How to Decide CCUs for Your Pixel Streaming App?

Pixel streaming is transforming how companies and creators deliver high-fidelity 3D experiences, directly from powerful servers to any browser. But with great visuals comes great infrastructure and a critical question: How many Concurrent Users (CCUs) do I need?

And equally important:

What pricing model actually makes sense for my business?

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about calculating CCUs, understanding the industry’s different pricing structures, and why especially if you’re an agency or enterprise unlimited streaming with fixed CCU pricing is your best bet.

📊 What is a CCU in Pixel Streaming?

A Concurrent User (CCU) means one live session of your pixel streaming app being streamed to a user. If you purchase 5 CCUs, your application can be streamed by 5 users at the same time. If a 6th user tries to connect, they’ll be placed in a queue or denied access until someone else disconnects.

This is not about total users, but simultaneous usage.

Think of CCUs as the number of seats in a virtual theatre. You can invite as many people as you want, but only as many as the number of seats can enter at once.

🚀 Why CCUs Matter More in Pixel Streaming

Unlike a traditional website or SaaS app where 1,000 users can be served from the same machine; Unreal Engine based pixel streaming apps are GPU intensive. Each active user requires an entire GPU process to themselves.

In simpler terms:

• A single server can handle many websites.

• But for pixel streaming, each user session is a separate server running the application.

  
  

So if you plan for 5 CCUs:

• You're not just buying access for 5 users.

• You're provisioning 5 separate GPU instances, each running your application independently.

  
  

This is why the cost and infrastructure demand is higher and why CCU planning is critical. Every session is a live, interactive, high-performance environment.

🧠 How to Estimate the Right CCUs for Your Application

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but here are the main things to consider:

1. Use Case

• Internal Testing or Demos: 1–2 CCUs

• Client Walkthroughs or Scheduled Calls: 2–5 CCUs

• Private Beta Access: 5–10 CCUs

• Live Events or Exhibitions: 10–50 CCUs or more

• Public Website Embed: Start with 3–15 CCUs and scale

  
  

2. User Behavior

• Session Duration: Are users spending 2 minutes or 20 minutes?

• Time of Day: Do most users log in during business hours or globally?

• Repeat Visitors: Are sessions recurring or one-time?

  
  

3. Growth Forecast

• If you plan to market heavily or have PR launches, plan for spikes.

• While it's tempting to provision for your peak traffic right away, it's smarter to first observe real usage patterns during your launch phase. Use analytics to understand when and how users interact with your app, and scale your CCUs based on that insight not assumptions.

To strike a balance:

• Start with your baseline or average traffic

• Use analytics and a soft-launch to identify real-world usage patterns

• Only scale CCUs after you've validated demand, rather than committing upfront

• Consider solutions like burst CCUs, time-bound sessions, or inactivity timeouts to stretch your capacity further

  
  

Ultimately, the smartest approach is to monitor real usage at launch, make data-driven decisions, and scale up gradually. This avoids both waste and waittime— keeping your cost under control while protecting the user experience.

• If you plan to market heavily or have PR launches, plan for spikes.

• Your chosen CCU count should cover your peak traffic expectations, not just average traffic.

  
  

🌐 Hosting Your App Publicly? Read This First

If you’re planning to put your pixel streaming experience on your website, your challenges multiply:

• You don’t control who comes in and when

• Traffic may be spiky (especially if featured in media or newsletters)

• You can’t predict how long each user will stay

  
  

This makes it risky to rely on per-minute pricing or dynamic CCU allocation. You’ll either:

• Overpay for spikes that never happen

• Or under-provision and give visitors a poor experience

  
  

Recommendation: Start with a modest number of CCUs, implement a CTA ("Click to Experience"), measure usage with analytics, and scale gradually.

And to manage access or usage better, you can also:

• 🔐 Add password protection to restrict who can access your stream

• ⏱️ Set a runtime limit (e.g., max 10 minutes per session)

• 💤 Implement inactivity timeout to automatically close idle sessions

These small features can dramatically reduce waste and ensure smoother access for your actual users.

💸 Pricing Models in Pixel Streaming: A Breakdown

Different companies offer different pricing strategies. Here are the most common:

❌ 1. Per-Minute Pricing (No CCU Cap)

• Pay for every streamed minute

• No CCU reservation required

• You risk incurring high, unpredictable costs

• Often needs prepaid credit system

Problem: You can’t control how long users stay, and this model makes it impossible to predict your monthly cost.

⚠️ 2. Per-Minute Pricing + Reserved CCUs

• You pay to reserve a fixed number of CCUs

• You also pay per minute used

• Essentially, you pay twice: once to reserve, once to use

Problem: You’re penalized for having capacity and for using it. Not startup or finance-friendly.

✅ 3. Unlimited Streaming with Fixed CCUs (Our Model)

• You pay a flat fee per CCU per month

• Unlimited streaming time per user

• Predictable billing and scalable structure

Best for: Agencies, enterprises, or any company that needs billing clarity and long sessions.

🪙 Why Fixed CCU Pricing with Unlimited Streaming Is Smarter

For companies, unpredictable expenditure is a red flag. Here’s why fixed CCU pricing is the most business-aligned model:

1. 💳 Financial Approvals & Budgeting

• Finance teams need predictable monthly costs

• You’ll likely need approvals for every new line item

• Minute-based billing is too unpredictable to be approved in most corporate environments

• Enterprise procurement systems often require fixed-cost vendor proposals

  
  

2. 🪄 Agency Billing & Client Management

• Agencies need to quote clients in advance

• If your vendor bills per minute, your margin is at risk

• With fixed CCUs, you can bake in the cost confidently

  
  

3. 🏢 SaaS and Enterprise Use

• If you're embedding pixel streaming into your platform, you need to offer a consistent experience

• You can’t throttle users or show “server busy” messages due to cost fears

• You must support peak hours reliably

  
  
  
  

🌟 Real-World Scenarios

Use Case	Session Duration	Traffic Type	Recommended Model
Internal Team Demos	5–20 min	Predictable	Fixed CCU + Unlimited
B2B Product Configurator	10–40 min	Variable	Fixed CCU + Unlimited
Website Homepage Embed	1–15 min	Unpredictable	Start with Fixed CCU, expand with Burst
Events / Product Launches	5–30 min	Spiky / Viral	Fixed CCU + Temporary Boost
White-Label Platform Offering	10–60 min	Global	Fixed CCU with Usage Dashboard

🚦 Stop Thinking — Start Small, Then Scale

One common pattern we've observed: many users get stuck in the decision phase trying to perfectly calculate how many CCUs they need, endlessly tweaking assumptions, and delaying launch.

Don’t overthink it. Start.

In fact, the users who moved fastest — launching with a minimal number of CCUs and scaling based on real-world demand — were the ones who:

• Got to market earlier

• Optimized their spending

• Built traction quickly

  
  

Pixel streaming is inherently scalable. You don’t need to lock in your entire CCU plan on day one. Begin with what you’re confident in, monitor usage, and expand as needed. Your first decision doesn’t have to be your final one.

✨ Final Thoughts

Whether you’re launching a single app or powering a global virtual platform, planning your CCU needs and pricing model carefully is essential. What works for hobbyists and developers may not work for a team reporting to a CFO or managing client relationships.

Unlimited streaming with predictable CCU pricing offers the flexibility, reliability, and financial control businesses need.

If you’re still unsure, reach out to the Streampixel team for a free consultation. We’ll analyze your expected usage and help you pick the right number.