How much data do you need when you travel?
Most travellers need less data than they expect. Maps, messages and some browsing come to about 0.3 GB a day; video is what makes the total climb.
Data use by activity
Rough figures for a phone on mobile data. Your phone's settings show what your own apps use.
| Activity | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Messages (text) | A few MB a day |
| Photos in messaging apps | About 0.1 to 2 MB a photo |
| Maps and navigation | About 5 to 20 MB an hour |
| Web browsing | About 2 MB a page |
| Music streaming | About 40 to 150 MB an hour |
| Voice calls over apps | About 20 to 50 MB an hour |
| Social media with video | About 0.5 to 1 GB an hour |
| Video calls | About 0.3 to 1 GB an hour |
| Video streaming | About 1 GB an hour, up to 3 GB in HD |
Data for your trip
Estimates by trip length for three ways of using a phone.
| Trip | Light use | Moderate use | Heavy use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend, 3 days | 1 GB | 3 GB | 6 GB |
| 1 week | 2 GB | 5 GB | 15 GB |
| 2 weeks | 4 GB | 10 GB | 30 GB |
| 1 month | 8 GB | 20 GB | 60 GB |
- Light use
- Maps, messages, email and some browsing: about 0.3 GB a day.
- Moderate use
- Social media and photo sharing as well: about 0.7 GB a day.
- Heavy use
- Video, video calls or a hotspot: 2 GB a day or more.
How to make your data last
- Download offline maps of the places you will visit before you leave.
- Turn off automatic app updates and photo backups on mobile data.
- Use Low Data Mode on iPhone or Data Saver on Android.
- Keep video for Wi-Fi, or lower the streaming quality.
- Check how much you have used in your phone's settings every few days.
One plan for the whole trip, or day passes?
A plan for the whole trip gives you an amount of data to use over a set number of days, and usually costs less overall. A day pass gives you an allowance for one day: useful for a stopover, or for a single day when you need a lot of data.
What happens when the data runs out?
The plan stops, or slows to a reduced speed if it has a fair use policy (FUP). You can usually add a top-up or buy another plan from your phone, and the eSIM stays installed.
Estimates matched to real plans
Each destination guide matches these estimates to the plans sold for that country, with prices.