A Raspberry Pi 5’s electricity cost for a 24/7 YouTube stream depends on the complete setup’s average wall draw, how many hours it runs, and your local electricity rate. You cannot calculate a reliable currency bill from the power supply rating or the Pi model alone.
Measure the assembled setup while it is streaming, convert its watts and operating hours into kilowatt-hours, then multiply by the marginal per-kWh rate on your bill. The 5 W and 10 W examples below are arithmetic scenarios, not measured Pi 5 FFmpeg results.
Why wall draw matters more than the supply rating
A power supply’s rating describes the capacity it can provide; it does not tell you how much energy the equipment draws continuously. Raspberry Pi recommends a 27 W USB-C supply for Pi 5, but that figure is not a prediction that a running stream uses 27 W. Treating it as actual draw would overstate the energy calculation unless your measured load happened to be that high.
The official Raspberry Pi documentation lists 800 mA as typical active current for the bare board, while noting that power use varies with connected peripherals. That reference does not describe the complete wall draw of your own FFmpeg stream: a fan, storage device, USB accessories and the power supply’s conversion losses all affect what you measure at the socket. The Raspberry Pi setup documentation is useful for supply requirements, but not a substitute for measuring your assembled system.
Raspberry Pi’s 2023 launch article says consumption can reach around 12 W under the most intensive, pathological workloads. This is a peak reference for an extreme workload, not an expected average for a video loop. A stream’s encoding settings, cooling, peripherals and load pattern matter, so neither the 27 W supply capacity nor the 12 W peak should be used as your assumed 24-hour average.
For a useful measurement, put a plug-in energy monitor between the wall socket and the complete setup. Include the Pi, its power supply, storage and any fan or other attached device. Let the stream run in its normal configuration for a representative period. If fan activity or encoding load varies, a longer observation helps produce an average that better reflects ordinary operation.
This measurement also gives you a way to compare changes fairly. If you change a cooling setup, storage device or stream profile, measure again under comparable operating conditions. Do not assume that a different supply or cooler saves electricity; those are hardware and workload choices, and the wall reading is what reveals their net effect.
Use the monthly electricity-cost formula
The calculation is:
monthly cost = average watts ÷ 1,000 × hours streamed × local price per kWh
The division by 1,000 converts watts into kilowatts. Multiplying kilowatts by hours gives energy in kilowatt-hours (kWh), the unit generally used for electricity billing. Multiplying that energy by your applicable per-kWh price gives the energy component of the bill in your local currency.
For example, keep the inputs visible rather than hiding them inside a single figure. If a setup measures an average of W watts and runs for H hours, its use is W ÷ 1,000 × H kWh. Multiply that result by the marginal energy rate on your bill. No location or tariff is specified here, so there is no responsible way to give a currency amount that applies to every reader.
Use the average wall watts for the entire setup, not a CPU estimate or the board’s nominal supply capacity. If your monitor records accumulated kWh directly, you can use the change in its reading over the observation period and scale it to the hours you expect to stream. That can be simpler than trying to average a fluctuating watt display yourself.
A monitor reading is still an estimate of future use, not a guarantee. Your stream may not run every hour of every day; an interrupted broadcast, planned maintenance or a restart changes the total hours. Keep the measured average and expected run hours as separate inputs so you can revise either when your setup or schedule changes.
Convert continuous operation to 30-day energy
A 30-day period contains 720 hours. At a steady average load, each continuous watt therefore uses 0.72 kWh in that period: 1 W ÷ 1,000 × 720 hours = 0.72 kWh. This is a unit conversion, not a claim about what a particular Pi 5 draws.
For an always-on setup, multiply the average watts by 0.72 to estimate monthly kWh under the 30-day assumption. If it is not on continuously, substitute the actual streaming hours for 720 in the full formula. A month on the calendar can be longer or shorter than 30 days, so use the actual period if you need to reconcile your estimate to a particular bill.
The following table shows two sample loads to make the arithmetic easy to check. Both rows assume operation throughout a 30-day month; neither is a test result for a Pi 5 running FFmpeg.
| Illustrative average wall draw | Hours in a 30-day continuous run | Energy for that period | Currency calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 W | 720 | 3.6 kWh | 3.6 × your local price per kWh |
| 10 W | 720 | 7.2 kWh | 7.2 × your local price per kWh |
To adapt this to a schedule, replace 720 with actual hours. For a stream that runs only part of a day, calculate its expected hours across the billing period rather than labelling it continuous. If it is important to account for standby or idle periods separately, measure those too and calculate each operating state’s energy on its own before adding the results.
Read the 5 W and 10 W examples correctly
The 5 W and 10 W rows are scenario inputs chosen to demonstrate the calculation. The cited Raspberry Pi references do not establish that either value is the average wall draw of a Pi 5 encoding a particular file with FFmpeg. Your actual result could differ with the board, software workload, storage, cooling, power supply and attached equipment.
For the 5 W scenario, continuous operation for 720 hours gives 3.6 kWh. Its energy charge is therefore 3.6 × your local price per kWh. For the 10 W scenario, the same hours give 7.2 kWh, or 7.2 × your local price per kWh. These expressions are the most useful answer until you have both a wall measurement and your own rate.
The difference between these rows illustrates why checking the actual load matters: at the same operating hours, doubling the assumed average watts doubles the calculated energy. It does not show that one particular Pi 5 setup uses one of these values. Measure rather than selecting the more convenient row as if it were a benchmark.
FFmpeg settings are relevant to the stream’s network requirements, but YouTube’s suggested bitrate is not a direct electricity-cost input. YouTube’s official encoder settings guidance recommends RTMP or RTMPS, constant bitrate and a two-second keyframe interval; its listed ranges include 2–6 Mbps for 720p at 30 fps and 4–10 Mbps for 1080p at 30 fps. Those settings can help you plan upload capacity and data use, but they do not tell you your Pi’s average wall watts.
If you are deciding between stream profiles, compare the settings you need with the sustained upload capacity available at your location, then measure power with the profile actually running. That gives you two separate decisions: whether the stream can be sent reliably on your connection, and what the measured electricity use costs under your tariff. The FFmpeg setup example for a 24/7 children’s story stream is relevant if you want to see the software side of a loop, but it does not replace a wall-power reading for your hardware.
Estimate a yearly figure when useful
For a continuous 365-day year, there are 8,760 hours. Multiplying watts by hours and dividing by 1,000 gives yearly kWh. Under the same illustrative scenarios, 5 W uses 43.8 kWh in 365 days, while 10 W uses 87.6 kWh. As with the monthly examples, those are arithmetic scenarios, not measurements of Pi 5 FFmpeg streaming.
You can also annualise a measured monthly estimate by multiplying it by twelve, but that assumes the same run schedule, average draw and energy rate throughout the year. If your hours change seasonally, or the applicable rate changes, calculate each period separately where accuracy matters. Multiplying the year’s kWh by your local marginal rate gives the energy-cost component, not necessarily the total amount on your electricity bill.
A yearly estimate can be useful for deciding whether to keep an always-on local setup or to change how you operate it. Compare like with like: the same content, stream hours, relevant quality settings and peripherals. If you use another computer for comparison, measure its complete wall draw as well. A device label or processor specification is not a fair substitute for either system’s actual consumption.
The spare-computer nature stream guide can help you think through a different local-machine workflow. Its practical value here is as a reminder that operating choices affect the whole setup; for a cost comparison, apply the same measurement and rate method to whichever hardware you are considering.
Add your local per-kWh rate
Look at the relevant electricity bill or tariff information for the marginal price charged for additional energy use. Billing terminology differs by provider and location, so identify the rate that applies to the kWh you add rather than assuming a universal price. If the bill uses time-of-use rates, the stream’s operating hours may fall into different price periods; calculate those portions separately using the rates that apply to them.
Once you have the rate, multiply it by estimated kWh. For instance, the 5 W scenario is 3.6 kWh in 30 days, so its energy component is 3.6 times your own currency-per-kWh rate. The 10 W scenario is 7.2 times that rate. This leaves the currency amount blank deliberately: without your local rate and billing rules, naming a sum would imply information not provided.
If your rate varies over the month, use a weighted calculation. Work out energy for each period at the relevant average wall load and hours, then multiply each period’s kWh by its applicable rate and add the results. If you are unsure which line on the bill is the energy rate, ask your electricity provider or consult its tariff explanation rather than using the total bill divided by kWh, which can mix energy and fixed charges.
Keep a note of the assumptions alongside the result: measured average watts, the measurement period, expected hours, and the rate used. That small record makes it easier to update the calculation after a change and prevents an estimate based on last month’s schedule from being mistaken for a current tariff-based answer.
Keep energy separate from other running costs
The formula estimates electricity used by the streaming equipment. A bill may also include fixed charges, taxes or other line items. Those do not necessarily rise in proportion to the Pi’s measured kWh, so keep them separate rather than folding the entire household bill into a supposed device cost. Likewise, compare the incremental energy charge, not the full household bill, when asking what the stream adds.
Network costs belong in a separate check. YouTube’s recommended bitrate ranges help indicate the stream’s upload requirements, while actual data transfer and any charges depend on your stream and internet service plan. Check your ISP’s current allowance and terms for caps, metering or overage charges. The bitrate guidance does not establish an ISP price, and no network-plan charge is included in the electricity formula.
Reliability is another operating consideration, but it is not a cost figure that can be inferred from these energy scenarios. A stream that stops unexpectedly may need attention and can run for fewer hours than planned; a restart or monitoring arrangement may affect how much of your intended schedule actually happens. When estimating energy, use the hours it is expected to run. When assessing your overall workflow, consider separately how you will detect and recover from interruptions.
For a locally managed setup, your computer needs to remain on and the stream needs to be kept running through software and operating-system interruptions. If that maintenance burden is the part you are trying to remove, StreamNeo takes an uploaded video and runs it as a 24/7 YouTube stream without keeping your own computer switched on; compare its fit with your need to manage the channel and file yourself. The guide to separate YouTube streams for different playlists is also useful if multiple programmes or playlists affect how you organise the channel, though playlist structure does not change the measurement formula.
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
Does a 27 W power supply mean the Pi uses 27 W continuously?
No. The 27 W figure is the recommended supply capacity, not a measurement of continuous draw. Use a wall monitor on the complete running setup to obtain the average watts for your own calculation.
What will a 5 W Pi 5 stream cost per month?
The 5 W scenario uses 3.6 kWh over 720 hours in a 30-day month. Multiply 3.6 by your local price per kWh to get its energy component; 5 W is an illustrative assumption here, not a measured Pi 5 FFmpeg result.
Does stream bitrate determine the electricity bill?
Bitrate is useful for planning upload capacity and data use, but it does not directly establish average wall draw. Measure the running setup at the wall, then check your ISP plan separately for any data limits or charges.
Should I use a monthly or yearly estimate?
Use the period that matches the decision you are making and the hours you expect to stream. A yearly conversion assumes the operating schedule and rate stay consistent; recalculate if either changes.