100 users, 5 Mbps, 20% headroom
- Base = 100 × 5 = 500 Mbps
- Recommended = 500 × 1.2 = 600 Mbps
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Bandwidth Capacity Planner
Estimate bandwidth needs for concurrent users/streams with configurable headroom.
Results
- Base bandwidth (Mbps)
- 500.00
- Recommended bandwidth with headroom (Mbps)
- 600.00
How to use this calculator
- Enter concurrent users/streams.
- Enter average bitrate per user (Mbps).
- Set headroom % to cover spikes.
- Review base and recommended bandwidth in Mbps.
Inputs explained
- Bitrate per user
- Average expected bitrate per user/stream.
- Headroom
- Capacity margin for spikes/variance; 10–30% is common.
How it works
Base bandwidth = Concurrent users × Bitrate per user.
Recommended bandwidth = Base × (1 + headroom%).
Formula
Base = Users × Bitrate Recommended = Base × (1 + Headroom)
When to use it
- Planning bandwidth for livestreams or video conferencing concurrency.
- Sizing network capacity for peak concurrent users in real-time apps.
- Quick checks for CDN/origin throughput needs.
Tips & cautions
- Use a higher headroom if traffic is spiky or bitrate varies widely.
- If you have multiple bitrate profiles, use a weighted average bitrate.
- Combine with CDN/offload planning if applicable.
- Simplified linear estimate; real-world bitrate varies by content and codec.
- Does not include protocol overhead; headroom helps cover it.
- Concurrency estimates can vary—monitor and adjust over time.
Worked examples
500 users, 3 Mbps, 25% headroom
- Base = 1,500 Mbps
- Recommended = 1,875 Mbps
Deep dive
Estimate bandwidth capacity by entering concurrent users, bitrate per user, and headroom to get base and recommended Mbps.
Use it to plan streaming or realtime app network capacity with spike headroom.
FAQs
- What headroom should I use?
- 10–30% is common; use higher for spiky traffic or uncertain estimates.
- Does this include protocol overhead?
- Not explicitly. Headroom helps cover overhead and variance.
- Can I model multiple bitrates?
- Use a weighted average bitrate based on expected stream mix.
- Does CDN offload reduce this?
- Yes. This is origin-side if not using CDN. With CDN, origin bandwidth may be lower.
- Is Mbps output or input?
- It’s throughput needed on the serving side for the given number of concurrent users at the chosen bitrate.
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Simplified throughput estimate. Actual bandwidth needs depend on codec, overhead, CDN/offload, and traffic patterns. Use monitoring to refine.