Online radio
bandwidth calculator

Looking to estimate how much bandwidth your internet radio station needs? Use our calculator below to take the guess work out of working out the total bandwidth your online radio station is likely to use.

Streaming bitrate (kbps)

kbps

Concurrent listeners

listeners

Timeframe

MB per listener per hour
57.6

Listener hours
36500
Total bandwidth
2.01 TB

Understanding listening hours and bandwidth pricing

Bandwidth is one of the most expensive things when it comes to running a streaming server, so it's no wonder that most pricing plans limit how much you can use. Using the calculator above can help you spot when radio providers are being a little tricksy with their limits.

You'll commonly see the rather confusing term “listening hours” used as a pricing metric by many online radio providers. Plans with 1,000 listening hours can seem quite generous at first glance. However, they really aren't, as the calculator shows. Just having 1 listener per hour eats up 730 listening hours a month.

Related tools & resources

Naming your station? Try our radio station name generator and radio show name generator. New to broadcasting? Our guide to starting an online radio station walks you through every step.

FAQs

How much bandwidth does an internet radio station use?

A 128 kbps stream uses roughly 57 MB per listener per hour. Multiply that by your number of concurrent listeners and the hours you broadcast to get your total usage. Enter your own bitrate and audience size into the calculator above for an exact figure.

What is a "listening hour"?

A listening hour is one listener tuned in for one hour. It's a common metric radio hosting providers use to price (and cap) their plans. It adds up fast. Just one constant listener uses 730 listening hours a month (24 hours × ~30.4 days), so a “1,000 listening hours” plan is far less generous than it first appears.

How do I reduce my radio station's bandwidth usage?

Lower your stream bitrate (96 to 128 kbps is usually plenty for music streaming), or choose a provider that doesn't meter your listening hours. Higher bitrates sound marginally better but consume bandwidth proportionally faster.

Does Radio Cult limit bandwidth or listening hours?

Radio Cult plans come with unlimited listeners, so you don't need to ration listening hours or worry about overage charges as your audience grows. See our pricing for the full details.