Free tool · Network
CCTV bandwidth calculator
Bandwidth per camera = bitrate. Add up the cameras for the load on your local network, take the share you view off-site for the upload you need, and see how long an hour or a day of footage takes to upload at your connection speed.
Cameras and network
Recording bandwidth (local network)
32.0 Mbps
2.00 Mbps per camera
Remote viewing upstream
8.0 Mbps
Fits within about 40 Mbps of usable upload.
Data written per day
346 GB
All cameras, 24 h continuous
Upload 1 h of one camera
3 min
At 80% of your upload speed
Upload a full day of every camera
19.2 h
Why most teams upload the incident window or a trimmed shift, not whole days.
How the cctv bandwidth calculator works
Each camera streams at its bitrate whether or not anyone watches. The calculator estimates that bitrate from resolution, frame rate and codec (H.265 needs about 40% less than H.264), or uses the exact figure if you enter it.
Recording happens on the local network, so the total is what your switches and NVR must handle. Remote viewing goes through your internet upload, so only the cameras watched off-site at once count against it.
Uploads for cloud review use about 80% of the advertised upload speed after overhead. That is why uploading the incident window or a trimmed shift is practical, and uploading every camera all day usually is not.
Frequently asked questions
How much bandwidth does one IP camera use?
A 1080p camera at 15 fps on H.264 typically streams around 2 Mbps; at 30 fps around 4 Mbps. 4K cameras commonly run 8 to 16 Mbps. Check the camera's stream settings for the real figure.
Why is my remote view choppy?
Remote viewing is limited by the site's upload speed, not the viewer's download. If the streams you watch at once exceed about 80% of the upload, switch remote views to the camera's lower-bitrate sub-stream.
How long will it take to upload footage for review?
Divide the footage size by your usable upload speed. One hour of a 4 Mbps camera is about 1.8 GB and takes roughly 6 minutes at 50 Mbps upload. The calculator does this for one hour and for a full day of all cameras.
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