How much data do I need?
Set how many hours a day you'll spend on each activity. Every per-hour figure is shown and editable — change any you disagree with.
Start from a typical day
| Activity | Hours a day | MB per hour | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maps and navigationEstimate. Satellite view uses more; offline maps use none. | 10 MB | ||
| Messaging (text and photos)Estimate. Sending videos uses much more. | 20 MB | ||
| Web browsingEstimate. Varies with how image-heavy pages are. | 60 MB | ||
| Social media with videoEstimate. Autoplaying video is the main driver. | 250 MB | ||
| App voice callsEstimate for WhatsApp-style calls. | 0 MB | ||
| Video callsEstimate. Group and HD calls use more. | 0 MB | ||
| Music streamingArithmetic: 160 kbps × 3,600 s ÷ 8 = 72 MB. | 0 MB | ||
| Video streaming (standard definition)Netflix: up to 1 GB per hour in SD (up to 3 GB in HD). | 0 MB | ||
| Laptop via hotspotEstimate. Background updates and cloud sync can add a lot. | 0 MB |
About these numbers
Most figures are our working estimates for typical app settings, labelled “Estimate”. Video streaming uses Netflix's published figure, and music streaming is plain arithmetic from the bitrate. Real use depends on app settings, image quality and the network, which is why there's a safety margin.
The biggest swing factors are video and hotspot use. If you'll do either for more than an hour a day, an unlimited plan is often simpler — but read how unlimited plans limit speed and hotspot use.
Sources
Official = regulator or manufacturer. Provider = the seller's own page. Secondary = press or independent guides, used only where no official source was available.
- OfficialNetflix Help Center — how to control how much data Netflix uses (opens in a new tab)accessed 2026-10-15