power costs |
| Ownership period | Plan fees for the comparison period | Purchase and other costs spread across the chosen useful life |
A useful comparison is:
- Lightsail total: instance fees over the period plus applicable transfer overage.
- Mini PC total: hardware and accessories plus electricity over the period, plus any incremental internet, backup-power, and maintenance costs.
A numeric break-even is meaningful only when the region, Lightsail plan, transfer use, tested stream settings, measured mini-PC watts, electricity tariff, hardware price, and ownership period are all stated. The available figures do not establish a representative mini-PC power draw, tariff, or universal break-even point.
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Check that the chosen setup can sustain your stream
Encoding settings and instance capacity
YouTube’s encoder guidance supports RTMP/RTMPS ingestion and H.264, H.265/HEVC, and AV1 encoding, with frame rates up to 60 fps. It recommends constant bitrate (CBR) and a two-second keyframe interval, not exceeding four seconds. For H.264, its recommendations include 10 Mbps at 1080p/30 fps and 17 Mbps at 1080p/60 fps. Requirements depend on codec, resolution, frame rate, overlays, and hardware acceleration; no specific Lightsail size or mini PC is established here as suitable for every workload. Consult YouTube’s encoder settings and test your intended configuration.
Upload bandwidth and local reliability
YouTube recommends upload bandwidth above the stream bitrate, with 20% headroom, and advises testing with similar audio and movement while monitoring stream health. Its guidance says to “Leave a bit of room (20% recommended).” A mini PC at home also depends on the power supply, broadband, and router; backup power may matter if interruptions are unacceptable. A cloud instance moves the compute off your premises, but you still need to manage the stream process and its recovery behavior. See YouTube’s streaming tips.
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