Best OBS Settings for Streaming 2026 – Twitch & YouTube

In this tutorial I show you the best OBS settings for Streaming 2026. When streaming it is best to use your GPU’s inbuilt video encoder to get the best performance. This will free up your CPU, and can lead to less or no lag when gaming. Although not all GPU’s have an inbuilt video encoder, most gaming PCs do as they’re common on NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards.

For NVIDIA graphics cards you’ll want to use the NVIDIA NVENC H.264 video encoder, or the NVIDIA NVENC H.265 encoder. If you have an AMD graphics card then you’ll want to use either AMD HW H.264 or AMD HW H.265. Depending on your graphics card and if you are streaming to Twitch or YouTube the options available may be different. However, the H.265 setting is better as it provides better stream quality with a lower bitrate. If you don’t have the H.265 option then using H.264 will work fine with good stream quality.

The best rate control of streaming is CBR as it allows for constant quality for your stream. This ensures your stream maintains good quality consistently, rather than fluctuating. This provides the best viewer experience for anyone watching your stream. However, one of the most important OBS streaming settings is the bitrate.The higher yoru bitrate the better quality your stream will be. However, when Twitch and YouTube both have limits to the bitrate you can use.

When it comes to the best bitrate for streaming to Twitch you will want to use 8000 and ensure the ignore streaming service setting recommendations setting is enabled. This ensures you get the best stream quality possible for Twitch, allowing your stream quality to improve when the resources are available. Additionally, partnered Twitch streamers will almost always benefit from using 8000 bitrate. Alternatively, you can use 6000 if your upload speed is a big ower. If you are streaming to YouTube then you can use a bitrate of 10000 for the best stream quality. Otherwise, you can use the same bitrate as Twitch.

For bitrate you will need to consider your upload speed. To be able to stream with a bitrate of 8000 you will typically want to have at least a 12 mbps upload speed. If you are streaming to YouTube with a 10000 bitrate then you’ll want at least an upload speed of at least 14 mbps. If your stream is laggy then you may need to lower your bitrate to accommodate for it, or adjust your encoder settings.

When it comes to the best OBS settings for streaming on low end PC you will need to lower your encoder settings to free up resources. This is especially important if you are attempting to stream gameplay. The first setting you will want to change for a low end PC is the Preset. I’ve found that reducing the preset to P4: Medium, or P3: Fast is the best first step to fix lag. However, you may also need to reduce your bitrate and the multipass mode.

Another option to get the best OBS streaming settings is to test increasing the encoder settings slowly. By increasing your encoder settings, such as the preset and multipass mode, you can test what your system can handle. If your stream is lagging in OBS then you will need to lower the settings. However, the settings I show in this video suit should suit most occasions.

After inputting the OBS settings for streaming you will need to Apply your settings. Doing this will ensure your stream settings save and will apply to your next stream. Additionally, there are some bonus settings that you will want to setup before going live. For example, you will want to set up your stream audio so everything that needs to be heard will be heard on your stream track. If you are streaming to Twitch then you can also enable the VOD track setting, which will allow you to use a separate audio track for your stream and VOD.

►► Store: https://slurptech.etsy.com
► Separate Audio in OBS: https://youtu.be/XUa7mrpIFoE

► Background Music
Stream Beats: https://www.streambeats.com

Disclaimer: The advice provided in our tutorials and guides are based on our personal knowledge and experience. No advice given should be considered that of a professional and comes with no guarantee. We strongly recommend that you do your own research to ensure what you're doing is safe, and will accomplish the results that you're looking for.

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