This site is operated by Savings United, providing broadband and mobile deals from brands selected by Telegraph Media Group.
Broadband
Mobile
How much data do I need?
Mobile data allowance is usually the decisive factor between a plan being cheap and expensive, so knowing how much data you need is essential to avoid overpaying for your mobile deal. Do you need unlimited data? Most plans advertising themselves as ‘unlimited’ do impose a limit anyway, so how much is unlimited data typically? We aim to answer these questions for you.
Last updated: 20 March, 2024 | Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes
What is mobile phone data?
Mobile data allows you to access the internet to play games online, stream TV and other videos, use social media and receive emails and other messages via apps on the go while you’re not connected to Wi-Fi. Mobile data connects you to the internet via 3G, 4G and 5G towers in your area, meaning you can stay connected away from home, work or other Wi-Fi hotspots. Read on to find out how much data you might use and how much you can expect to pay.
How much data do I need on my phone?
The quantity of data you need will depend on what you use your smartphone for, and also where you’re using it most. If you use your mobile phone to stream TV shows at home where you’re connected to Wi-Fi, you won’t use as much data as you would by streaming TV or films while travelling on a train or sitting on a park bench.
If you play a lot of online games or stream videos on the go then you will use a lot of data, as games and heavy downloads tend to eat into your data allowance. Tethering other devices to your mobile and using your device as a hotspot for others is another data-heavy activity. Here is a list of general types of user and the data plans that suit each one:
| User type | Monthly data usage | Recommended providers |
|---|---|---|
| Minimal use (basic browsing, messaging) | Up to 2GB | Smarty, Talkmobile |
| Light use (social media, some video streaming) | 2-5GB | Lebara, Talkmobile, Lycamobile, O2 |
| Regular use (frequent video streaming, many app downloads) | 5-10GB | Lebara, Giffgaff, Lycamobile, O2 |
| Heavy use (extensive video streaming, large file transfers) | 10GB+ | Lebara, Vodafone, Lycamobile, O2 |
| Heavy use and sharing (extensive downloads, regular tethering and ‘hotspotting’) | Unlimited | O2, Three, Lycamobile |
Using search engines and sending or receiving emails will use up a small amount of mobile data, but if you keep these apps on in the background it does add up. You need around 2MB to send 150 emails, so it’s unlikely to be among your most data-heavy activities.
Messaging apps
Not all messaging apps use up a large amount of data, though iMessage, which is the iPhone messaging app, uses more data than its Android counterpart and other messaging apps, with heavy activity eating up to 70MB per hour.
Listening to music
Listening to Spotify or Apple Music uses between 10MB and 144MB per hour, depending on the sound quality you choose.
Social networking
Social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok use a lot of data, particularly when downloading or viewing videos, which will eat up around 90MB per hour.
Video calling
Apps that stream video calls, such as Skype, FaceTime and Zoom, also use a lot of data. FaceTime calls can use up to 180 MB of data per hour.
Streaming apps
Watching Netflix and YouTube as well as Spotify or Apple Music will use up large amounts of data. Watching Netflix can use between 1GB and 3GB per hour, if you watch it in HD while YouTube videos can eat into around 1.5GB per hour.
Online gaming
Gaming, particularly when streaming online in HD or 4K, uses a lot of data. It depends on the game, but expect it to eat into around 300MB per hour.
How much is 25GB of data?
Twenty-five gigabytes of data is a large amount of data and will be more than enough for typical users. The average monthly data use in the UK is around 5GB. You will only need more than 25GB of data if you stream a lot of video content, do a lot of online gaming or engage in other data-heavy activities.
How much is 100GB of data?
According to Asda Mobile, 100GB of data will allow you to browse the internet for around 1,200 hours, stream 20,000 songs or watch 200 hours of standard-definition videos.
What is unlimited data?
Unlimited data plans do not place a cap on data usage, which means there is no limit to how much data you can use. The only restriction will be how fast you can download it, which will depend on the strength of the local cellular service.
Is unlimited data really unlimited?
Some networks do place a limit on how much data can be downloaded. This is known as a fair usage policy and is aimed at preventing users from sharing their mobile data with others. For example, O2 will investigate users who regularly use more than 600GB of data a month and use their phone to tether more than 12 devices so that a group of individuals don’t pool together on a single plan.
How much is unlimited data?
If you have an unlimited data plan, you can save money by signing up to a longer contract. Getting unlimited data on a 30-day rolling contract tends to be more expensive than signing up to a 24-month contract. You may also receive perks for signing up to contracts of 12 months or more, such as free access to Netflix or a free tablet.
How many GB does a person usually use per month?
According to Ofcom, the regulator responsible for ensuring UK consumers are treated fairly by Telecommunications companies, the average person used 5.6GB of data per month in 2021. Read more about data usage in Ofcom’s Communications Market Report 2022.
How much data do I need?
How much data you use will depend where you are using your phone and what you use it for. If you’re planning a trip abroad, you may need to increase your data allowance to make sure you don’t pay extra for data roaming. Some mobile networks offer top-ups that can cover you if you’re travelling to EU countries, the United States or Australia.
Is 2GB data enough for a month?
Two gigabytes is a relatively small amount of data, amounting to less than half of the average person’s monthly usage. If you don’t use social media, however, and your smartphone is mainly for sending messages, receiving emails and other basic functions, then 2 GB could be enough to meet your needs.
Is 5GB enough data for a month?
According to Ofcom, the average person’s monthly usage is around 5.6GB, so you may need a data plan offering more than 5GB, particularly if you stream Netflix while on the go or play games online, which are data-heavy activities that will probably push you over the average person’s usage.
How much data do I have now?
In this section, we explain how to go about checking your phone’s data usage step by step:
Checking your iPhone data
- Go to the ‘Settings’ app on your iPhone.
- Select ‘Mobile data’, where you’ll find all details about your data usage.
If you scroll through the ‘Mobile data’ menu you will see how much data you’ve used in the current period. This will usually display the current billable month automatically. It will also show how much data you’ve used while roaming, so you can get an idea of how much you’re using when you go abroad.
In the ‘Mobile data’ screen, you can also see how much data different apps use. If you want to find out how much data you use a month, just scroll to the bottom of the page and click on ‘Reset statistics’ - this will revert everything back to zero.
Checking your Android data usage
- Go to the ‘Settings’ app on your phone.
- Click through into ‘Connections’.
- Select the ‘Data usage’ option.
- Once you’ve clicked on this, it will show you at the top of the screen how much data you’ve used in the last month.
In this section, many Android phones allow you to change the timeframe over which your data use is measured. You can set it to start at your billing date and then refresh when the next bill is due if it is not set this way automatically.
Other Android settings allow you to switch on a data saving function which allows you to set a cap and alert you when you’re near reaching it, which is useful if you have a data limit. You can also check your data usage to see which apps you’re burning through the most data on.
Frequently asked questions
Many unlimited data plans are offered with fair usage terms in place. This means that while there is no limit on the amount of data you use, if you’re using a very large amount your network provider may take steps to make sure you’re not sharing your data with other users by tethering multiple devices to your smartphone or other device.
Around 1GB will allow you to browse the internet for between 10 and 12 hours, to stream 150 songs online or to watch an hour of standard definition video content.
If you stay within the UK then the average usage is around 1.5GB per week. However, if you regularly use your phone for more data-hungry activities, such as online gaming or streaming a series on Netflix, you will definitely need more data.
If you travel regularly, particularly outside the UK, you may find you need more data as for this period you won’t have access to your home Wi-Fi connection. If this is the case, be sure that your data plan allows you to use data roaming in the area where you’re travelling and that you won’t be charged extra.
If you use your phone for internet browsing or for checking news websites, it might be worth downloading apps that allow you to download articles while you’re using Wi-Fi to read offline. If you watch a lot of videos, you could stream on YouTube or Netflix using a standard definition rather than HD or 4K. The small size of phone screens means you don’t need to choose the absolute best quality to get a clear picture. You can also try to download videos only while you’re connected to Wi-Fi and then watch them offline later; most streaming apps, including YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and BBC iPlayer, offer this function.