Video Export File Size & Data Rate Calculator
Calculate estimated export file size, data bitrates, and upload times across ProRes, H.264, HEVC, and DNxHR formats at 1080p, 4K, 6K, and 8K resolutions.
1. Codec, Resolution & Frame Rate
2. Video Duration & Upload Speed
Understanding Intra-Frame vs. Inter-Frame Compression
Choosing the right export format balances storage file size against rendering speed and playback performance:
- Intra-Frame Codecs (ProRes, DNxHR): Every single video frame is compressed as an independent still image. File sizes are large, but computer CPU/GPU playback is instantaneous with zero editing stutter.
- Inter-Frame / Long-GOP Codecs (H.264, H.265, AV1): Uses Groups of Pictures (GOP) where only keyframes (I-frames) are stored completely, and subsequent frames (P-frames and B-frames) only store the pixel motion differences. File sizes are up to 90% smaller, ideal for streaming uploads and web distribution.
Worked examples: file size by codec and by frame size
The tool multiplies a base bitrate for the codec by a multiplier for the frame size and another for the frame rate. The result in megabits per second becomes megabytes by dividing by eight, then gigabytes by dividing by 1,024. The first table shows each codec at the tool's starting settings of 4K and 24 frames per second, for the default 15 minutes.
| Codec | Base bitrate | File size, 15 min | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple ProRes 422 HQ | 220 Mbps | 24.2 GB | 96.7 GB |
| Apple ProRes 422 | 147 Mbps | 16.1 GB | 64.6 GB |
| Apple ProRes 4444 | 330 Mbps | 36.3 GB | 145.0 GB |
| Apple ProRes Proxy | 45 Mbps | 4.9 GB | 19.8 GB |
| H.264 high quality | 35 Mbps | 3.8 GB | 15.4 GB |
| H.265 or HEVC | 20 Mbps | 2.2 GB | 8.8 GB |
| AV1 | 16 Mbps | 1.8 GB | 7.0 GB |
| Avid DNxHR HQX | 220 Mbps | 24.2 GB | 96.7 GB |
These are the tool's planning figures and not measurements. A real file lands above or below them, and the bitrate of a high-efficiency codec moves a lot with the picture. The comparison still holds: ProRes 422 HQ at 24.2 GB for 15 minutes is more than six times the size of H.264 at 3.8 GB.
The second table keeps the codec fixed at H.264 and changes the frame size and rate. The 1080p multiplier is 0.25, 30 frames per second is 1.25 times 24, 60 is 2.5 times and 8K is 4 times. The upload column uses the tool's default connection of 50 Mbps.
| Frame size and rate | Bitrate | File size, 15 min | Upload at 50 Mbps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p, 24 fps | 9 Mbps | 984 MB | 3 min |
| 4K, 24 fps | 35 Mbps | 3.8 GB | 11 min |
| 4K, 30 fps | 44 Mbps | 4.8 GB | 13 min |
| 4K, 60 fps | 88 Mbps | 9.6 GB | 26 min |
| 8K, 24 fps | 140 Mbps | 15.4 GB | 42 min |
Upload time is the file size in megabits divided by the connection speed. The default ProRes 422 HQ file of 24.2 GB takes about 1.1 hours to send at 50 Mbps, while the H.264 file of 3.8 GB takes 11 minutes. Frame rate moves the size as much as resolution does, because 60 frames per second multiplies the bitrate by 2.5.
Working Vocabulary
Key video compression and export terms:
- Bitrate. The amount of digital data processed per second of video playback, typically measured in Megabits per second (Mbps).
- Intra-Frame (All-I). A video compression method where each frame is compressed independently without relying on adjacent frames.
- Long-GOP. A temporal compression architecture that encodes motion vectors across a group of pictures to dramatically reduce file sizes.
- Apple ProRes. A lossy intra-frame video compression format developed by Apple for post-production editing and high-fidelity mastering.