A 24/7 YouTube stream on a NAS has no universal monthly cost: measure the average power draw of the equipment you will keep on, then apply your own electricity rate. Check internet overage terms separately, and keep one-time hardware purchases out of the monthly electricity calculation.
FFmpeg is free software, but the NAS doing the work still uses electricity, and a continuous upload may matter to a capped internet plan. A model specification or national electricity average can illustrate the calculation, but neither tells you what your own setup costs.
What determines the monthly cost
Think of the estimate as three separate parts: electricity for the equipment, any internet charge caused by sending the stream, and the cost of buying or maintaining hardware. Only the first two are recurring bills in the ordinary sense. The NAS, disks, a UPS or a separate encoder are purchases; you can account for their replacement over time if useful, but do not call their purchase price a monthly power cost.
For electricity, the key inputs are average wall draw in watts, hours of operation, and the rate on your bill. The stream runs continuously, so a small change in average watts accumulates across every hour. For a 30-day month, each additional 1 W of continuous load uses 0.72 kWh. That makes measured power more useful than guessing from a device’s rated maximum.
The measured boundary matters. If the NAS is dedicated to streaming, include it and any separately powered encoder or network equipment you need to keep on for the job. If your router and modem already run for the household, show their whole draw separately rather than silently attributing the full amount to streaming. You can also compare the setup before and during a stream to estimate the incremental load.
The workload can change the result. Passing through compatible encoded media may ask less of the NAS than re-encoding, but the actual demand depends on the NAS model, source format, resolution, frame rate, filters and FFmpeg settings. Do not assume an unspecified NAS can encode an unspecified video continuously. Test the intended job and measure it.
Network bitrate is relevant to data use, not a direct conversion into electricity cost. A higher ingest bitrate sends more data; encoding settings can also affect compute work if the NAS is re-encoding. YouTube publishes encoder guidance by format, including recommended H.264 rates and keyframe settings. Use its current live encoder settings guidance for the format you choose, then test your stream rather than treating a bitrate table as a power measurement.
Measure the setup at the wall
A plug-in electricity monitor can show the power drawn by equipment connected through it. For a useful estimate, measure the equipment in the configuration you intend to use: NAS with the actual disks, FFmpeg job, and any separately powered encoder or network devices you want included. A reading taken while the NAS is idle may not represent a stream that keeps disks active or adds sustained encoding work.
Give the setup time to settle into representative operation. Note the average reading over a period that includes ordinary activity, rather than taking one glance during startup or copying a large file. If power fluctuates as the workload changes, use the monitor’s accumulated energy reading over the measurement period when available; divide that energy by the elapsed hours to obtain an average load. The exact method depends on the meter, so follow its instructions.
Measure two states if you want to distinguish whole-system cost from streaming’s added cost. First record the NAS and relevant devices running as they normally do without the stream. Then record them under the planned stream. The difference is an estimate of the incremental draw attributable to the stream, not a guarantee that every hour will match that test. Disk state, background tasks and encoding complexity can vary.
A manufacturer’s specification is a useful cross-check, not a replacement for measurement. Synology lists the DS224+ at 14.69 W in access and 4.41 W in HDD hibernation. A media-reading stream may keep disks from hibernating, and the specification does not establish the draw of a particular FFmpeg job. Its 60 W adapter rating describes power-supply capacity, not continuous consumption. See Synology’s DS224+ specifications for the model-specific figures.
If you are deciding whether an existing device is cheaper to use than a small computer, compare the whole operating arrangement, not only the NAS label. The Raspberry Pi 4 and refurbished mini PC comparison for a Hindi playlist stream is relevant when you are weighing a different always-on machine. Its role here is to prompt a like-for-like comparison: the actual power draw, storage, encoding capacity and network equipment needed for your own stream.
Turn average watts into monthly kWh
Use this worksheet for any measurement period:
monthly kWh = average watts × hours per day × days ÷ 1,000
For a 24/7 schedule in a 30-day month, the hours-per-day value is 24. So the calculation becomes average watts × 24 × 30 ÷ 1,000, or average watts × 0.72. If your average wall reading is 40 W, for example, the monthly energy is 40 × 0.72 = 28.8 kWh. That is only an illustration of the arithmetic, not a typical NAS reading.
For a year, use the hours actually covered by your estimate. A full 365-day continuous year has 8,760 hours, giving average watts × 8,760 ÷ 1,000 kWh. If you take a monthly bill period with a different number of days, use those days instead of 30. Keeping the days explicit avoids treating every billing period as identical.
The DS224+ illustration shows how a manufacturer figure can be translated, while also showing why it should not be mistaken for a complete setup estimate. At the listed 14.69 W access consumption, continuous use for 30 days is 14.69 × 24 × 30 ÷ 1,000 = 10.5768 kWh, or about 10.58 kWh. This is a calculation from Synology’s listed access figure, not a measured stream test. A separate encoder, router, modem or switch would add its own consumption if it belongs in your measured boundary.
If the NAS is already on all day for storage, there are two legitimate figures to keep distinct. The whole-load figure answers how much electricity the measured setup uses while streaming. The incremental figure compares the stream state with the normal non-streaming state. The second can help with a decision about adding a stream to an existing NAS, while the first helps describe the full equipment load. Do not assume that streaming has no incremental cost just because the NAS was already switched on.
A practical note sheet can be simple: device boundary, measurement start and end, average watts or measured kWh, daily schedule, days used in the month, and whether the result is whole-load or incremental. Save the configuration as well, including whether FFmpeg passes through or re-encodes and the chosen output format. If the stream changes later, repeat the measurement rather than carrying an old result forward as if nothing changed.
Apply your local electricity rate
Once you have monthly kWh, multiply by the price per kWh that applies to your household or business:
monthly electricity cost = monthly kWh × local price per kWh
For a 24/7 setup in a 30-day month, the shortcut is average watts × 0.72 × local price per kWh. Use the unit shown on your bill and preserve the currency. If the bill uses time-of-use rates, a flat rate may only be an approximation; apply the relevant rate to the energy used in each tariff period if you can measure or reasonably estimate that split.
The bill’s variable energy rate is the appropriate starting point for the marginal cost of another always-on load. Fixed charges may not change when you add a NAS, so adding the entire fixed monthly bill charge to the stream can mislead. Taxes, local adjustments, tiered rates and time-of-use pricing can affect the final amount. If you want a close estimate, use the applicable marginal rate from your bill or ask the utility how an additional continuous load is billed.
For a dated illustration only, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 2025 average residential electricity price of 17.30 cents per kWh. Applying that historical national benchmark to the DS224+ access-load arithmetic gives 10.5768 × $0.173, about $1.83 for a 30-day month, or about $22.00 when annualised over twelve such months. The EIA electricity data page provides the underlying U.S. data. This illustration is not a quote for a reader’s location, a universal NAS cost or the measured cost of running FFmpeg. Use your own current tariff instead.
If you are in India, use the rate and billing structure on your local electricity bill, not the U.S. example. Tariffs can differ by state, provider, customer type and consumption band. The formula remains the same, but whether an additional load pushes a household into a different band is a local billing question. Keep the currency and the billing period visible in your worksheet so that estimates remain interpretable.
The same approach applies if you are comparing a NAS with a computer already in the house. Estimate the extra consumption caused by running the stream, then apply the relevant rate. If a machine is purchased specifically for streaming, its whole operating load is relevant to the decision, but its purchase price remains a separate one-time cost.
Add internet overages separately
Do not turn upload bitrate directly into an electricity charge. It helps estimate data volume, which you can compare with your ISP’s plan. For example, a continuous 5 Mbps stream sends approximately 2.25 GB per hour in decimal units before protocol overhead: 5 megabits/second × 3,600 seconds ÷ 8 bits per byte. That works out to about 54 GB per day or 1.62 TB over a 30-day month. This is arithmetic from a constant bitrate, not a promise about the data counted by a provider.
Actual billed traffic may differ because of protocol overhead, measurement windows, provider rounding and how the ISP defines a data unit. Also, the stream’s upload bitrate is not necessarily the only internet traffic in the home. Other users, cameras, backups and downloads may use the same plan. Check the terms for the plan at the address where the stream will run, including any cap, overage fee, fair-use condition or business-plan restriction. No location or ISP plan is specified here, so there is no honest universal overage price to quote.
YouTube’s recommended H.264 bitrate varies by resolution and frame rate. For example, its guidance lists 5 Mbps for 1080p30 and 3 Mbps for 720p30, and recommends constant bitrate with a two-second keyframe interval that should not exceed four seconds. These are platform settings, not guarantees about an ISP’s counted traffic or your NAS’s power. Confirm the current recommendations for your chosen format and ingest path in YouTube’s encoder guidance.
A lower bitrate can reduce the amount of data sent, but do not choose it solely to fit an assumed data allowance without checking picture quality and stream health. YouTube advises testing before going live. If the local upload connection is shared or variable, a test can expose connection problems, but it does not change the provider’s cap or terms. For a stream that must stay online when the home connection fails, consider what a reconnect can and cannot solve: software cannot restore a physical internet connection that is down.
If you are already estimating an electricity bill for a computer-based stream, the same separation is useful. The OBS electricity-cost guide can help you think about the computer’s measured load; for the NAS case, keep ISP data charges on a different line of the worksheet. That prevents a large data-volume estimate from being mistaken for a power bill.
Separate recurring and one-time costs
Keep a small comparison table with recurring items and setup items in different sections. The amounts will be personal because they depend on the equipment you own, local prices and provider terms.
| Cost item | How to estimate it | Recurring or one-time |
|---|---|---|
| NAS, encoder and dedicated network equipment electricity | Measured average watts × hours ÷ 1,000 × your tariff | Recurring electricity |
| Internet overage, if applicable | Your plan’s cap and provider’s current overage terms, checked against expected traffic | Recurring only if charged |
| NAS, disks or separate encoder purchase | Your actual purchase quote or receipt | One-time purchase |
| UPS purchase and battery replacement | Your chosen equipment and replacement terms | Purchase and lifecycle cost |
| Storage or disk replacement | Your usage, warranty and replacement plan | Occasional lifecycle cost |
FFmpeg itself does not require a licence payment to use, but the equipment that runs it is not cost-free. A NAS bought for storage has a different economic case from one bought solely to stream. If you already own the NAS, the purchase is sunk for the immediate decision, though disk wear, added load and eventual replacement may still matter. If you are buying a NAS and disks specifically for a channel, include those costs in a separate budget rather than pretending they disappear because electricity is inexpensive.
Reliability choices also have costs. A UPS may help ride through brief power interruptions, but it is a purchase and can consume energy; its runtime depends on the UPS, battery condition and connected load. Do not infer runtime from the NAS adapter rating. Consider whether your audience and content justify the purchase, and check the UPS manufacturer’s own specifications for the device you choose.
A locally run FFmpeg job gives you direct control over the media and process, but the NAS, internet connection and power supply at home become part of the operating arrangement. A hosted continuous-streaming service shifts some of the always-on work away from your local computer, but introduces a vendor relationship and recurring service terms. Compare the actual subscription quote with the electricity and data charges you measured, as well as control, reconnect behaviour, storage needs and content rights. Do not treat a service price as comparable until you have checked its current terms and whether it covers the workflow you need.
For some channels, the bigger practical cost is not the power bill but the effort of keeping a local job alive through restarts, updates or connection drops. StreamNeo can remove the need to leave the NAS or another home computer switched on for the broadcast by taking an uploaded video and running the continuous stream after you provide the YouTube stream key. That addresses the specific always-on-computer burden; it does not remove the need to check YouTube settings, content rights, internet access for setup, or what archive you need.
Choose an operating approach against your own priorities. A NAS you already own may be sensible if it passes the intended encode test and your upload plan accommodates the data. A hosted option may be preferable if you do not want to maintain a local machine, while local control may matter more if you need a workflow that a service does not support. For a local computer alternative and its operating trade-offs, the article on running a 24/7 Bengali children’s rhymes stream from a home PC offers a useful point of comparison, not a substitute for measuring your NAS.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Is the DS224+ example what my NAS will cost to run?
No. It uses Synology’s listed 14.69 W access figure and an explicitly dated U.S. average electricity rate to show the arithmetic. Your model, disks, workload, other equipment and local tariff may differ, so measure your setup and use your own bill rate.
Does FFmpeg make a NAS use the same amount of power all the time?
No. Passing through a compatible file and re-encoding it can place different demands on the device, and source format, filters and output settings also matter. Test the actual job on your NAS and measure average wall draw during representative operation.
Should I include my router in the streaming electricity cost?
Include it in the whole-system total if it is dedicated to the stream or if you want to report the full equipment boundary. If the router is already on for household use, show its total separately and, where useful, compare the setup before and during the stream to estimate the incremental effect.
Will a 24/7 stream produce a 24-hour YouTube archive every day?
Do not assume so. YouTube’s setup guidance says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived, which is not an archive promise for a continuous 24/7 stream. Check the current YouTube live streaming help and make a separate recording plan if you need a complete copy.