WpStream Now Runs on Hours, Not Gigabytes

Last updated: July 8, 2026

By the WpStream Editorial Team

You have probably never planned a concert in gigabytes. Nobody thinks that way, yet that is what streaming plans used to ask of you, and the number was impossible to predict before going live. WpStream just retired those gigabyte-based limits. In their place are three time-based metrics: Broadcast Hours (total time your live streams are active across all channels), Viewer Hours (total watch time added up across your audience), and Recording Hours (time you keep as cloud recordings).

The switch is already live, and existing plans moved over to the new hour balances. The single biggest shift: video quality no longer touches your usage. Stream at 1080p or 480p and the meter reads the same, because it counts time, not data. Your usage becomes predictable before you ever go live, which is the whole point.

WpStream Just Replaced Gigabytes With Hours

For years, streaming plans (ours included) were priced in gigabytes. That model is now retired across every WpStream plan: no more bandwidth quota, no more storage cap. Each paid plan gives you an allotment of Broadcast Hours, Viewer Hours, and Recording Hours instead.

What Are Broadcast Hours, Viewer Hours, and Recording Hours?

Three terms, three simple rules.

Broadcast Hours

Broadcast Hours are the total time your live streams are active, added up across all channels. Stream 2 hours on one channel and you use 2 Broadcast Hours. Run that same 2-hour stream on 3 channels at once and you use 6, since each active channel counts its own airtime.

Viewer Hours

Viewer Hours are the total watch time from your audience, summed one viewer at a time. 10 viewers watching for 1 hour is 10 Viewer Hours. 100 viewers watching for 30 minutes is 50 Viewer Hours. They’re only consumed when someone is actually watching.

Recording Hours

Recording Hours are used when you save a live stream as a cloud recording. Record a 2-hour live stream and you use 2 Recording Hours.

Video quality does not affect any of these three meters, so no one is getting billed extra for looking good. A 4K stream and a 480p stream burn the same hours for the same runtime. Only time counts.

Why Hours Beat Gigabytes

Gigabytes were the wrong unit to think in, for three reasons.

Start with how you plan an event. You think “a 3-hour concert” or “a two-day conference,” never “4.7 GB.” Time is the unit already in your head; gigabytes forced you to translate.

Then there’s forecasting. A gigabyte total depended on resolution, bitrate, and how many people showed up, none of it knowable before you go live. Time isn’t affected by quality, so you can predict it in a way GB never allowed.

The old single bandwidth number also blurred two things: how long you streamed and how many people watched. Splitting that into Broadcast Hours for airtime and Viewer Hours for audience makes your reach visible on its own, instead of buried in one blended figure.

How Do Usage and Limits Actually Work?

Do Unused Hours Roll Over?

Here’s the rule, with no hedging: on subscription plans (monthly or yearly), your hours reset every month and unused hours do not roll over. One-time purchases work the opposite way: those hours never expire, so use them whenever you need them, which suits irregular streaming across WpStream plans.

What Actually Uses Your Hours?

Broadcast Hours accrue whenever a channel is active, even with zero viewers. That includes test streams, so run them deliberately instead of assuming they are free. Viewer Hours only tick up when someone is watching.

Stream type makes no difference. Private, password-protected, free, and pay-per-view streams all count the same way, with no discount for a locked-down or “just testing” stream.

Which number matters most depends on your use. Big events are usually capped by Viewer Hours and your concurrent viewer limit, while 24/7 channels, long streams, and many simultaneous channels are all capped by Broadcast Hours. As a cue: subscriptions suit ongoing streaming, while one-time purchases suit isolated events, viewer spikes, and short campaigns.

WpStream Plans Compared: Lite, Plus, Pro, Ultra

Once you know which metric drives your use case, picking the right live streaming plan is straightforward. Here’s how the four paid plans line up, and you can compare WpStream plans in full on the pricing page.

Yearly billing is available at a discount versus paying monthly.

What about the Free plan? It’s still here, and it sits outside the table above. It gives you unlimited live streaming time, up to 50 concurrent viewers, and 1 channel, with no hour meters to track. The tradeoffs are no recording, no pay-per-view, and ingest through external RTMP software like OBS only with no in-browser broadcasting, though it’s good for simple ongoing streaming without recordings or paid access.

Key Takeaways

• WpStream replaced GB-based bandwidth and storage limits with three time metrics: Broadcast Hours, Viewer Hours, and Recording Hours.
• Video resolution and bitrate no longer affect usage on WpStream; only the amount of time streamed, watched, or recorded counts.
• Subscription plan hours reset every month with no rollover, while one-time purchase hours never expire.
• Test streams and zero-viewer broadcasts still consume Broadcast Hours because the channel is active during that time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does video quality affect my WpStream broadcast hours?

No, resolution and bitrate have zero effect on your Broadcast Hours, Viewer Hours, or Recording Hours. WpStream counts elapsed time only. That’s why the hours model is more predictable than the old gigabyte allowance, which swung with quality and audience size. In 4K or 480p, an hour live is an hour of usage.

Do WpStream’s monthly plan hours roll over?

No. Subscription plans, monthly or yearly, reset every billing cycle, and unused Broadcast, Viewer, or Recording Hours don’t carry into the next month. One-time purchases are different: those hours never expire and never reset. For irregular streaming, a one-time WpStream purchase avoids losing hours to a reset.

Do test streams use up my Broadcast Hours?

Yes. Broadcast Hours accrue any time a channel is active and broadcasting, and a test stream keeps the channel active whether or not anyone watches. Run short, deliberate tests before an important event rather than treating them as free. Viewer Hours differ: on WpStream they only accrue when someone is actually watching.

Should I pick a subscription or a one-time WpStream plan?

It depends on how often you stream. Subscriptions suit ongoing needs like weekly classes or a daily schedule, since hours reset each month and pricing stays predictable. One-time purchases suit isolated events, viewer spikes, or short campaigns, because those hours never expire. Many broadcasters keep a WpStream subscription and buy one-time hours for a big one-off event.

The point of counting in hours isn’t tidier billing. It’s that you can look at an event before it happens (a 3-hour concert, a weekend conference, a weekly class) and know what it will cost in Broadcast Hours, Viewer Hours, and Recording Hours, with no gigabyte math. That predictability is the whole reason we moved to hours. Open your plan at wpstream.net and match your Broadcast Hours to what’s next.