Learn how Mux Video pricing works and what levers and modifiers there are for you to control costs.
Mux pricing is split up into three categories: encoding, storage, and delivery. In other words, you're charged by how much video you upload every month, how much video you store every month, and how much video your users stream every month.
As you read, keep your eye out for what we call "pricing levers": ways you can suit your costs to your use case. For example, we offer discounts based on volume and resolution. More on those near the end.
Finally, Mux charges by minute of video encoded, stored, and delivered. Learn more about why we charge in minutes instead of bytes.
Let's get started by talking about the first category of pricing: Encoding.
If you find yourself with higher usage than the tiers described below, we’d love to talk to you about how we can customize your pricing.
Videos can come in all sorts of different formats, containers, codecs, or countless other variations. When a video is uploaded to Mux, we process it and create a high-quality, standardized version of the video through a process called "encoding." We use that standardized version to deliver any number of bitrates and resolutions based on the viewer’s needs, but more on that later.
There are two tiers of encoding at Mux: smart and baseline. The default encoding tier is smart. Smart encoding offers high visual quality and a wider range of bitrates and resolutions (meaning it's suitable for a wider range of devices and connections). Any video that is live-streamed through Mux will be encoded with smart encoding.
Baseline assets are a cost-effective alternative asset type for on-demand video, with no upfront cost for encoding. They're optimized for video use cases with simpler streaming needs, such as user-generated content, where high encoding costs may limit your business model.
You must set the appropriate encoding tier when creating your video asset.
Mux charges by minute of video encoded.
Encoding tier must be set to baseline at asset creation.
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440p (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 10,000 minutes | Free | Free | smart assets only | smart assets only |
We suggest explicitly setting encoding tier to smart at asset creation. However, if no encoding tier is set, the asset will default to smart encoding.
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440р (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 5,000 minutes | $0.032 per minute | $0.040 per minute | $0.060 per minute | $0.12 per minute |
| Next 10,000 minutes | $0.03040 per minute | $0.038 per minute | $0.057 per minute | $0.114 per minute |
| Next 10,000 minutes | $0.0296 per minute | $0.037 per minute | $0.0555 per minute | $0.111 per minute |
| Over 25,000 minutes | $0.0288 per minute | $0.036 per minute | $0.054 per minute | $0.1080 per minute |
Any video that is live-streamed through Mux will be encoded with smart encoding.
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440р (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 5,000 minutes | $0.032 per minute | $0.040 per minute | $0.060 per minute | $0.12 per minute |
| Next 10,000 minutes | $0.03040 per minute | $0.038 per minute | $0.057 per minute | $0.114 per minute |
| Next 10,000 minutes | $0.0296 per minute | $0.037 per minute | $0.0555 per minute | $0.111 per minute |
| Over 25,000 minutes | $0.0288 per minute | $0.036 per minute | $0.054 per minute | $0.1080 per minute |
When we talked about encoding, we mentioned that Mux creates a single, high-quality, standardized version of each video. That encoding step is when most traditional video solutions or providers will create all the different versions of your video for streaming to different devices, which means storing all those different versions indefinitely. Mux, on the other hand, only creates and stores one version of your video because Mux is able to deliver the right versions of the video when your viewers need it.
With Automatic Cold Storage, Mux automatically applies discounts to infrequently accessed assets.
Storage is calculated by minute of video stored. Storage is prorated by the percentage of the month that the video is stored. For example, if a 10-minute smart asset is stored for only half a month, you will be charged for only 5 minutes.
The cost of video storage also includes the storage of primary audio, metadata, and captions. When you pay for the storage of a video, you can also transcode or transmux to normalize inputs, create metadata or thumbnails, and access it in the dashboard or through the API.
Baseline assets have a minimum storage charge of one month and are prorated thereafter.
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440р (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 50,000 minutes | $0.0030 per min | $0.0040 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Next 100,000 minutes | $0.0029 per minute | $0.00363 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Next 100,000 minutes | $0.00285 per minute | $0.00356 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Over 250,000 minutes | $0.0026 per minute | $0.0034 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440p (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 50,000 minutes | $0.0024 per minute | $0.0030 per minute | $0.0045 per minute | $0.0090 per minute |
| Next 100,000 minutes | $0.00232 per minute | $0.0029 per minute | $0.00435 per minute | $0.0087 per minute |
| Next 100,000 minutes | $0.00228 per minute | $0.00285 per minute | $0.0043 per minute | $0.00855 per minute |
| Over 250,000 minutes | $0.00224 per minute | $0.0028 per minute | $0.0042 per minute | $0.0084 per minute |
Any video that is live-streamed through Mux will be encoded with smart encoding. Mux offers live steaming up to 1080p.
Mux will automatically start creating an on-demand asset in the background when you begin broadcasting to your live stream. These assets are created and stored as smart assets.
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p |
|---|---|---|
| First 50,000 minutes | $0.0024 per minute | $0.0030 per minute |
| Next 100,000 minutes | $0.00232 per minute | $0.0029 per minute |
| Next 100,000 minutes | $0.00228 per minute | $0.00285 per minute |
| Over 250,000 minutes | $0.00224 per minute | $0.0028 per minute |
Automatic Cold Storage is in beta for customers on Pay as you go and Starter plans.
With Automatic Cold Storage, we programmatically transition an asset to a different storage level based on how long it has been since it was last viewed. The colder the asset gets, the lower the billing rate becomes.
Assets must have MP4 renditions disabled to qualify for Automatic Cold Storage.
An asset transitions to Infrequent if it has not been viewed in the last 30 days, and will receive a 40% discount off of the applicable usage-based rate.
An asset transitions to Cold if it has not been viewed in the last 90 days, and will receive a 60% discount off of the applicable usage-based rate.
When an asset moves into Infrequent or Cold it may have a reduction in its Quality of Experience (QoE), such as Startup Time on first view as we retrieve it from storage. We suggest enabling Mux Data to monitor QoE; Mux Data is included for free for Mux assets.
| Asset last viewed | Storage tier | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440p (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30+ days ago | Infrequent | $0.0018 per minute | $0.0024 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| 90+ days ago | Cold | $0.0012 per minute | $0.0016 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Asset last viewed | Storage tier | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440p (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30+ days ago | Infrequent | $0.00144 per minute | $0.0018 per minute | $0.0027 per minute | $0.0054 per minute |
| 90+ days ago | Cold | $0.00096 per minute | $0.0012 per minute | $0.0018 per minute | $0.0036 per minute |
When someone wants to watch a video on Mux, we use a process called “just-in-time transcoding,” where we turn that standard, single video file into any number of bitrates and resolutions based on the viewer’s needs. This process happens instantly.
In order to deliver video, Mux partners with multiple CDNs. Videos are delivered over HTTP-based streaming formats like HLS. Video can be delivered to all major video players. If you're looking for a place to start with players, we suggest Mux Player. Mux Data is included with delivery, giving you the ability to monitor your video, including user engagement and quality of experience.
Cost is per minute of video delivered. To calculate video delivered, we measure the number of seconds of video delivered to a video player. Note that if a segment of video is delivered, it is charged, even if the viewer doesn’t actually watch the video. For example, if a video player buffers 20 seconds of video ahead of the player, Mux Video still has to deliver those 20 seconds regardless of whether they are watched, and so those seconds are charged.
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440p (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 500,000 minutes | $0.00096 per minute | $0.0012 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Next 500,000 minutes | $0.00092 per minute | $0.00115 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Next million minutes | $0.00088 per minute | $0.0011 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Over 2 million minutes | $0.00080 per minute | $0.0010 per minute | Smart assets only | Smart assets only |
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440p (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 500,000 minutes | $0.00096 per minute | $0.0012 per minute | $0.0018 per minute | $0.0036 per minute |
| Next 500,000 minutes | $0.00092 per minute | $0.00115 per minute | $0.00175 per minute | $0.00345 per minute |
| Next million minutes | $0.00088 per minute | $0.0011 per minute | $0.00165 per minute | $0.0033 per minute |
| Over 2 million minutes | $0.00080 per minute | $0.0010 per minute | $0.0015 per minute | $0.0030 per minute |
| Monthly volume tiers | Up to 720p | Up to 1080p | 1440p (2K) | 2160p (4K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 500,000 minutes | $0.00096 per minute | $0.0012 per minute | $0.0018 per minute | $0.0036 per minute |
| Next 500,000 minutes | $0.00092 per minute | $0.00115 per minute | $0.00175 per minute | $0.00345 per minute |
| Next million minutes | $0.00088 per minute | $0.0011 per minute | $0.00165 per minute | $0.0033 per minute |
| Over 2 million minutes | $0.00080 per minute | $0.0010 per minute | $0.0015 per minute | $0.0030 per minute |
Mux offers a few ways to suit your pricing to your use case: pricing levers you can pull to move our standard encoding, storage, and delivery pricing up and down, and add-ons you can use to do more with your assets.
The first pricing lever you should consider is encoding tier. Whether you should pick baseline encoding or smart encoding depends on your streaming needs. Read more in our Encoding section.
Resolution-based pricing tiers are determined by the number of pixels in the video, calculated by multiplying height by width. Tiers apply to encoding, storage, and delivery. An asset may be delivered in multiple resolutions, in which case it will be billed based on minutes delivered in each resolution. Resolution-based discounts are automatically applied.
| Pricing tier | Pixels | Typical resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 720p | Up to 921,600 pixels | 1280x720 |
| 1080p | Up 921,601 to 2,073,600 pixels | 1920x1080 |
| 1440p (2K) | 2,073,601 to 4,194,304 pixels | 2560x1440 |
| 2160p (4K) | 4,194,305 to 8,294,400 pixels | 3840x2160 |
You can control what resolution gets played with playback modifiers.
2K and 4K resolutions are available for on-demand, smart assets only.
You have a total of 300,000 stored minutes. They’re broken down into the following:
With volume discounts automatically applied, your storage discounts would be applied like this:
On-demand audio-only assets are calculated at 1/10th the cost of 1080p video for encoding, storage, and delivery. The rate is based on the encoding tier assigned to that asset.
6,000 minutes per month free. $0.024 per minute after.
Learn how to add auto-generated live captions.
$0.020 per minute
Learn about simulcasting.
The primary audio track uploaded with your video file will be included with the encoding, storage, and delivery cost as part of your video. Any additional audio tracks uploaded will be charged at the audio-only rates for encoding, storage, and delivery.
Learn more about multi-track audio
With Mux Starter you get $100 of monthly usage for $10 a month. You can use those $100 however you'd like across Mux products and features at the usage rates outlined above. You're billed at pay as you go rates for any usage above $100. API access, features, etc, are all the same otherwise.
You pay for the exact number of seconds of video. We don’t have a minimum or round to the nearest minute.
No - if you encode a two-minute video, you pay for two minutes, even if Mux Video delivers that same video in 8 different formats or qualities.
Our engineers provide hands-on support via email and chat for everyone. We also offer support packages with Slack and phone support. Reach out to us for more information about support packages.
As a Mux Video user, Mux Data Startup plan is included. When you integrate Mux Data into your video player, you'll start getting engagement and QoE data for your videos.
Yes! Get in touch to find out more.
Yes! We do have custom plans that are well-suited for scaling and enterprise customers. These plans begin at $3,000/month. Get in touch to find out more.
Each minute downloaded counts as a minute streamed. MP4 downloads are available on smart assets only. Automatic cold storage is not available for assets with MP4 downloads enabled.
Learn more about enabling MP4 renditions.
Nope! At Mux, all live streamed video, whether it's standard or low latency, have the same pricing.