To estimate the electricity cost of an OBS stream to YouTube, multiply the average power measured at the wall by the stream duration and your electricity price per kilowatt-hour. You need your own power measurement and bill rate for a useful estimate; there is no single per-hour price that applies to every computer, stream or location.
Turning off OBS Replay Buffer may change the computer’s workload, but the amount depends on your system and settings. The available guidance does not establish a fixed wattage reduction, so measure the setup you actually use rather than subtracting a guessed saving.
Why one stream has no universal price
A stream’s electricity cost depends on three inputs: average wall power, time spent streaming, and the applicable price per kilowatt-hour. Change any one and the bill estimate changes. A computer encoding a simple still scene and one handling a detailed, moving game scene may draw different power, even if both streams run for the same number of hours.
Your electricity rate is just as individual. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2025 figures distinguish residential, commercial and industrial customers, and its reported prices vary by place. Those figures can give context, but a broad average cannot replace the rate on your own bill. Fixed charges and time-of-use pricing can also make the marginal cost of added electricity different from a simple headline average.
The streaming configuration matters too. OBS identifies encoder, resolution, frame rate and scene complexity as factors in system requirements. A heavier scene, a different encoder, or more demanding source material can change the work the computer performs. YouTube’s bitrate recommendations, meanwhile, are about stream ingestion and quality, not a direct measure of the electricity needed to produce the stream.
Keep those distinctions in mind when comparing advice online. A cost figure that leaves out the machine, meter boundary, tariff and session length is not a plug-in answer for your setup. It is, at most, an illustration with assumptions attached.
Measure average power at the wall
For a practical estimate, measure the complete setup at the wall while it is doing a representative stream. Use a plug-in electricity meter or another measurement method that reports power over time, if you have access to one. This is a measurement approach, not a claim that a particular meter model has been tested here.
The important value is average power during the session, in watts. A computer’s power supply rating is not the same thing: it describes a component’s capacity, not the electricity the whole system continuously draws from the outlet. Likewise, a graphics card’s advertised maximum does not tell you what the streaming setup averages while idle, encoding or handling a particular scene.
Decide what the measurement includes before recording a number. If the meter covers only the PC, describe the result as PC-only. Displays, capture devices, lights, audio equipment and network equipment should be included only if they draw through the measured outlet, or added through separate measurements. This boundary matters when you compare sessions or quote an estimate to someone else.
Measure a session that resembles the one you want to cost. If your usual stream includes a game, animated overlays and music, a test with an idle desktop is unlikely to represent it. Keep the scene and workload reasonably consistent, and average across enough of the session to account for normal changes. If power varies substantially, a session average is still useful, but do not mistake it for a fixed draw at every moment.
You can also compare two OBS configurations, such as Replay Buffer on and off. For a fair comparison, keep the stream duration, resolution, frame rate, codec, encoder, scene and game or source workload alike. Use the same meter boundary and electricity rate. Otherwise a change attributed to Replay Buffer may actually come from a different scene or encoding load.
Put the measurements into the cost formula
The arithmetic is straightforward:
Cost = average wall power in watts × stream hours ÷ 1,000 × electricity price per kWh.
Dividing watts by 1,000 converts the average power figure to kilowatts. Multiplying kilowatts by hours gives energy in kilowatt-hours (kWh), the unit used by electricity pricing. Multiplying the energy by the price per kWh gives the estimated charge for the electricity consumed during that session.
For a shorter version, first calculate the energy: watts × hours ÷ 1,000 = kWh. Then calculate the cost: kWh × price per kWh = cost. Keep the rate in the same currency as the final answer. If your bill gives a rate in rupees per kWh, the result is in rupees; if it gives dollars per kWh, the result is in dollars.
Use an electricity price that fits the question you are answering. For a rough household estimate, you might use the bill’s effective rate, including the relevant energy charges. For an estimate of the additional cost caused by one more stream, a marginal rate may be more appropriate, especially if your tariff changes by time or consumption band. State which rate you chose rather than implying it is universal.
The formula estimates energy charges from the measured load; it is not necessarily a complete reconstruction of a utility bill. Fixed account charges generally do not rise simply because one session ran, while taxes, surcharges and time-based rates can affect the total depending on the billing arrangement. Consult your current bill or provider’s tariff details if you need a more exact marginal cost.
Worked example: a four-hour session
Here is a clearly labelled arithmetic example, not a typical or measured PC result. Suppose the complete setup averages 300 W at the wall for a four-hour session, and use the U.S. residential average price reported by the EIA for 2025: $0.173 per kWh. The EIA figure is a broad reference, not a personalised tariff.
First convert the measured average power and duration into energy:
300 W × 4 hours ÷ 1,000 = 1.2 kWh
Then multiply by the assumed electricity price:
1.2 kWh × $0.173/kWh = $0.2076
Rounded to the nearest cent, that illustrative session’s energy charge is about $0.21. The multiplication is all the example demonstrates. It does not suggest that a particular PC draws 300 W, that the setup was tested, or that a reader should expect the same bill impact.
If your own meter instead reports a different average, replace 300 with that value. If your stream lasts longer or shorter than four hours, replace the duration. Finally, use the rate from your own bill or the rate you have chosen for your estimate. The method remains the same, while the inputs change.
A useful way to make the estimate auditable is to keep the inputs beside the result: “PC and monitor, average wall power measured during a representative session; session length; assumed price per kWh.” That small note helps you remember what the number includes and makes a later comparison meaningful.
What turning off Replay Buffer changes
OBS lists Replay Buffer among its recording-related controls. It is an optional capture feature, separate from the basic arithmetic of estimating electricity cost. Turning it off may alter the work OBS or the computer performs, but the effect depends on the machine, configuration and workload. The sources do not establish a universal wattage or percentage saved by disabling it.
That means you should not subtract a fixed amount from a power estimate just because Replay Buffer is off. If you want to know whether it affects your own setup, take matched measurements with the feature enabled and disabled. Keep other settings and the scene workload consistent, and compare the average wall watts rather than relying on a CPU or GPU utilisation reading alone. Utilisation describes activity, not directly the full system’s wall-power draw.
The same caution applies to other optional outputs, such as local recording. Disabling an output can simplify a comparison, but it does not guarantee a known reduction in electricity use. A hardware encoder also shifts encoding work to a specialised component of the GPU, according to OBS; that describes where work is performed, not whether the entire system will use less energy.
When changing settings, preserve a stream configuration that meets your actual quality and reliability needs. YouTube’s encoder settings guidance covers supported formats, bitrate recommendations and testing stream health. Those settings help you deliver the stream; they should not be read as wattage figures or shortcuts for estimating the bill.
If you want to revisit image quality without changing several variables at once, this guide to bitrate and audio settings for a 24/7 music stream may help you keep the delivery settings in view while measuring. For OBS’s feature descriptions and controls, refer to the OBS Studio overview. Its system requirements also caution that compatible hardware alone does not guarantee a particular streaming or recording result.
Apply your own rate and stream length
To use the calculation for your own channel, write down three inputs: measured average watts, hours per stream, and your chosen price per kWh. For example, if you stream a prerecorded devotional loop, your representative test should use the same loop, scene and OBS output settings you plan to leave running. If you run a local news loop or a study channel with a changing desktop, make the test reflect that content instead.
Take the rate from your current bill where possible. If the bill shows energy charges separately from fixed fees, consider whether you want an estimate of energy alone or a wider share of the bill. If your tariff changes across the day, use the rate that applies during the planned session, or calculate separate periods and add them. For an estimate across a month, multiply the session cost by the number of comparable sessions, while noting that the monthly total assumes similar workload and rates each time.
For instance, a channel that runs continuously can calculate a daily estimate with 24 as the number of hours, then extend that to its actual billing period. Do not assume each hour draws identical power if the scene changes, the computer enters a different workload, or the stream is paused. A continuous loop with a steady scene is easier to model than a stream with variable gameplay, but measurement is still the better input.
If you are deciding whether to keep OBS running on a dedicated computer, include the devices whose electricity you want to count. If only the PC is on the meter, the answer is a PC estimate, not a full channel-operating cost. You might separately note network equipment or a display if those are material to your decision and can be measured consistently.
Use this process to compare alternatives rather than treating a single number as a verdict. A lower cost estimate may come from less time streaming, a lower measured load, or a cheaper tariff; those causes have different implications. Do not reduce stream quality blindly to chase an unmeasured saving. Change one setting at a time, test the stream, and record what changed in both the delivery and the wall-power average.
Keep the comparison useful
A measurement becomes more valuable when you can repeat it. Note the date, OBS configuration, encoder choice, resolution, frame rate, codec, scene and what equipment the meter includes. No controlled benchmark underlies this method, so the aim is not to claim a universal comparison. It is to make your own estimate repeatable enough to guide a practical decision.
For YouTube, keep the format and quality requirements separate from the cost calculation. YouTube’s recommendations depend on selected codec, resolution and frame rate, and the platform advises testing with representative audio and motion while watching stream health. Match those settings during power comparisons. The YouTube live-stream setup guide is a useful reference if you are still setting up the encoder; a playlist rotation guide can help when the content itself is assembled from multiple items.
If your main concern is avoiding a computer that must stay switched on for a prerecorded loop, StreamNeo addresses that specific operating burden by turning an uploaded video into a YouTube live stream that runs with your computer off. It is YouTube-only, so it does not replace OBS for a live camera or gameplay session. Choose the approach that matches whether your channel needs a live production setup or a file playing continuously.
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
How much does it cost to stream on YouTube per hour?
There is no universal hourly cost: multiply your average wall watts by one hour, divide by 1,000, then multiply by your electricity price per kWh. For a personal answer, measure the equipment you intend to include and use your own bill rate. A broad published average is only an illustration.
Does OBS Replay Buffer use more electricity?
It can change the work being done, but the power effect depends on your system and settings. The available OBS guidance does not give a universal wattage saving for turning it off. If the difference matters, compare matched wall-power measurements with the feature on and off.
Does turning off recording or Replay Buffer lower my power bill?
It may change power use, but it does not guarantee a particular reduction. Test the same scene, stream settings and equipment boundary with only that output changed, then use the measured difference and your tariff in the formula. Avoid assuming that a change in component utilisation equals the same change in whole-system electricity cost.
Should I use the U.S. average electricity price for my estimate?
Only if you want a dated illustration or do not yet have a better input. The EIA’s 2025 residential average is not a personalised rate, and customers in different places or tariff categories can pay different prices. For a practical estimate, check your current bill and explain which rate you applied.