Contents list
- Introduction
- How long does 2GB of data last?
- 2GB of Data: how many hours will it last?
- How can I track myData Use?
- Can I reduce my data use?
- Should You Have More than 2GB of Data?
- Exclusive deals and alternatives to a 2GB data plan
Introduction
The amount you pay for your contract phone or pay-monthly SIM will often depend on several factors, including which provider you choose and how much data you use. We use data for everything from sending messages via internet-connected apps like WhatsApp, to browsing on social media platforms and watching online videos.
Years ago, 2GB of data might have sounded like a hefty sum. But in today’s world, it’s easy to drain 2GB from your account within a matter of hours.
So, how much can you do with 2GB of data? Is a 2GB data plan suitable for your phone needs, or do you need to choose a larger, more extensive plan? Let’s find out.
How Long Does 2GB of Data Last?
In simple terms, 2GB of data is 2,000MB of data. If that doesn’t make things any clearer, let’s put it this way. 2GB of data will allow you to browse the internet for approximately 24 hours, depending on what you’re going to be doing online.
Here are some more examples to help you make sense of how long 2GB of data can last.
Audio Data
Songs Streamed on Spotify | |
---|---|
2GB of data | 270 x 3 minute tracks |
The average song streamed through an app like Spotify at a quality of approximately 320kbps will require 2.4MB per minute. This means the average song, lasting 3 minutes, will use around 7.2MB of data. This means you can stream around 270 3-minute tracks on Spotify with 2MB. The amount of data you’ll use will depend on the quality of the music, for instance:24kbps: 10.8MB per hour, 96kbps: 43.2MB per hour, 160kbps: 7.2MB per hour, 320kbps: 144MB per hour.
Video Data
Netflix Video Streaming (on phone) | |
---|---|
2GB of data | Stream around 6 Netflix films |
The amount of data you’ll use streaming video to your phone will depend on what kind of application you’re using, as well as the quality of the video file.
Netflix claims you can stream about 8 hours of content (around four films) with 2GB of data if you’re watching the content using the “Automatic” quality setting. However, you can switch to “Data Save” mode to increase your streaming length up to around 12 hours. If you switch to the HD version of Netflix, you’ll be using around 3GB of data per hour.
The higher the quality of your stream, the more data you’ll need to use. Notably, these figures apply only to the mobile app for Netflix, the desktop or TV version will have different data usage figures.
On YouTube, you should be able to watch around 4 hours of online content in standard definition. YouTube users around 2.7GB of data per hour in 4K, or 1.56GB per hour in 1080p.
Social Media Data
Social Media Use Examples for 2GB Data | |
---|---|
WhatsApp Video Calls | Three hours of video chat tome |
Apple FaceTime Video Calls | Four hours of video chat time |
Photos on WhatsApp | Send arpond 1000 photos |
Moving over to social media, the amount of data you use will depend on what you’re going to be doing on your social media platform. If you’re simply browsing through social media channels like Facebook or Instagram, you’ll use 90MB per hour on scrolling alone.
If you’re interacting with social media content, such as liking posts, commenting, or sending direct messages, this will increase to around 156MB of data per hour.
If you’re using Facetime, Skype, or WhatsApp to interact with people through social media video, the amount of data you’ll use will increase again. WhatsApp uses around 300MB of data per hour, while Skype uses around 270MB of data. 2GB of data will therefore get you around 6 hours of video time.
Apple’s Facetime application is slightly more efficient, using around 180MB per hour, depending on your settings. If you’re sending images through an app like WhatsApp, you’ll usually be able to send around 2,000 photos before you run out of data. This is typically the case when images are limited to a 16MB file size. You can also switch to “Data Saver” mode to reduce your data usage.
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2GB of Data: how many hours will it Last?
How Many Hours Will 2GB Last | |
---|---|
Internet browsing | 33 hours |
Music listening | Between 13 and 185 hours (depending on quality) |
Watching video | Between 0.66 hours and 2 hours (depending on your video app and the video quality) |
Browsing social media | 22 hours (Scrolling) or 12 hours (interacting) |
Using Facetime, WhatsApp, or Skype | 7-11 hours |
Once again, the number of hours your 2GB of data will last will depend on how you’re using your device. On average, these are the kind of hours you can expect as listed above.Is 2GB of Data Enough for the Average Person?
A few years ago, 2GB was a popular data option for countless mobile device users. However, according to Ofcom’s report in 2021, most consumers are purchasing at least double this amount via their monthly plans.
The average person uses a significant amount of data, depending on their specific needs. Three found that customers use about 19GB of data a month. However, a report from Ericsson suggests the average data use is around 10GB per month for most users.
Whether you need a higher or lower amount of data will depend on the things you use your phone for. However, if you’re going to be using social media, face time, and listening to music or watching videos, it’s likely you’ll need around 15GB per month.
How Can I Track My Data Use?
If you’re not sure whether 2GB of data is enough for you, it can help to get an insight into how much data you’re typically using on your device today. This is relatively easy to do.
If you have an Android smartphone, you can go into the “Settings” section, then click on “More Network Settings”. Here, click on the “Data usage” option. Click to see how much data you’ve used during the last month. You’ll also be able to set a data limit and establish alerts to let you know if you’re using too much data.
If you have an iOS smartphone, go into the “Settings” page, and click on “Mobile Data”. You should once again be able to check your data usage and set limits. In some cases, your mobile network will allow you to track your data using either an app on your phone or your online account.
Can I Reduce my Data Use?
If you want to avoid paying for more than 2GB of data, then you may need to look for ways of cutting down your average use. Tracking how much data you regularly use should be able to help with this.
You can also connect your phone to a Wi-Fi spot whenever possible, as this will prevent you from leveraging data from your mobile network.
Another option is to go into the apps you use regularly, and check the settings for data usage. Some tools, specifically those for audio and video streaming, will allow you to switch to “data saver” mode. You can also cut down on the quality of the video or music tracks you access to reduce your data use.
If you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network and you want to access certain files later, you can also consider seeing whether you can download the content so you can view it “offline” without accessing any data allowance limits.
Should You Have More than 2GB of Data?
Today, 2GB of data is generally best suited to people who only use their phone for a handful of things, like browsing the internet, but not watching HD videos. In most cases, 2GB simply won’t be enough data to share a lot of images over social media, or listen to music online.
It might be worth looking for a deal with a provider which allows you to adjust your data allowance according to your needs on a monthly basis.
Exclusive SIM only Deals and Alternatives to 2GB
If you want to find the best SIM deals for any amount of data, 5G.co.uk has a number of exclusive SIM only deals available to offer. You might even find a higher data plan which won’t cost you nearly as much as you’d think.
Options are available for everything from 2GB of data, to unlimited data options.
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FAQs
How long does 2GB of data last on average? ›
Browsing the net with 2GB will last for around 33 hours. So you could browse for around one hour per day before reaching your limit. Similarly, you could use social media for less than an hour each day.
How many GB of data do you really need? ›Most people need around 600 GB of data per month for their home internet connection. That gives you enough data to stream movies, play online games, and participate in video conferencing calls.
Is 1 GB of data enough for a month? ›How much is 1GB of data? Ofcom's 2021 report states that phone users (on average) opt for 4.5GB of mobile data for the month. In comparison, a 1GB bundle is a fair bit below average. This is a reflection of how much data we use these days - 1GB simply isn't enough for most!
Is 2GB of data enough for a month? ›2GB of data (or 2000MB) a month is a plan aimed at those who don't use mobile data often, but is enough to browse the web for around 80 minutes a day, or use social media apps for at least around 40 minutes per day. However, it is not suitable for those who stream lots of movies, or want to watch a lot of other videos.
What happens when you go over 2 GB of data? ›If you go over your data allowance for your home internet, your internet speed will slow down. This is true. You won't get an automatic top-up for your home internet, but you will be left with a very slow internet connection until your next payment month.
How many GB is normal per month? ›On average, U.S. wireless customers consume 1.8 GB of cellular data every month.
How many GB of data per month is good? ›People who infrequently use their cell phones on the go can get by with 2–3GB for email or occasional social media posts. Power users who are always connected and sending messages or watching videos will want to consider plans with 10GB of data or more.
How much is 2GB data on cell phone? ›A 2GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 24 hours, to stream 400 songs or to watch 4 hours of standard-definition video. Nowadays, the key difference between mobile phone price plans is how many gigabytes of data it comes with.
What eats up a lot of data? ›Activities that use a lot of data
Video conferencing, like FaceTime® and Skype® (480MB per hour) Standard-definition video streaming (240MB per hour) Online interactive gaming (60MB per hour) Streaming music (30MB per hour)
What uses the most data on your mobile device? Streaming HD video content is by far the biggest perpetrator when it comes to draining your monthly mobile data allowance, however it's the combination of everything you do your mobile device which adds up to your overall data threshold.
What uses the most data on a cell phone? ›
Apps. Apps are likely the biggest data users on your phone. Anything that needs to connect to the Web to update, refresh, or download will use cell data. This means all your social media and streaming apps, from Facebook to Twitter, Spotify to Netflix, will quietly eat up your data.
How many hours does it take to use 1GB of data? ›A 1GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 12 hours, to stream 200 songs or to watch 2 hours of standard-definition video. Nowadays, the key difference between mobile phone price plans is how many gigabytes of data it comes with.
How long should a GB of data last? ›GB is short for Gigabyte - and is equivalent to 1024 megabytes (MB) or 1,048,576 kilobytes (KB). As a rough guide, 1GB of data would let you do one of the following: Watch one hour and 20 minutes of video at Standard Definition. Stream roughly eight hours of high quality music (320kbps)
Do I need 2gb internet? ›Do I need the extra speed? For most households or small businesses, the answer is most likely no. You simply do not have enough devices using the internet at the same time that will consume that much bandwidth. Look at how many devices you have and look at the above example to see it the upgrade makes sense.
How much data do you actually need a month? ›To ensure you never run out of data, you'll probably need a monthly data allowance of around 20GB.
How much is unlimited data? ›Carrier | Unlimited data monthly cost | Data limit |
---|---|---|
AT&T Unlimited &More | $70 | 22GB/month |
Verizon "gounlimited" | $75 | none |
T-Mobile One Plus | $80 | 50GB/month |
AT&T Unlimited &More Premium | $80 | 22GB/month |
In legal terms, cellular unlimited means any connection to the internet but not at any specific speed. Unlimited to a customer buying a data plan means they can get consistently fast internet connection speeds for as long as they want, and for whatever internet activity that they want to use it for.
Are texts considered data? ›Text messages use your data connection, however, the amount of data usage is significantly less than that of a voice call. The voice calls are made over your data connection and consume 6 kilobytes per second. Another way to look at it is 1MB for a 3-minute call.
What happens when your phone runs out of data? ›Generally speaking, two things can happen when you reach your data cap: Your data speeds will temporarily be slowed until the next billing cycle. Your data will be cut off and you won't have access to data until the next month.
Do you get charged if you go over your data? ›In most cases, you will be charged overage fees every month that you go over your data limit and the charges must be paid when your bill is issued. There is no limit on the overage charges your ISP can charge you if they do in fact charge overage fees.
How many GB does the average person use per month on their phone? ›
For the average data user, your usage will sit anywhere from 10GB to 40GB per month. You're probably an avid social media user, music and video streamer, and use your phone regularly while out of the house or away from a WiFi connection.
How much data does the average mobile use per month? ›In 2021, the average data used per smartphone per month worldwide amounted to 11.4 gigabytes (GB). The source forecasts that this will increase almost four times reaching 41 GB per smartphone per month globally in 2027.
How much does data cost on your phone? ›...
Characteristic | Average price per cellular gigabyte in U.S. dollars |
---|---|
2021 | 3.39 |
2020 | 3.76 |
2019 | 4.18 |
2018 | 4.64 |
Data usage is how much data your phone uploads or downloads using mobile data. To make sure that you're not using too much data on your data plan, you can check and change your data usage.
Why is my phone using data when I'm not on it? ›Mobile data is used in the background by some apps. If you keep it turned on, it will still be consuming your allowance even if you're not actively doing anything on your phone. Things get worse if you allow your apps to update using data.
Is it possible to use 5GB of data in a day? ›How many hours will 5GB of data last for? Theoretically, you could browse the internet for eight whole days without stopping before hitting your 5GB limit! In a more practical example, you could browse for a couple of hours every few days for the entire month.
Is 2GB enough on a mobile? ›For Android users, 2GB RAM may pose some concerns if you want to do more than browse or watch videos. Sometimes you may even experience OS-related slowdowns while completing typical daily tasks. Android 13, the latest Android version at the time of writing, requires at least 2GB RAM and 16GB storage.
What is the cost of 2GB per day? ›Here's a list of VI 2 GB+ Per Day Plans with offers along with prices ranging from Rs. 1066 to Rs. 901. We have found 660 plans across 23 regions, updated on 12th February, 2023.
How much is 2GB of 5g data? ›With 2GB (2000MB) of data, you could browse the web, use social media, and check your email for 20 hours or so. Spread over a month, that's really not that much. You could also stream around 20 hours of music, using services like Spotify or Apple Music.
Does using Wi-Fi use data? ›A Wi-Fi connection lets you connect to the Internet without using any cellular data at all. While connected to Wi-Fi, you can also download videos, TV shows, or movies to your phone or SD card to watch anytime at your convenience, with no data required.
What to do when too much data left? ›
- As the clock ticks and you approach the end of the billing cycle, so do your leftover unthrottled Internet data. ...
- #1: Download favorite shows. ...
- #2: Learn something new. ...
- #3: Get organized. ...
- #4: Keep your personal and professional life up-to-date.
- Connect to WiFi whenever possible.
- Turn off Wi-Fi Assist or Smart Network Switch.
- Limit monthly data usage (Android)
- Watch your monthly data (iOS)
- Update apps over WiFi only.
- Disable app data in the background.
- Upgrade your data plan.
It's worth knowing that despite your best efforts, some apps continue to use data in the background even while you don't have them open. There are many Android apps that, without your knowledge, will go ahead and connect to your cellular network even when the app is closed.
How many GB should you use on your phone? ›Overall, for most casual smartphone users 64GB phone memory is enough, although many people prefer to choose between 128GB and 256GB. Those who use their mobile phone to the absolute maximum should consider phones with storage of 512GB and 1TB to avoid running out of storage space and suffering with a slow phone speed.
Is 1gb data enough for 7 days? ›Exactly how quickly you'll burn through it will depend on what you're doing on your phone, with it lasting roughly an hour and a half if you're streaming standard-definition video, around eight hours if you're streaming music, through to several weeks if you're only sending and receiving basic emails.
Is 10GB a lot of data for a month? ›How much is 10GB of data? According to Ofcom, the average person uses around 2.9GB of data per month, a statistic which is rising each year with the evolution of technology. That means 10GB is most likely more than enough for the average phone user.
Is 3GB enough for a month? ›With your 3GB of data, you'll be able to browse the internet for approximately 36 hours per month, to stream 600 songs online or to watch 6 hours of online video in standard definition.
What is the benefit of 2gb internet? ›One of the advantages of 2 Gig is that everyone in your household can do what they want at the same time—whether that's playing a video game, video chatting, or streaming their favorite show—and still enjoy fast speeds, even in a larger household with more advanced devices, and heavier internet use.
Is 2 GB of internet fast? ›2 Gig internet is so fast, you can't just plug a cable into your router and expect to get the best speeds. If you want the fastest internet around, you have to configure your home network, update your devices and make sure everything is compatible. Let's look at how to make the most of a 2 Gig connection.
How long should a 2gb download take? ›Download size | Download time at 50 mbps (~6 MB/s) | Download time at 1 gbps (~120 MB/s) |
---|---|---|
2 GB | 6 minutes | 17 seconds |
20 GB | 57 minutes | 3 seconds |
200 GB | 9 hours 33 minutes | 29 minutes |
1 TB | 48 hours 52 minutes | 2 hours 27 minutes |
How much data is used for 2 hours? ›
Streaming 2 hours of music daily would use about 3 GB of data each month. General Internet browsing, accessing Google Classroom, and playing online games uses between 60-150 MB per hour. Streaming Netflix for just one hour would use about 3GB of data in just that time alone.
How many GB of data does a 2 hour movie use? ›Streaming Movies or TV
A 1080p HD 60 fps 2-hour movie averages 6 GB in file size. A 1080p HD 30 fps 2-hour movie averages 3 GB in file size. A 720p HD 2-hour movie averages 2 GB in file size. A Standard Definition (SD) 2-hour movie averages 1 GB in file size.
On average, Google Maps uses around 2.19MB of data for every hour you're on the road. For comparison, Spotify uses the same amount of data to play a three-minute song. If you have a 1GB data cap, it would take you over 457 hours of driving with Google Maps to reach your limit.
How many minutes is 1GB of data? ›How much is 1GB of data? GB is short for Gigabyte - and is equivalent to 1024 megabytes (MB) or 1,048,576 kilobytes (KB). As a rough guide, 1GB of data would let you do one of the following: Watch one hour and 20 minutes of video at Standard Definition.
What uses the most data on cell phone? ›Apps. Apps are likely the biggest data users on your phone. Anything that needs to connect to the Web to update, refresh, or download will use cell data. This means all your social media and streaming apps, from Facebook to Twitter, Spotify to Netflix, will quietly eat up your data.
What uses the most data per hour? ›- High definition video streaming (900MB per hour)
- Video conferencing, like FaceTime® and Skype® (480MB per hour)
- Standard-definition video streaming (240MB per hour)
- Online interactive gaming (60MB per hour)
- Streaming music (30MB per hour)
- Downloading movies and large data files.
An average internet user in America consumed 154.6 GB of fixed and mobile data per month in 2021. Average internet user in America, 2021 data: The average fixed broadband data usage per person is 149 GB per month (home network, Wi-Fi). The average mobile user data usage is 5.6 GB per month.
Does streaming TV use a lot of data? ›According to Netflix, you use about 1GB of data per hour for streaming a TV show or movie in standard definition and up to 3GB of data per hour when streaming HD video.
How much data does it take to watch TV? ›Live TV streaming uses about 1.4 GB per hour of HD video. That's more than double the amount of data that streaming movies or music videos use. So, if you're streaming live TV, you can expect to use about 2.8 GB of data per hour.
Can I use Google Maps without using data? ›Use offline maps
After you download an area, use the Google Maps app just like you normally would. If your internet connection is slow or absent, your offline maps will guide you to your destination as long as the entire route is within the offline map.
Does using Google Maps use your data? ›
Does Google Maps use a lot of data? The good news is Google Maps actually uses significantly less mobile data than some of the other apps you probably open every day. It's estimated that Google Maps eats up about 3 – 5 MB of data per hour of use.
Do you need data to use Google Maps? ›If you're going somewhere where the Internet is slow, mobile data is expensive or you can't get online, you can save an area from Google Maps to your phone or tablet and use it when you're offline.