Kick stream settings and limits

Kick’s limits and OBS settings

Upload to plan for is our arithmetic: the video bitrate plus OBS’s default 160 kbps of audio, since Kick publishes no audio bitrate, with room left free. Kick publishes no headroom figure, so this column keeps the 20% YouTube recommends.

Codec, keyframes and limits

Video codec

H.264

Rate control

CBR

Keyframe interval

2 seconds

Highest bitrate

8,000 kbps

Largest output

1920 × 1080 at 60 fps

Audio

Channels

Stereo

Sample rate

48 kHz at most

Kick publishes no audio bitrate. OBS’s default for a stream track is 160 kbps, and the upload figures on this page use that.

One range for every output

Kick does not publish a bitrate per resolution. It accepts 1,000 to 8,000 kbps at up to 1920 × 1080 and 60 fps, so pick a point inside that range from your motion and your upload. The bitrate calculator places a stream inside Kick’s range and says why.

CBR and H.264 only

Kick requires CBR and accepts H.264 only, so an HEVC or AV1 encoder will not work here. On a Mac, Kick says to choose the x264 encoder so that CBR is available.

If the stream stutters

Kick’s own advice is to lower the bitrate in steps of 1,000 kbps until the stream is smooth, and to use a lighter encoder preset: Superfast for x264, or P3 Fast for NVIDIA NVENC and AMD.

Check your own setup

• How to stream on Kick for the first time: the account, the connection to OBS, a rehearsal and ending the stream.
• Bitrate calculator: the video bitrate to type into OBS for your resolution, frame rate and kind of content, inside Kick’s figures.
• Upload calculator: whether your measured upload carries the stream, with a backup stream and household traffic.
• OBS output settings: where each of these values goes in OBS.

Other platforms: Twitch, YouTube Live, Facebook Live, TikTok LIVE. Compare all five side by side.