Most of us are concerned with the amount of data we use each month on our phone contracts. But what exactly is data, how much do you need, and how can you bring your data usage under control?
These days, data allowance is the most important component of your mobile contract. Where once it was the number of remaining minutes and texts that had us anxiously checking our plans come the end of the month, it’s now all about the gigabytes.
Just why is that? How much data do you really need? And which activities consume the most data? Read on for the answer to these and many other questions.
What we mean when we talk about data
Put simply, data is the informal name for what your smartphone uses every time you do anything that connects to the internet over a mobile connection. Wi-Fi doesn’t count here.
This can include a wide variety of tasks, including surfing the web, sending messages on WhatsApp, checking your Facebook app, streaming a film or series on Netflix, or playing a move against a friend in your favourite game.
Data is most commonly measured in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB). There are around 1000MB in 1GB (1024 specifically, but companies tend to round down).
Moving down the scale, 1MB is made up of 1024 kilobytes or KB, though you won’t tend to see that smaller unit referenced quite so much on modern mobile contracts and app listings.
How much data goes into my daily activities?
We’ve defined what data is, and how it’s measured. But how much data does it take to do the everyday things we all do on our smartphones?
Here are a few common examples:
Using Facebook
According to Wirefly you’ll use about 1.5MB of data every minute you spend scrolling your news feed and viewing photos on the Facebook app. That translates to 90MB an hour, or around 1GB in 11 hours. That might not sound like much, but if you only spend 20 minutes a day on Facebook you’ll have spent 10 hours on it in a month, and data use almost doubles when viewing videos on Facebook.
Surfing the web
Split 1GB out evenly over a month and it’s 250MB per week, or around 35MB per day. That really isn’t a lot at all, so we’d make this your absolute minimum data allowance unless you’re literally on Wi-Fi all day every day.
To be more precise, 1GB of data will cover at most an hour of web or social media browsing per day, or about 30 minutes of music streaming per day – depending on the quality you choose and the sites you visit you might be looking at less than that.
Streaming music on Spotify
If you streamed an hour or so of music from Spotify in a day, you’d use up between 10MB and 150MB of data depending on the streaming quality you use. With ‘normal’ quality it’s likely to be around 45MB per hour. At that quality you’d be looking at around 1.5GB of data use per month if you streamed music for an hour per day. Figures will vary with different music services, but are likely to be in that ballpark.
Streaming video on Netflix
As with music streaming services, you can choose your video quality (and therefore your data use) when watching content on Netflix. At the low end you can use just 1GB of data every 6 hours, while medium quality will use around 1GB every 4 hours, and high quality shoots up to 3GB or more every hour.
So your data use here can vary wildly depending on how crisp you want the video to be, but for the best quality you’re going to need a very high data allowance if you plan to stream much.
As with other categories, data use will also vary on other video streaming platforms, but as a general rule this is one of the most data-hungry activities you can do with your phone.
How do I pick a suitable data allowance?
With the above information as a rough guide, you should be able to plot out how much data you use in a day, week, and ultimately month.
It’s important to do this sort of calculation because mobile contracts always give you a monthly data allowance, which needs to be rationed over a four-weekly period.
Here’s a rough guide on what you’ll get from some common mobile contract data allowances. We’ve used the stats above coupled withThree’s data-estimation tool as the basis for the following calculations, so do check it according to your specific requirements.
Alternatively, there are similarly useful data calculation tools provided by the likes of Vodafone and GiffGaff.
1GB monthly data allowance
Split 1GB out evenly over a month and it’s 250MB per week, or around 35MB per day. That really isn’t a lot at all, so we’d make this your absolute minimum data allowance unless you’re literally on Wi-Fi all day every day.
To be more precise, 1GB of data will cover at most an hour of web or social media browsing per day, or about 30 minutes of music streaming per day – depending on the quality you choose and the sites you visit you might be looking at less than that.
8GB monthly data allowance
Now we’re starting to get somewhere. On an 8GB mobile data plan allowance, you’ll be able to indulge in around six hours of web browsing per day.
Alternatively, 8GB should be good for around an hour of medium quality Netflix streaming per day, or around 4 hours of music streaming on normal quality. This again can vary dramatically depending on the service you’re using though, so if in doubt check the data use for the specific streaming services you use.
30GB monthly data allowance
So far we’ve discussed practical data usage in individual cases, but in real world use it’s the mixed scenarios that really see it totting up.
For example, according to Three you’d ideally want a 30GB data plan to cover an hour of browsing, 25 emails, an hour of social media usage, an hour of music streaming, and 15 minutes of YouTube video streaming combined per day. In many cases that 30GB would probably go further, but you should be able to manage that at an absolute minimum.
100GB monthly data allowance
Three’s own calculator jumps straight from 30GB to unlimited, which is understandable since once you go above 30GB, data allowances tend to get very high and are close to unlimited anyway.
With 100GB you could manage 33 hours of high quality streamed Netflix content per month, or a wide mix of uses, including more than triple what we’ve listed above in the 30GB category. This should be more than enough for most people, but if that still won’t cut it then an unlimited data plan should be ideal for you, as with that there are no limits.
Tips for conserving data
Here are some practical methods anyone can use to bring their data usage down each month. Do this, and you might be able to lower your data plan and pay less come the end of the month.
Only download and update apps on Wi-Fi
Downloading new apps and app updates can eat a lot of data, particularly when it comes to games. We’d recommend only doing this when you’re connected to Wi-Fi. You should also therefore make sure your phone isn’t set to automatically update apps using mobile data.
To do this, on iOS go to Settings, tap the App Store heading and turn off Use Mobile Data.
On Android go into the Google Play Store, tap your profile picture in the top right corner, then go to Settings, followed by ‘Network preferences’, and make sure ‘Auto update apps’ is set to ‘Over Wi-Fi only’.
Reduce the load from data-heavy apps
The likes of Netflix and Facebook can really run away with your data allowance if you let them. But both have built-in tools to help lessen the impact.
In Netflix, go into the App Settings menu, tap on Mobile Data Usage and change the option to Save Data (or if you only want to stream on Wi-Fi, change it to Wi-Fi Only).. Your videos will look marginally less sharp on the Save Data setting, but you’ll go from using around 1GB every 20 minutes on the top option to just 1GB every six hours.. If you select ‘Automatic’ then you’ll use around 1GB every four hours. This is the equivalent of normal quality.
Video content can be a major data hog in Facebook too, especially when it plays automatically. To disable this, head into the app’s Settings menu, then ‘Media and contacts’ and change the Autoplay setting to On Wi-Fi Connections Only.
Turn mobile data off when not needed
This is a blunt but very easy and effective method. If you’re going into a situation where you don’t need to use any mobile data (going into a film, a meal out, work or school for example), why not turn your mobile data connection off altogether?
You’ll still get your calls and texts through as normal, but none of the apps running in the background will be able to make use of your data allowance.
On iOS, simply head to Settings > Mobile Data, and turn the Mobile Data toggle off. On most Android phones you can swipe down from the top of the screen and hit the mobile data icon to turn it off.
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FAQs
How much data do you really need per month? ›
To ensure you never run out of data, you'll probably need a monthly data allowance of around 20GB.
Is 50GB of data a month enough? ›For the vast majority of phone users, 50GB is more than enough. Take a look at the table below to see how much data you use, on average, for each activity on your smartphone. For reference, a MB is a 'megabyte', and approximately 1,000MB make up one GB.
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 40 GB data enough for a month? ›With your 40GB of data, you'll be able to browse the internet for approximately 480 hours per month, to stream 8,000 songs online or to watch 80 hours of online video in standard definition.
How many GB is normal per month? ›Usually internet providers give you 1 TB (1,000 GB) of data per month, although some providers like Xfinity have been slightly more generous. That's plenty for most people. But exceeding your cap leads to overage fees or throttled speeds.
How many GB does an average person use per month? ›How much mobile data does the average person use? The average person used 5.6GB of data per month in 2021, according to Ofcom's Communications Market Report 2022. That's a 24% increase on the 4.5GB used per month in 2020, which in turns is a 27% increase on the 3.6GB used per month in 2019.
Is 100GB of data a month good? ›100GB is a huge chunk of data to have access to each month. It's widely considered to be as close to an unlimited data plan as you can get without taking that final step.
What happens if you go over 50GB of data? ›After 50GB, you still get unlimited LTE data but may at times notice reduced speeds in areas with network congestion.
Is 5GB a lot of data for a month? ›How much is 5GB of data? 5GB of data is a difficult one to place - for the average user (defined by Ofcom's 2021 report), it's not too much and it's not too little. Yet, based on the number of plans out there, 5GB is still considered to be a smaller plan with less gigabytes to offer.
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.
How long should 1GB data last? ›
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.
Is 50 GB enough for Netflix? ›Streaming Netflix uses approximately 1GB/hour (SD), meaning you can binge an entire season of Netflix's Narcos Mexico on your phone five times in a row without exceeding 50GB of mobile data.
Is unlimited data really unlimited? ›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.
Is 100 GB enough for Netflix? ›As with many things, this varies by app, but let's use Netflix as an example. On the highest quality setting that can use 1GB of data or more every 20 minutes – so at least 3GB per hour. That means that you could watch at most around 33 hours of content with 100GB of data.
How much GB do you really need? ›If you play a lot of mobile games and/or take a lot of high-res photos, you'll want at least 128GB. However, if you don't use many apps and stream most of your content (like movies and music), you'll probably be fine with 64GB.
How many GB do I really need? ›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 25 GB data enough for a month? ›With 25GB of data, you could stream audio for a very long time each month, though it's unlikely you'd find time to listen to 578 hours of music! Needless to say, you would have more than enough data to browse the internet and social media. You'd also have plenty of room to watch videos too.
Is 200 GB internet enough for Netflix? ›200 Mbps is enough for the majority of households, presuming 2–4 users with regular habits like Facebook, Netflix, and the occasional video calls. 200 Mbps is sufficient for 4K streaming, but may cause issues if you attempt to stream to multiple devices at the same time over WiFi.
How long will 5gb of data last on Netflix? ›Netflix offers 4 mobile data usage settings: Automatic: The Netflix app selects a setting that balances data usage and video quality. You can watch about 4 hours per GB of data.
How many GB do I need to stream 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.
How long will 100GB of data last watching Netflix? ›
High definition (HD) streaming uses 2.5GB per hour. 100GB gives you 40 hours of HD streaming. 4K Ultra HD streaming uses about 6GB per hour. 100GB gives you 16 hours of 4K streaming.
How long will 100GB data last me? ›A 100GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 1200 hours, to stream 20,000 songs or to watch 200 hours of standard-definition video. Nowadays, the key difference between mobile phone price plans is how many gigabytes of data it comes with.
How much data is considered unlimited? ›What does unlimited data mean? Unlimited data is exactly what the name suggests, a mobile plan that offers you no cap on data usage. It means you don't have to worry about going over your limit and spending more each month and gives you the freedom to use as little or as much data as you like.
What happens if you use too much unlimited data? ›Using too much data
Doing things on the internet uses up data. Activities such as watching movies or TV use a lot of data, and basic web pages that just have text and a few images use less. If you use more data than your plan allows, you might have to pay more, or your internet service might be slowed down.
Often, even if you have an unlimited data plan, your data has a limit beyond which the speed will slow down. Check with your mobile data provider if you're unsure what your limit is. If you have reached your limit, you may have to wait for the start of the next billing cycle for your data to speed back up.
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.
Is 8GB of data a month enough? ›As you can see, 8GB is plenty for an average mobile user. It could be the most ideal mobile data plan for you if: You enjoy streaming audio content on the go. You watch video content on mobile data sparingly throughout the month.
How much monthly data do I need for 5G? ›So how much should you be looking to spend on your 5G data today? Based on those aforementioned stats and projections, if you were starting a 24-month 5G contract in 2022, you would ideally want at least 25GB of data allowance each month – though of course that may vary based on your own data needs.
How many GB is 2 hour movie? ›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.
Here's a quick breakdown of the numbers when it comes to streaming data usage: 1 GB per hour in standard definition (SD) 3 GB per hour in high definition (HD) 7 GB per hour in 4K Ultra HD (UHD)
How long does 10GB of hotspot last for movies? ›
A 10GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 120 hours, to stream 2,000 songs or to watch 20 hours of standard-definition video.
Is 2GB data enough for a week? ›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.
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 will 3GB of data get me? ›How much is 3GB of data? This amount of data lets you send or receive about 12,000 emails with standard sized attachments. Or in terms of browsing online, you'll get about is 60 hours' worth. Here are some guidelines based on average use — your actual usage may be slightly higher or less.
Do text messages use data? ›You can send and receive text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messages through the Messages app . Messages are considered texts and don't count toward your data usage. Your data usage is also free when you turn on chat features.
Do you still use data while on Wi-Fi? ›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.
How do I find out what is draining my data? ›Limit background data
Find out what apps and services are using cellular data and make any necessary changes. In iOS 14, this is located under Settings > Cellular or Mobile data, and in Android 10, under Settings > Network & Internet > Data Usage or Settings > Connections > Data Usage on a Samsung.
A 50GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 600 hours, to stream 10,000 songs or to watch 100 hours of standard-definition video.
How many movies can I stream with 50GB? ›With these estimates, if you have 50 GB of data, streaming Netflix on a high-quality standard definition setting at 1 GB an hour could give around 50 hours of streaming on one device or 25 hours of streaming for two devices.
How much data does streaming TV use monthly? ›Standard definition uses up to 0.3 GB per hour. High definition (720p) uses up to 1 GB per hour. Full HD (1080p) uses up to 3 GB per hour. UHD (4K) uses up to 7 GB per hour.
Does unlimited data get worse the more you use it? ›
Many unlimited data plans have restrictions on the amount of high-speed data you can use each month. Once you use more data than the cap the plan stipulates, your carrier can significantly slow down your data, according to CNBC.
Does unlimited data cost more the more you use it? ›Just because you're on an unlimited data plan doesn't mean you won't see an increase in charges. Every contract contains a clause giving the carrier the ability to adjust rates based on a reevaluation of usage patterns. So, even unlimited plans have their limits. Usage profiles matter.
Can you run out of hotspot if you have unlimited data? ›Even on cell phone plans with unlimited data, there will be a cap for how much data you can use as a mobile hotspot. Once you reach that limit, the data will be deprioritized, which basically means your data speed will slow way down until your limit starts over the following month.
How long does 50 GB of data last? ›Time duration with 50GB*
As you can see, 50GB of data would allow you to browse the internet for 833 hours, which exceeds how many hours are in a month. Similarly, you would be able to use social media without an internet connection for almost the entire month before your data ran out.
Streaming in standard definition will give you around 140 hours per month with 100 GB. While that's almost 5 hours a day, it's possible to reach the limit if you have multiple people in your household streaming content regularly.
Is 100GB data enough for 1 month? ›Your data should normally refresh every month or 30 days, so theoretically you have an average of 720 hours to fill a month. 100GB can last almost non-stop for the entire month, so you'd never have to connect to Wi-Fi if you didn't want to.
Is 1.2 TB of data enough for a month? ›What can I do with 1.2 terabytes of data in a month? With that much data, you can video conference for 3,500 hours, watch 1,200 hours of distance learning videos, stream 500 hours of high-definition video content a month, or play more than 34,000 hours of online games.
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 long will 30 GB of data last? ›How long does 30GB of data last? For most people, 30GB of data will be more than enough to last for an entire month's allowance. When you're out and about, your phone needs to consume data to complete tasks you ask of it, such as browsing the internet or watching videos.
How many hours of streaming is 1tb? ›You would have to stream around 171 hours of 4K video monthly to reach 1 TB of data. That's equivalent to you streaming 6 hours of 4K video daily for a month. If you worry about data usage, take steps to manage it proactively.
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.