Cutting Egress Costs Without Hurting Picture Quality
Egress is often the biggest line on a streaming bill. Practical ways to lower it, from smarter encoding to better caching, without viewers seeing a worse picture.
Support Team
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2 min read
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Key takeaways
- Efficient codecs and content-aware ladders reduce the bits sent per viewer hour without a visible loss in quality.
- A higher cache hit ratio and an origin shield cut origin egress, which is often billed separately from delivery.
- Cap bitrates by device so small screens are not sent detail they cannot display.
At a Glance: Editor's Verdict
Tested on Virgin Media, BT Smart Hub & Sky Broadband (Updated October 2026)
The Pros
- ✓Dedicated 10Gbps London edge routing bypasses ISP throttling during matchdays
- ✓Native 50/60fps UK broadcast frame rate eliminates motion judder on OLED/QLED
- ✓Full 3pm Saturday Premier League coverage via international English broadcast feeds
- ✓Direct human UK support available 7 days a week on WhatsApp (< 2 min reply)
- ✓3-day money-back guarantee with zero long-term contract lock-in
The Cons
- ✕High-bitrate 4K UHD streams require at least 25 Mbps stable broadband
- ✕Base subscription includes 1 connection (multi-room requires multi-screen package)
- ✕24h trial requires £1 nominal fee to prevent bot and freeloader lag
- ✕Virgin Media & BT users must disable default parental filters (Web Safe / Web Protect)
Start with the bits you send
The cheapest byte is the one you never deliver. Moving capable devices from H.264 to HEVC or AV1 can substantially reduce the bitrate needed for the same perceived quality, and content-aware encoding trims further on simpler material. Because egress scales with every viewer hour, savings at the encoder multiply across the whole audience.
Review the top of your ladder as well. If analytics show that few devices ever reach the highest rung, or that its quality gain over the next rung is marginal on an objective measure such as VMAF, lowering or removing it reduces cost without viewers noticing.
Make the cache work harder
Every cache miss is paid for twice: once to move the content out of origin and again to deliver it. Cloud storage providers typically charge for data leaving their network, so a low hit ratio can make origin egress a surprising share of the bill. Long cache lifetimes for segments, normalised cache keys and an origin shield all raise the hit ratio.
Check for accidental cache busting. Unique query strings for tracking or session IDs, varying headers and inconsistent URL formats can make identical segments look different to the cache. Fixing these is usually a configuration change with an immediate effect on both origin load and cost.
Match quality to the screen
A phone on a mobile network gains little from a 4K rendition, but it may still request one if the player only looks at throughput. Capping the maximum rung by device type and display size, through player settings or device-specific manifests, stops bandwidth being spent on detail nobody can see.
Finally, use your routing data. In a multi-CDN setup, steering can weigh cost alongside performance, sending traffic to the most economical provider when several perform equally well. Done carefully, that saves money on routine traffic while keeping the best-performing route for the moments that matter.
Questions about your own setup?
Message our London team on WhatsApp, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (UK Team).