Mobile data usage chart: MB per hour for 24 travel activities

Key figures24 rows

Navigation

≈ 5–10 MB/h

Music

≈ 11–144 MB/h

Voice call (app)

≈ 54–72 MB/h

Social video feeds

≈ 0.17–0.7 GB/h

Video calls

≈ 0.54–2 GB/h

Video streaming

≈ 0.17–3 GB/h (HD)

Conversion

kbit/s × 0.45 = MB/h

On this page

What does each activity use per hour?

The chart puts all 24 activities on one log scale, so that 5 MB and 3 GB fit on the same page. Each step on the axis is ten times the one before. The table below it gives the exact figure, the source, and the evidence level: L1 published by the vendor, L2 converted from a published bitrate, L3 a labelled planning range.

How do the activities group?

Three bands cover almost everything a traveller does:

• Megabytes per hour (under about 150 MB): navigation, messaging, email, browsing, ride-hailing, music, podcasts and app voice calls. You can do a lot of these on a small plan.
• Hundreds of MB per hour: social feeds with autoplay video, low-quality streaming (Netflix Save Data, Automatic, Low; YouTube up to 480p), a 1:1 video call at standard quality, a laptop doing light work.
• Gigabytes per hour: HD video, 720p and group video calls, and anything a laptop does at full quality.

Plan sizing is mostly a question of how many hours you spend in the second and third bands.

What about things that are counted per item, not per hour?

The per-item list is where surprise data comes from. One forgotten photo-library backup, or a batch of app updates on arrival, can use more than a day of everything in the per-hour chart.

How do I use the chart for a trip?

1. Pick your top three rows. The activities you will do most on mobile data, not on Wi-Fi.
2. Estimate hours per day for each. Be honest about feeds and video; they are easy to underestimate.
3. Multiply and add. Hours × rate for each row, then add a small allowance for maps, messages and email.
4. Multiply by days and add 15–20%. That is the plan size to look for.

The data needs calculator does these four steps for you, and adds a daily-cap check.

Why not one number per activity?

Because one number would be false precision. The same hour of Instagram can be 150 MB or 700 MB depending on how many videos play and at what quality. The same Zoom call doubles between high quality and 720p. Even published figures are maximums: Netflix's "up to 3 GB an hour" for HD is a ceiling, and a slow drama can come in under it. Where a vendor publishes a figure, we use it. Where it doesn't, we give a range wide enough to be honest and tell you how to measure your own.

How do I check a row against my own phone?

Reset the counter, use the app for 15 minutes on mobile data, read the counter again and multiply by four. On iPhone the per-app list is in Settings → Cellular with Reset Statistics at the bottom; on a Pixel it is Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → App data usage. If your number is very different from ours, use yours: it already includes your settings, your screen and your habits.

Does the network change these numbers?

For fixed files, no: a 50 MB update is 50 MB on 4G or 5G. For adaptive video, yes: on a fast connection, apps on automatic quality step up, and Apple notes that the Allow More Data on 5G setting lets apps use more cellular data for higher-quality video. That is why the 5G guide recommends Standard or Low Data Mode for the travel line.

Frequently asked questions

Which activity uses the most mobile data?

Video. HD streaming (Netflix up to 3 GB an hour, 4K up to 7 GB) and group video calls (about 2 GB an hour at 720p on Zoom) are at the top. Everything below video is measured in megabytes.

Why are some rows ranges and others single numbers?

Single numbers come from a vendor's own figure or bitrate. Ranges are planning assumptions where no vendor publishes a figure (social feeds, browsing, messaging), so we give a wide range and say so.

Can I use this chart for a laptop?

Only as a floor. A laptop on a hotspot often gets higher-quality video and runs updates and sync in the background. The laptop row is a planning range for light work, excluding calls and updates.

How do I convert a speed into data?

Multiply kbit/s by 0.45 to get MB per hour, or Mbit/s by 0.45 to get GB per hour. For two-way traffic like video calls, add the upload and download rates first.

Next step

Got your number? Match it to a plan

On TripoSIM, choose your destination and compare total GB, validity, any daily full-speed amount and the Hotspot badge on each plan card.

Choose your destination on TripoSIM ↗Work out your GB firstCommercial link: BroadNet runs this site and the TripoSIM store. Prices and plan terms are set on triposim.com.

DL

Written and checked by the eSIM Data Deals editorial desk

We take data figures from the app makers' own help pages where they publish one, convert published bitrates with kbit/s × 0.45 = MB per hour, and label every planning assumption. We don't run paid reviews or publish prices. Editorial policy · How we get our figures · Who owns this site

Sources and how we checked

• Netflix Help Center: How to control how much data Netflix uses
• Spotify Support: Audio quality
• Zoom Support: system requirements and bandwidth
• YouTube Help: system requirements and recommended speeds
• Apple Support: Use 5G with your iPhone
• TripoSIM help centre (FAQ)

Figures were read from these pages on 7 November 2026. Apps change their settings and rates; if a number here disagrees with the app on your phone, trust your phone's own data counter. See how we get our figures.