For a live stream from OBS to YouTube, use CBR (constant bitrate) by default. YouTube’s current live encoder guidance lists CBR for live ingest. Choose your target bitrate separately: it depends on codec, resolution and frame rate, and your upload connection must sustain it.
CBR vs VBR: what changes?
CBR aims to keep the stream’s bitrate steady. VBR allows bitrate to vary, often in response to the video’s encoding demands. For YouTube Live, however, the platform recommendation settles the choice: YouTube Help lists “Bitrate encoding: CBR” in its current live encoder guidance, accessed 2026-10-03 (Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions).
This is a recommendation for live ingest, not a universal rule for every recording workflow. OBS exposes different controls depending on the selected encoder and output mode. A VBR option appearing in OBS does not replace YouTube’s live-stream recommendation.
Set the bitrate separately from the mode
Selecting CBR does not determine the bitrate. You still need a target suitable for the incoming codec, resolution and frame rate. For H.264, YouTube’s current table recommends these examples; the page does not state a publication year and was accessed 2026-10-03.
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| H.264 video format | YouTube-recommended bitrate |
|---|---|
| 720p at 30 fps | 8 Mbps |
| 720p at 60 fps | 8 Mbps |
| 1080p at 30 fps | 14 Mbps |
| 1080p at 60 fps | 17 Mbps |
These are YouTube’s recommendations, not a guarantee that a particular stream will look good or remain stable. Use YouTube’s current settings table for other codecs, resolutions or frame rates rather than extrapolating from these H.264 examples.
Choose CBR in OBS
In OBS, open the output settings for the stream and select the video encoder’s rate-control option. The exact label and location depend on your encoder and whether OBS is using simple or advanced output mode; available controls can also vary by version. Choose CBR for the YouTube Live output, then set the bitrate appropriate to your codec, resolution and frame rate. Do not assume every encoder presents identical options.
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Make sure your connection has enough headroom
Your upload connection needs to carry the stream consistently. YouTube says total stream bitrate must not exceed available upload bandwidth and recommends leaving 20% headroom. Its streaming tips also recommend a reliable connection (Streaming tips; accessed 2026-10-03).
- Check upload capacity with a speed test; YouTube Help says, “We recommend running a speed test to test your upload bitrate.”
- Compare the stream’s total bitrate with the available upload capacity and retain YouTube’s recommended margin.
- Prefer a reliable connection. Choosing CBR by itself does not prevent dropped frames or compensate for insufficient or unstable upload capacity.
Set keyframes, test, and watch stream health
YouTube recommends a two-second keyframe frequency and says the interval should not exceed four seconds. Before going live, test with audio and motion similar to the actual stream, then check YouTube’s stream health indicators. These checks can reveal problems that a rate-control choice alone cannot diagnose. See YouTube’s encoder guidance for current keyframe and test recommendations.
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When OBS VBR options may matter
Some OBS encoder-specific workflows offer VBR modes. For example, OBS’s documentation for NVENC describes “Variable Bitrate with Target Quality,” a mode intended to seek high quality while applying a maximum bitrate. The documentation, dated 2024-08-21, describes it as behaving similarly to CQP while allowing a bitrate limit (Advanced NVENC Options (31.0)).
That NVENC option is encoder-specific context, not the recommended setting for YouTube Live ingest. For a YouTube live output, keep CBR as the default and choose VBR only when you have a separate encoder-specific reason and understand the resulting behavior.
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