CALC.POCLAB.COM · LIVESTREAM

Livestream APN vs SASE TCO Video data

Compare a private APN against a SASE/VPN overlay for high-bitrate livestreams (traffic cams, CCTV, body cams, web cameras). Quantify the “tunnel tax” you pay when you encrypt every frame over cellular.

Adjust streams, bitrate, data pricing, and tunnel overhead to see monthly and annual TCO impact across the fleet.

Workload & Pricing Inputs

Describe your livestream fleet and cellular plan.
Streams / cameras Total concurrent livestreams
streams
Video bitrate per stream Average, including peaks
Mbps
Active hours per day Recording / streaming time
hours/day
Days per month Typically 30–31
days/month
Cellular data cost Billed on the link
$ / GiB
APN fee per stream Private APN, per SIM/month
$ / month
SASE / overlay fee per stream SASE/SSE/VPN/ZTNA licenses
$ / month
Overlay overhead Extra bytes from tunnels & crypto
Current estimate: 12% tunnel overhead.
Presets:
  • App-level TLS / SSL-VPN: ~3% (HTTPS / ZTNA connector, no IPsec).
  • IPsec ESP bulk video: ~8% (MTU-sized packets, steady streams).
  • IPsec ESP typical VPN: ~10–15% (NAT-T, mixed traffic).
  • High-overhead: ~18–20% (small packets, stacked encapsulation).
Pick a profile, then fine-tune with the slider if needed.

Model assumption: APN has no additional overlay header on the user-plane traffic; SASE/overlays add encryption/tunnel headers that are fully billable on the cellular link. For IPsec ESP in tunnel mode, use roughly 8–10% overhead for MTU-sized bulk video and 10–15% if you want conservative headroom for “typical” VPN traffic. Start from a preset (App-level TLS, IPsec bulk, IPsec typical, or High) and then use the slider to match your environment.

Payload Volume
–
per stream / month
Fleet: – GiB
Overlay Billed Volume
–
Includes tunnel + crypto overhead
Overhead bytes: – GiB
APN Monthly Cost
$–
Data: $– · APN fees: $–
SASE / Overlay Monthly Cost
$–
Data: $– · Overlay fees: $–
Overhead “Tunnel Tax”
$–
You pay this only on the SASE/overlay path (data spent just on headers).
Per Stream View
$–
Monthly savings per stream (APN vs SASE)
APN cost/stream: $– · SASE cost/stream: $–
Fleet Monthly Delta: $–  ·  Annualized: $–
–

Use this calculator to answer: “What is the cost of putting raw livestream video on SASE/VPN instead of a private APN?” For bulk video, even a 5–10% tunnel overhead becomes a serious recurring line item.