GoPro HERO9 Video Bitrate Chart

Here are video bitrate charts for the GoPro HERO9 Black. The bitrate that the files are encoded with varies based on the combination of resolution, framerate (fps), and aspect ratio selected, as well as whether you’ve selected the Standard or High bitrate setting and when there’s a choice, which video codec method you use (H.264 or H.265).

These are all in Mbps.¹

Resolution	Framerate (FPS)	H.264 Standard	H.264 High	H.265 Standard	H.265 High
5K	30/25/24	–	–	60	100
4K	60/50/24	–	–	60	100
	30/25	60	100	60	100
2.7K	120/100	–	–	60	100
	60/50	60	100	60	100
2.7K (4:3)	60/50	–	–	60	100
1440p	120/100	–	–	60	78
	60/50/30/25/24	–	–	45	60
1080p	240/200	–	–	60	78
	120/100	60	78	45	60
	60/50	45	60	45	60
	30/25/24	–	–	45	60

Looping video

All looping modes use a bitrate of 55.5 Mbps (H.264) or 45 Mbps (H.265) except the 1080p60 and 1080p50 modes which use 30 Mbps (H.264) or 24 Mbps (H.265).

Related: the newer models’ chart: HERO13 Black and HERO12 Black bitrates.

What Size SD Card to get for the GoPro HERO9 Black?

The video bitrate is important for video image quality. And it’s also important with respect to the storage capacity of your recording media, in this case, the microSD card.

So I created this simple calculator to give a general idea of how much video footage from the HERO9 Black can fit on an SD card of a particular storage capacity. Choose the size of the memory card in the selector.

Calculator notes:

• This is approximate and is obviously affected by any other data you have on the memory card (including the extra LRV files that the camera generates automatically).
• I’m using the maximum bitrate here, but not every video mode uses the maximum bitrate. Some use lower bitrates, and if you’re shooting with one of those, the corresponding file sizes are smaller, which in turn means you can fit more video on the SD card.

SD card recommendations for the GoPro HERO9 Black

I have a more in-depth post on the best SD cards for the GoPro HERO9 Black, but here are some quick recommendations.

• SanDisk Extreme V30 UHS-I
• Lexar Professional 1066x Silver V30 UHS-I
• Kingston Canvas Go Plus V30 UHS-I
• Samsung EVO Select V30 UHS-I

Things worth knowing

If you’re not seeing all of these video resolution/framerate combinations available, make sure your camera’s firmware is up to date.

In high-bitrate modes, you’ll need a fast SD card to avoid problems such as the video recording stopping unexpectedly, lost frames, or the camera freezing up. But, as you can see from the chart above, not every video mode uses the maximum bitrate. So if you’re stuck temporarily with an SD card that’s not fast enough, you can dial back the recording settings to a combination that uses a lower bitrate (which will also save on battery and reduce the risk of the camera overheating).

FAQs

Memory card tools

Here are a few other related tools I’ve put together that can be useful when working with memory cards and data rates.

Converting Mbps to MB/s & X speed rating to MB/s

Another related and common calculation that often needs to be done when working with memory cards is converting the convention for measuring video bitrate (Mbps, Mb/s, or megabits per second) to the convention for measuring the speed of memory cards (MBps, MB/s, or megabytes per second).

So I’ve put together a simple calculator for that separately. You can find it here:

• Convert Megabits Per Second to Megabytes Per Second Calculator
• Convert Memory Card X Speed Rating to MB/s

Memory card size calculators

If you’re trying to figure out what size memory card to buy, it can be useful to know how much video footage from the camera you can fit on a card. Here are a few tools that can be useful for that:

• Video Bitrate vs Memory Card Size Calculator
• How Much 4K Video Can 128GB Hold?
• How Much 4K Video Can 256GB Hold?
• How Much 4K Video Can 64GB Hold?

Working with memory cards

Here are some related posts for making sense of memory cards and working with them.

• Fastest SD Card Speed Tests. With cameras getting improved 4K, 5K, and even 8K video recording and burst shooting features all the time, some of them need the write speeds that only the fastest SD cards provide. So here’s a roundup of the fastest SD cards based on my independent tests.
• Fastest MicroSD Card Speed Tests. Need a fast microSD card? If you’re shooting 4K, 5K, or 8K video, high-speed burst-mode photos, or some other demanding use, speed matters. These are the results from my independent speed tests of the fastest microSD cards.
• Types of SD Cards Explained. There are several different types of SD cards, as well as multiple speed rating systems and cryptic codes. Here’s a rundown of what the differences are.
• UHS-I vs UHS-II on microSD & SD Cards. Wondering what the difference is between UHS-I and UHS-II with SD and microSD cards? Here’s an explanation.
• What are the A1 and A2 Ratings on SD and microSD Cards? You might have seen new A1 and A2 speed ratings on some of the newer SD and microSD cards. So what do they mean? And when should you take notice of it?
• SD Card Formatter App for Formatting, Wiping & Repairing SD & microSD Cards. Here’s a guide to using the SD Association’s official SD Card Formatter for preparing your SD and microSD cards for use.
• How to Format SD Cards on Mac. Here’s a step-by-step guide for formatting both SD and microSD cards.
• Best Free Data Recovery Software for SD Cards. Here’s a rundown of the best free data recovery software to use if you’ve accidentally deleted photos or videos from your SD card.
• How to Rover Deleted Photos from SD Card: SD Card Recovery Options. All those photos you took have disappeared from the SD card. The good news is that there’s still a good chance you can recover photos from the SD card. Here’s what to do. Includes free and paid SD card recovery options.

Notes & References:

1. Source data. [↩︎]