OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Data Usage Calculator
How Much Data Streaming, Calls and Browsing Use
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How the Data Usage Calculator works
This data usage calculator estimates how much data an activity uses per hour, per day and over a month. Pick streaming, music, a video call, gaming or browsing, or enter your own bitrate, then set the hours a day and the number of days. It helps size a mobile plan or explain a broadband cap.
Every stream or call runs at a bitrate, a number of megabits each second. Multiply that by time and you have the data used. The bitrates here are typical figures for each service at its usual quality; your app's settings can push them up or down, so use the custom option when you know the real number.
How the data usage calculator works
The formula turns megabits per second into gigabytes per hour: GB per hour = Mbps × 3,600 ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000. Dividing by 8 turns bits into bytes and dividing by 1,000 turns megabytes into gigabytes. The hourly figure is then multiplied by hours per day and by the number of days. Results under 1 GB are shown in megabytes.
First example. HD video at 5 Mbps uses 5 × 3,600 ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000 = 2.25 GB per hour. Three hours a night is 6.75 GB a day, and over 30 days that is 202.5 GB, more than most mobile plans allow.
Second example. A 720p video call at 1.2 Mbps uses 540 MB per hour. One hour of calls on each of 22 working days comes to 11.88 GB a month.
How many GB a month do I need? Add up the activities. Browsing and music rarely pass 10 GB a month on their own; video is what fills a plan, and 4K uses about 6.75 GB every hour.
Data used per hour, per day at 2 hours and per 30 days at 2 hours, by bitrate
| Bitrate | Per hour | 2 hours a day | 30 days at 2 h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.064 Mbps | 29 MB | 58 MB | 1.73 GB |
| 0.096 Mbps | 43 MB | 86 MB | 2.59 GB |
| 0.128 Mbps | 58 MB | 115 MB | 3.46 GB |
| 0.16 Mbps | 72 MB | 144 MB | 4.32 GB |
| 0.256 Mbps | 115 MB | 230 MB | 6.91 GB |
| 0.32 Mbps | 144 MB | 288 MB | 8.64 GB |
| 0.5 Mbps | 225 MB | 450 MB | 13.5 GB |
| 0.75 Mbps | 338 MB | 675 MB | 20.25 GB |
| 1 Mbps | 450 MB | 900 MB | 27 GB |
| 1.5 Mbps | 675 MB | 1.35 GB | 40.5 GB |
| 2 Mbps | 900 MB | 1.8 GB | 54 GB |
| 2.5 Mbps | 1.13 GB | 2.25 GB | 67.5 GB |
| 3 Mbps | 1.35 GB | 2.7 GB | 81 GB |
| 4 Mbps | 1.8 GB | 3.6 GB | 108 GB |
| 5 Mbps | 2.25 GB | 4.5 GB | 135 GB |
| 6 Mbps | 2.7 GB | 5.4 GB | 162 GB |
| 8 Mbps | 3.6 GB | 7.2 GB | 216 GB |
| 10 Mbps | 4.5 GB | 9 GB | 270 GB |
| 12 Mbps | 5.4 GB | 10.8 GB | 324 GB |
| 15 Mbps | 6.75 GB | 13.5 GB | 405 GB |
| 20 Mbps | 9 GB | 18 GB | 540 GB |
| 25 Mbps | 11.25 GB | 22.5 GB | 675 GB |
| 40 Mbps | 18 GB | 36 GB | 1,080 GB |
| 50 Mbps | 22.5 GB | 45 GB | 1,350 GB |
Tips and pitfalls
- Streaming apps adapt. Netflix, YouTube and others drop quality on slow or metered connections, so real use is often below the HD figure on mobile.
- Data saver settings help most. Capping video at 480p on mobile cuts use by about two thirds with little loss on a phone screen.
- Uploads count too. A video call sends as well as receives, so a two-way call uses roughly the figure shown in each direction on some plans.
- Background use adds up. Photo backups, app updates and cloud sync can use several GB a month without you noticing; set them to Wi-Fi only.
FAQ
How much data does Netflix use per hour?
About 1 GB per hour at standard definition, about 3 GB in HD and up to 7 GB in 4K, according to Netflix's own guidance. The HD preset here uses 5 Mbps, or 2.25 GB per hour, which sits in that range.
How much data does a video call use?
A one-to-one call in 720p uses roughly 1 to 1.5 Mbps, about 540 MB to 675 MB per hour. Calls in 1080p or with several people on screen can use 3 Mbps or more, around 1.35 GB per hour.
Is 100 GB a month enough?
For browsing, music, calls and an hour or so of HD video a day, yes. Three hours of HD video every day uses about 200 GB on its own, so heavy streamers need more or an unlimited plan.
How much data does music streaming use?
Normal quality at 96 kbps uses about 43 MB per hour, and high quality at 320 kbps about 144 MB per hour. Downloading playlists on Wi-Fi first means listening uses no mobile data at all.
Does gaming use a lot of data?
Online play itself uses little, often 40 to 100 MB per hour, because games send positions and actions rather than video. Game downloads and updates are the big cost, often 20 to 100 GB each.
See also: all Unit Converters tools, Everyday Maths, Loans & Savings, Dates & Time, Health, Home & DIY, Education, Science, Creative, Garden & Farm, Gaming & PC, Work & Business, Fun, Maps & GPS, DIY & Building, Cost Estimators, Sport & Clubs.
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