How much mobile data do I need?

The short answer is that you need as much data as you typically use in a month – no more, no less. But it’s not always easy to know in advance. Here you can use our quick data calculator to estimate the number of gigabytes (GB) you may need. You can also read about how much data different apps and services use and what you can do to save on data usage.

Calculate how much data you need

Choose data based on your average usage

How much data you should choose for your SIM only, pay as you go SIM or mobile broadband depends on what you use the internet for and how often you use it. Take some time to review your actual data usage, either directly on your mobile, on your recent bills or via your account on the provider’s website, to guide your decision on the amount of data you need. This simple research can save you a considerable amount of money. 

If you purchase more data than you use, you’ll incur unnecessarily high monthly costs, and if you buy too little and frequently need to top up with extra data, you will rack up additional charges.

Low, medium and heavy data user: Which one are you?

Low data user

• You occasionally browse the internet and check your emails.
• You regularly check your Facebook or X account.
• You don’t usually play many online games and you also don’t download music directly to your phone.
• You might chat online occasionally and watch a funny video clip now and then.
• You rarely use the internet for more than an hour a day.

Medium data user

• You download emails to your phone every day, for example via Gmail.
• You use a fair amount of data browsing the web and download a few games or apps each month.
• You watch videos on platforms like YouTube quite frequently and you also tend to download a few songs from time to time.

Heavy data user

• You regularly use various streaming services, such as Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify in high definition.
• You rely on mobile data for video calls (Zoom/Teams/WhatsApp).
• You rely on mobile data both to work and to communicate with family and friends.
• You potentially use your phone as a personal hotspot for other devices.

When should you choose unlimited data?

Unlimited data can be a cost-effective option for users who require large amounts of data each month. Then you never have to worry about your data suddenly running out. A SIM only plan with unlimited data can also be a smart solution if you don’t have fixed broadband at home, and will use your SIM only or mobile broadband as your sole internet connection. 

Something to consider is that while most UK providers offer “true” unlimited data, some may still have a Fair Usage Policy (FUP), particularly when roaming in the EU or using your phone as a permanent home broadband replacement. Always check the small print if you plan to use hundreds of gigabytes per month. 

What is the data allowance sufficient for?

You might be aware that data is measured in megabytes or gigabytes, but it can still be a bit tricky to know how far, for example, 1 GB of data will take you. In the table below, you can see approximately what 1 GB of data equates to in actual internet activities.

How much data popular apps and services use

Facebook

Facebook consumes approximately 80 MB (megabytes) per hour, but the usage increases significantly if you regularly watch video clips. So if you want to avoid your data usage skyrocketing, curtailing the number of videos you watch is a good idea. 

Instagram

Instagram has not announced how much data the app consumes, but several different companies have conducted measurements showing that it can use up to 400 MB in an hour. This means that the data usage amounts to approximately 12 GB per month if you use the app for one hour a day.

TikTok

As one might expect, TikTok consumes a significant amount of data. The advantage of the app, however, is that there is an option to activate a ‘savings mode’, which makes it possible to more than halve data usage. In economy mode, data consumption is 360 MB per hour, and in normal mode, it’s approximately 840 MB.

Snapchat

Without video and filters, a snap uses about 1 MB of data, but adding video and filters increases the consumption. But just like TikTok, Snapchat offers the option to reduce usage through the ‘Data Saver’ setting. Once you have enabled Data Saver, you can only download snaps and stories when using mobile data.

Adjust Data Saver on an iOS device

1. Tap the settings cog in your Snapchat profile.
2. Open Settings.
3. Select Manage under Additional services.
4. Toggle Data Saver on or off.

Adjust Data Saver on an Android device

1. Click on the cogwheel on your Snapchat profile.
2. Open Settings.
3. Scroll down and select Data Saver.
4. Tap on or off Data Saver.

Spotify

Music streaming on Spotify uses approximately 150 MB per hour on high-quality settings, which means you can listen for around 6.5 hours with 1 GB of data  The exact amount of data consumed can, however, vary slightly depending on the sound quality.

YouTube

Data consumption on YouTube varies significantly depending on your video quality settings, which you can manually adjust within the app. With 5G speeds, your device may default to higher resolutions, so it’s worth keeping an eye on your settings.

The table below shows approximately how much data is used by different video qualities per hour.

Netflix

No matter which service you use, streaming films and series consumes a significant amount of data, but the amount varies across all of the services depending on the video settings. On Netflix, you can expect a consumption of approximately 300 MB per hour at the lowest possible quality, while streaming in UHD quality (the highest possible) uses about 7 GB.

Google Maps

Since different features in Google Maps consume varying amounts of data, the usage depends on which features you use and how often you use them. But according to various sources, the average is about 5 MB per hour during active use.

However, there are several options to keep data usage low in Google Maps, such as only using satellite view when you really need it and downloading maps you use regularly for offline use. There is also the option to adjust data usage settings in the app. You can also, for example, reduce map quality and disable automatic updates.

WhatsApp, FaceTime and Teams 

Apps like WhatsApp, FaceTime, and Microsoft Teams have replaced traditional calling for many. A standard video call uses about 250 MB per hour, but if you switch to High Definition (HD), this can easily jump to 1.2 GB or more per hour.

How much data does a film consume?

Whether you’re watching films or series on your mobile, data usage depends on the selected quality level. The higher the quality you stream in, the more data you use. It doesn’t really matter which streaming service you use – watching a film in the lowest quality consumes about 300 MB/hour and in medium quality about 700 MB/hour. Choosing HD or UHD resolution consumes approximately 3 and 7 GB per hour, respectively.

How to save on data

• Choose a plan that lets you save unused data.
• Get to know your apps and how much data they consume.
• Adjust the audio and video quality in your apps, and also modify the settings for automatic video playback.
• Close apps and websites when you’re not using them.
• Connect to Wi-Fi whenever possible for free data (however, be cautious with public networks and only connect if you know they are secure).
• Enable Low Data Mode (iOS) or Data Saver (Android) in your phone’s system settings to automatically restrict background data.
• Turn off Wi-Fi Assist (iOS) or Network Acceleration (Android), which uses mobile data to ‘boost’ a weak Wi-Fi signal without you noticing.