Data Usage Calculator (2024)

Created by Rahul Dhari

Reviewed by

Steven Wooding

Last updated:

Jan 18, 2024

What is mobile data usage?

The term data usage is referred to as the amount of data used to perform a certain activity using an internet connection, be it mobile or Wi-Fi-based data connection. The data usage depends on several factors, one of which is the connection speed. Connection speed is measured in the units Megabits per second (Mb/s) or kilobits per second (kb/s) for slower connection (see byte conversion). Say, your bandwidth or max connection speed is 12 Mbps, which means you can transfer about 12 Megabits of data (upload or download) per second. However, it is not necessary that a certain amount of data will be used per second. Learn more with our bandwidth calculator. It varies as per the activity you are performing and for how long. Average data used per hour of activity can be found in the table below. This table is used to calculate your overall daily or monthly usage for several activities like watching videos, movies, or regular browsing from mobile or Wi-Fi data. Video files have different sizes based on the file format. Know more from video file size calculator.

Usage (Gigabytes per hour or GB/h)	Activity
8	Streaming movies in 4K (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney+, YouTube, etc.)
2	Streaming movies in HD
0.5	Streaming movies in SD
0.055	Streaming music (Spotify, Apple music, Amazon music, etc.)
0.09	Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, Instagram, etc.)
0.2	Multiplayer gaming (Steam, Origin, UPlay, Rockstar Club, etc.)
0.09	Video Calling (SD) (Skype, Zoom, Teams, Whereby, etc.)
2	Video Calling (HD)
2	Smart home devices
0.185	Web browsing

How to calculate data usage?

In order to calculate your monthly data usage:

Enter the number of hours spent daily on the following activities:
- Streaming movies, music, multiplayer gaming, social media networks, video calls, and web browsing.
For every activity, the calculator will return the data usage.
Scroll down to find your daily and monthly data usage.
Enter the cost incurred per GB of data.
The data usage calculator will now display the monthly expense for your data.

There's also a pie chart at the bottom to show the different fractions of data consumed by each activity.

Example of using the data usage calculator

Estimate the monthly data usage if the user spends 2 hours per day streaming movies in HD and makes an hour of video calls in HD per day. The cost of data per GB is $0.50.

To find the data usage and its cost:

Enter the no. of hours in front of the Movie streaming in HD, $H_\mathrm{m}$ Hm option as 2.
Fill in the no. of hours in front of the HD video calls, ( $H_\mathrm{v}$ Hv) option as 1.
You can now observe the daily data usage per activity. Scroll down to check the monthly data usage for these activities.
Enter the cost of data per GB as $0.50.
Data usage calculator will now return the cost incurred per month.

$\scriptsize \qquad \begin{align*}\text{Data usage} &= H_\mathrm{v} VC + H_\mathrm{m} M \\&= (1 \times 2) + (2 \times 2) \\ &= 6~\mathrm{GB/day}\end{align*}$ Datausage=HvVC+HmM=(1×2)+(2×2)=6GB/day

Cost incurred = Cost per GB × Data = $6 \times 30 \times 0.5 = \$90$ 6×30×0.5=$90
Therefore, the monthly data usage is 180 GB and the cost incurred is $90.

FAQ

How much data does streaming a movie takes?

A 2-hour-long movie consumes about 16 GB in 4K, 4 GB in HD, and 1 GB in SD resolutions, respectively.

How to calculate monthly data usage?

To calculate monthly data usage:

Calculate the data consumption for every activity.
Add the numbers to find the sum.
Multiply the sum with the number of days in a month.

How much data per hour does multiplayer gaming takes?

Multiplayer gaming platforms require high-speed connections and consume about 200 MB per hour on average.

How to calculate my internet bill?

To calculate your internet bill:

Multiply the data consumed by the cost per GB of data.
Add the taxes to the product.

Rahul Dhari

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FAQs

How many hours does it take to use 1GB of data? ›

How much is 1GB of data? To give you a rough idea, 1GB lets you send or receive about 6,000 emails with standard sized attachments. Or, put another way it's about 20 hours of browsing.

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Is 150 GB of data enough for a month mobile? ›

From my experience if a home is watching 2 movies non HD and couple of shows over the net then their average data consumption is between 2 - 4 GB / day. Monthly average is approximately 120 - 150 GB should be sufficient.

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How long does 15GB of data last? ›

How much is 15GB of data? With 15GB of data, you can browse the internet for about 180 hours, stream 3,000 songs or watch 30 hours of video in standard definition.

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Why do I get a data usage warning when I have unlimited data? ›

There might be some changes or conditions in your plan that are triggering these warnings. Software Update:Ensure your phone's software is up to date. Sometimes, such issues can be resolved with software updates.To check for updates, go to Settings > Software update > Download and install.

Explore More ›

How many GB does a 2 hour movie use? ›

A 1080p HD 60 fps 2-hour movie averages 6 GB in file size. A 1080p HD 30 fps 2-hour movie averages 3 GB in file size. A 720p HD 2-hour movie averages 2 GB in file size. A Standard Definition (SD) 2-hour movie averages 1 GB in file size.

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Is 5GB of data enough for a week? ›

A good rule of thumb is: 1GB per week for light users (email, browsing). 3-5GB per week for moderate users (streaming music, maps). 10GB or more for heavy users (frequent video calls, downloading large files).

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How many GB of data does the average person use a month? ›

How Much Data Do I Use? According to Ericsson's Mobility Report released in June 2024, the average smartphone user around the world consumes 17 GB of data per month. By 2029, the report claims this figure is set to rise to 42 GB, with it reaching 59 GB per month in North America.

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How many GB is unlimited data? ›

How Many GB is Unlimited Data? The typical unlimited data package includes unlimited minutes, unlimited messages, and unlimited high-speed data (up to a specified data ceiling). This high-speed data allowance is usually 22–23 gigabytes (GB).

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How much data does the average person use per day? ›

In 2023, the average internet user created about 1.7 MB of data per second, equal to 146,880 MB daily.

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Why is my data finished so fast without using? ›

You might've not touched your phone but your data might get used. The primary reason being your settings for individual apps, for example, Google Play Store (Android).

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What happens if you run out of data on your phone? ›

If you run out of high-speed data, you will not be charged for overages or be cut off. You will stay connected at 2G speeds until your next billing cycle. During this time, you may experience longer load times for certain web pages and downloads as well as a slower streaming experience.

Read The Full Story ›

Is 1GB of data enough for 1 day? ›

Is 1GB of data enough for a day? Yes, 1GB of data can be enough to get you through the day if you don't use data-heavy apps. If you only use your phone for navigation, messaging and web browsing, 1GB of data should be more than enough.

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How long would 1 GB data last? ›

A 1GB data plan will allow you to browse the internet for around 12 hours, to stream 200 songs or to watch 2 hours of standard-definition video.

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How long does it take for 1 GB to run out? ›

As a rough guide, 1GB of data would let you do one of the following: Watch one hour and 20 minutes of video at Standard Definition. Stream roughly eight hours of high quality music (320kbps) Send or receive about 1000 emails.