Video Compression & File Size Estimator

Estimate video bitrate and file size for common codecs and resolutions, from 480p to 4K. See how frame rate, audio bitrate, and project length affect storage requirements. All estimates are educational and approximate — always test with real exports for final decisions.

Educational only · Not a professional encoding spec tool

Video resolution

These presets approximate common streaming / upload resolutions.

Frame rate (fps)

Higher frame rates generally require higher bitrates for the same visual quality.

Clip length (minutes)

Length of a single video clip you want to estimate.

Video codec

More efficient codecs can achieve similar quality at lower bitrates.

Quality target

Audio bitrate

Higher audio bitrates increase file size slightly, mainly on long projects.

Total project length (hours)

Total finished video time for a full project, series, or archive estimate.

Single clip estimate (current settings)

Estimated video bitrate

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Audio bitrate

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Total bitrate

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Estimated file size

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Per minute of video

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Estimates use a bits-per-pixel model adjusted for resolution, frame rate, codec efficiency, and quality preset. Real-world encodes can vary based on motion, content, and encoder settings.

Project storage estimate

Total project length

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Estimated storage needed

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Rough drive recommendation

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Project storage assumes similar settings for all finished videos. Keep raw footage and intermediate files in mind — they often require far more space than the final exports.

Resolution & codec projections (same FPS, quality, and audio)

This table shows how file size scales from 480p to 4K for the same frame rate, quality preset, and audio bitrate you selected above. Useful for comparing upload or archive requirements when changing resolution.

Per-clip estimate across resolutions

Resolution	Video bitrate	Total bitrate	File size / clip
Run an estimate above to see projections.

Bitrates are expressed in Mbps; file size is based on your current clip length input.

How these estimates work

This tool uses a simplified bits-per-pixel (bpp) model scaled by resolution, frame rate, codec efficiency, and quality preset:

Higher resolutions and frame rates require more bits to maintain comparable quality.
More efficient codecs (like HEVC and AV1) can reach similar quality at 30–45% lower bitrates than baseline H.264.
Audio bitrate is added on top, and becomes more significant for long-form or multi-hour projects.

For professional delivery (broadcast, DCP, strict streaming specs), always follow the official guidelines from your platform, studio, or client.