For most travellers, half a gigabyte to a gigabyte a day is plenty — the number goes up sharply only if you stream video or work from the phone
The figures below are approximations, useful for choosing a size rather than for budgeting to the megabyte. Actual usage depends on video quality, how much runs in the background, and how often you find Wi-Fi.
| Activity | Roughly |
|---|---|
| An hour of maps and navigation | 5–10 MB |
| A day of messaging and email | 10–20 MB |
| An hour of social media scrolling | 90–150 MB |
| An hour of music streaming | 50–100 MB |
| An hour of video calls | 250–500 MB |
| An hour of video, standard quality | 500–700 MB |
| An hour of video, high definition | 1.5–3 GB |
A Week, by Type of Traveller
| Traveller | A Week |
|---|---|
| Light — maps, messaging, mostly on hotel Wi-Fi | 1–3 GB |
| Typical — the above plus social media and photos | 5–10 GB |
| Heavy — video calls, streaming, some tethering | 15–20 GB |
| Working remotely all day | An Unlimited Plan |
Three Things That Quietly Multiply It
- Automatic photo backup. A day of holiday photos can be several gigabytes on its own — set it to upload over Wi-Fi only
- Video that plays by itself. Autoplay in a social feed is the single largest use most people never notice
- App and system updates. Turn off automatic downloads over mobile data before you fly
The most accurate estimate is your own. Your phone records how much data you used last month — see How do I Estimate My Data Usage? — and a holiday is usually a little lighter than home, because hotels and cafés have Wi-Fi
